As the digital video ecosystem has exploded over the past five years, it's given rise to a new kind of celebrity: Those who are able to amass large swaths of fans without having to be on a traditional media platform. Now that the industry, along with advertisers, has accepted the importance of digitally-born stars, Time Inc. saw the perfect opportunity to extend its coverage of the traditional celebrity space into YouTube, Vine and Instagram. Announced during its NewFronts presentation, Time Inc. formally took the wraps off Instant, its new mobile-first video-only brand, during last week's VidCon. Instant launched with Degree Deodorant as the exclusive sponsor for the first six months; all the advertising will be either sponsored or branded …show more content…
"These digital artists ebb and flow; some of them back out of the industry and there's new ones every day." Instant will be run by Time's two celebrity and pop culture brands People and Entertainment Weekly and will also work with YouNow and Musical.ly. Launching a new media brand in today's oversaturated world is akin to asking viewers to find a needle in a very large haystack. But Benson, who has experience launching new digital platforms after heading up WhoSay, says that using the clout of People and EW gives Instant a massive leg up. "The space is so crowded," she said. "Those two outlets help give us the street cred that we would need." One way Instant will look to gain relevancy is to become the place that will unearth the next big digital star, which has become a key goal across the entire industry. Two of Instant's series, You Should Follow and The Instant Mix, are dedicated to finding untapped talent. "We are literally crawling the internet," said Benson, who adds they're focusing on international talent as well. "Gen Z is really invested in feeling less isolated from the rest of the world." Benson's goal is have those people then credit Instant for giving them the