Five questions with Steven Kydd, EVP of Demand Studios

Demand Media is one of the largest partners on YouTube, with over 168,000 videos on the site. They have been early adopters of many of our partner and advertiser offerings, and recently announced that they'd surpassed 1 billion views of their videos on YouTube and their network sites.

For the second interview in our "Five Questions" series, we chatted with Steven Kydd, EVP of Demand Studios, about content creation, how-to videos, and the virtues of an open platform.

1. How would you describe your company's approach to content creation?

Demand Studios is comprised of a large network of professional filmmakers who create engaging content for our enthusiast brands like LIVESTRONG.com, eHow, and Golflink.com. We utilize the talents of over 10,0000 creators to create high-quality content for niche audiences the world over. Each month, Demand Studios creates thousands of new videos, which is a rate of content creation that few can match. Many of our filmmakers have worked for major broadcasters and cable networks and have won Emmy and Sundance Film Festival awards. These professionals are turning to Demand Studios for steady income, a large supply of interesting projects, so it's in our mutual interest to help them find a large audience online.

2. How-to content is very popular on YouTube. What has been the key to ExpertVillage and eHow's success on the site?

By having thousands of videos in popular categories like home improvement, sports, beauty, and martial arts, the ExpertVillage channel aggregated subscribers, ratings and comments very quickly. As our content gained momentum in the marketplace, we continually raised the quality standards each new video we created – in turn gaining the trust of our users and major advertisers. During that same time period, YouTube was actively seeking more HD video to broaden their appeal, so we focused on adding high-quality video that spans the “head, torso, and long tail” of topic areas. In our view, it's about giving people what they're looking for.

3. What are the benefits of a video-everywhere approach, as opposed to one that limits content distribution to certain websites on an exclusive basis?

We are firm believers in creating high-quality content that audiences can easily find, which is why we have uploaded virtually our entire library to YouTube. While some content owners still hope that audiences will “tune in” to their channels exclusively, we have seen that our content on YouTube INCREASES brand awareness and traffic to our owned and operated websites – a win-win for both parties. Broad distribution is a great way to assure the best and most exposure to your brand – and incremental revenue.

4. Demand Media is generating seven-figures a year from YouTube, and is profitable. Are there any specific ad formats or monetization strategies that you see as key drivers of revenue?

Since 2007, we have been a beta-tester of almost every new form of monetization YouTube has introduced. As such, we have witnessed first-hand YouTube’s ability to provide targeted and contextual monetization solutions while retaining a quality user experience. We’ve seen better-than-average click-through rates and CPMs with overlays and banners and have participated in several premium content events in conjunction with YouTube and leading brand advertisers. We also think there is an opportunity for greater integration with Click-to-Buy, similar to what YouTube is currently doing with music and DVDs.

5. What's your favorite YouTube video?

I guess I have to pick a how-to video. My golf game could use LOTS of improvement so I’m thrilled we have Tiger Wood’s instructor, Hank Haney, starring in a series of videos on Golflink's YouTube channel. His tips on how to improve my downswing were really helpful.

Posted by Obadiah Greenberg, Strategic Partner Manager