Q&A with Matt O'Mara, Vice’s UK Managing Director. Q&A Photography: Vice Magazine

Vice Media: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Founded in 1994, Vice Media has become an expert in making and distributing exciting, provocative content for the millennial generation.

VICE News, Ukraine Burning.

12 BLINK 08 · Systems Thinking Issue Initially a magazine business, Vice is MediaCom: You’re creating a wide Vice: Shane had the foresight to now a $2.5 billion business reaching 150 range of content, from “Some Genius in recognize that – in the mid-90s, when million people each month across every LA is Selling Weed Pizzas” to “'We Are the YouTubes and Hulus of this world conceivable platform in 36 countries. Laying Down Like Dogs: The Long Wait were building the infrastructure for The power of Vice’s content – along with for Ebola Treatment in Liberia”. Can video distribution – people would the company’s strong bond with young you describe your creative and editorial eventually crave high-quality content. trendsetters – has been rewarded with process for creating content? For example, Our model is pretty simple: make the investments from A+E Networks, 21st how do you decide whether the format best content for as many people as Century Fox and WPP, among others. of a story should be short-form video or we can through as many distribution written editorial? points as possible. We intend to be the So what makes the Vice system so biggest premium content creator on effective and powerful among its target Vice: We have editorial and video the planet, so we’ll keep producing audience? How does it create such teams in each territory generating formats as long as there are new engaging content and what can brands ideas and – although they operate places to present them. learn from its distribution strategy?

James Morris, Global Head of We intend to be the biggest premium MediaCom Beyond Advertising, gets the answers to these questions and more content creator on the planet, so we’ll from Vice’s UK managing director, Matt keep producing formats as long as O’Mara. there are new places to present them. James Morris [MediaCom]: Matt, tell us your elevator pitch for Vice? independently – their conclusions are MediaCom: You have created new news Matt O’Mara [Vice]: Vice is the most often complementary, and there is formats for the younger generation, and relevant media company for young crossover in terms of talent. For example, challenged the perception that they’re people in the world. We create and Clive Martin, one of Vice UK’s most uninterested in current affairs. Can you distribute content that people genuinely celebrated writers, is also a rising star in describe how this came about? want to consume, and brands can be video. Like any media company, there are a big part of that. If you want to reach editorial meetings and a vetting process Vice: With huge numbers of young Gen X/Y and you’re not working with for every story. people spending less time watching Vice, we need to talk. traditional TV and more and more MediaCom: Please tell us how you develop time viewing our documentaries on MediaCom: Shane Smith (Vice CEO) key formats, verticals and channels? YouTube, we knew that young people has said that you create content that were interested in the world… they you yourselves think is cool. But how do Vice: We produce formats that fit were just changing the way they 40+-year-old managers interpret “cool” a particular medium or content got their information. Vice News is for younger audiences and remain an environment. Online, we create a huge only six months old, but has already evolving and iconic brand? variety of programming franchises become the fastest-growing news across the various verticals, and we’re channel on YouTube. The reaction to Vice: Shane is very hands-on and drives completely unrestricted in terms of length our video dispatches covering Ukraine a lot of what Vice is. However, he’s the and design. On the other hand, our HBO and the Islamic State, to name just two first person to say that what makes show is 45 minutes long and is produced of many global stories we cover on the Vice great it that the brand is for and in a more standard television format. ground, have resulted in traditional by young people. The vast majority news outlets taking us very seriously. of our staff is below the age of 30 and MediaCom: Investing in high quality they are incredibly switched-on, smart content appears to be your single-minded MediaCom: You have a host of digital people. They know first-hand what strategy. How has this system evolved, channels, from the new “Munchies,” with their generation wants, and it’s not the and has it been an intended evolution or a focus on food, to “Motherboard” on sanitized view of the world that many something that has happened organically? tech and “Noisey” on music. Why does it media outlets promote. Where does Vice go from here? make sense to keep them under separate

BLINK 08 · Systems Thinking Issue 13 brands or names rather than have them magazine. Coupling this level of all under Vice? distribution with sought-after content makes us hard to beat. Vice: Vice is a network, and we wanted to create digital destinations around the MediaCom: Describe your success on cultural areas most interesting to young YouTube. people. “Young people,” though is a very broad category, and to suppose that Vice: We have debunked the myth everyone under, say 30 years old, is into that content needs to be bite-sized. everything would be naïve. That said, Audiences are watching our content Vice.com is essentially the mothership: an from beginning to end, even though aggregation of the very best content from our shows can be more than 30 minutes all our verticals. A site re-launch later this long, and millions are subscribing to our year will make this even more apparent. YouTube channels.

We have debunked the myth that content needs to be bite-sized.

MediaCom: Condé Nast says it is The engagement rates are off the charts, spending as much on distribution as we have the fastest-growing subscriber content creation. How much does Vice channels, and our content has the best invest to promote its content? ratio of likes to dislikes. This is what we bring that others don’t: truly premium Vice: We spend money on content content and real engagement. We help activation, both for ourselves and brands shift consumer opinion, which for our brand partners, but there is ultimately translates into sales. less reliance on paid distribution for premium content. Our engagement rates MediaCom: What do you think about on YouTube, where we have the best advertiser content at the moment? ratio of likes vs. dislikes, and Facebook where Vice has 55% higher engagement Vice: Some of it is pretty depressing. rates than average, prove that social Everyone is having a go at it, but it’s advocacy is still at the root of what we tricky to do well and much of it is do. Technology is critical, but – at the throwaway, with clients having to pay end of the day – being creative is still the massive amounts to get it seen. That’s most important thing we do. not good for anyone. Clients need to learn that you can explain what your MediaCom: Vice isn’t the biggest when brand is or showcase a product benefit measured by views or monthly unique without artificially forcing it into the visitors, but the company still engages narrative. audiences at a very high valuation. What is unique about your offer to advertisers? MediaCom: What do advertisers need to remember about creating engaging Vice: Vice reaches more than 150 content? million people per month across all platforms. This reflects not only Vice: Make your content entertaining, our scale, but also the diversity of thought-provoking and authentic. our business: a network of 10 online Whatever you deliver has to be channels, 10 global YouTube channels, something audiences love and want to multiple linear shows and franchises share with others. (like our Emmy Award-winning show on HBO), mobile, a record label, VICE News, book publishing and, of course, our Ambushed in South Sudan

14 BLINK 08 · Systems Thinking Issue Clients need to learn that you can explain what your brand is or showcase a product benefit without artificially forcing it into the narrative.

BLINK 08 · Systems Thinking Issue 15