ExpoTV's CEO demonstrates how the power of video can help consumers learn, discover and interact with films, and derive more satisfaction from their viewing choices.
Jodi Harris: Daphne, please tell us a bit about your background in entertainment media. You were an executive at The Walt Disney Company, and were CFO at Oxygen Media. What brought you into a media company that develops ecommerce solutions?
Daphne Kwon co-founded Expo Communications, the first and largest video-based product research network, specifically tailored for the consumer in control. Prior to founding Expo, Ms. Kwon served as chief financial officer and a founding employee of Oxygen Media, overseeing all financial aspects of Oxygen's operations. Daphne Kwon: Thanks, Jodi, for the opportunity to chat with you. Yes, I have been lucky enough to work with some great brands in the media industry. I cut my teeth at The Walt Disney Company, where I participated in helping grow The Disney Channel, A&E and Lifetime Networks. Helping launch Oxygen was one of the highlights of my career, and I was proud to play a part in serving women something new and different. Being a part of all of those great brands taught me that you can only be successful in media if you are serving an audience sincerely and honestly. If your audience trusts you, they'll let you show them new things.
Harris: Your latest venture is ExpoTV? How did the company come about?
Kwon: ExpoTV is the first and only video brand dedicated to making consumers smarter shoppers. Product research is the number one activity people do online. But if you look at television, you don't find anyone who is dedicated to helping you make smarter buying decisions. My co-founder Bill and I felt that we could harness the power of video to help consumers learn, discover and interact with products in a new and fun way. If we built a brand that is focused on presenting consumer information in an entertaining and smart way, we thought it could really be valuable to shoppers today.
Harris: ExpoTV has some interesting new video-based projects coming out. What can you tell us about them?
Kwon: We have several new projects coming out-- most revolve around the thousands of consumer contributors we have in our Videopinion army. Videopinion reviews are short video product testimonials that our community uploads to our site. They cover everything from computers to laundry detergent! We've begun to take this community and co-create with them. Our first show will be the 2006 Holiday Shopping Guide-- it's essentially a dynamic, user-generated holiday buying guide. We mix "real life" gift suggestions from our Videopinion community with some of our own expert shopping tips. The ExpoTV community of contributors is an unparalleled force for smart, passionate and cutting edge consumer information; we expect that the gift guide will take on a life of its own as holiday shoppers upload Videopinion reviews about the products they love and hate.
Harris: Let's talk about your other new release: Moviepinions. How does it work?
Kwon: Have you ever gone to see a movie because you read a great review, but when you left the theater, you felt totally misled? We think it's because most reviewers are nothing like you. They don't have your tastes, and barely have anything in common with you. Personally, I can't even think of a professional reviewer that's a working mother like me! But at ExpoTV.com, we let everyone give their opinion-- college students, couples, dads, grandmothers. That way, you can find someone more like you, and hear what they have to say about a movie.
In terms of technical details, we ask people to create a one-minute video review of a movie they've seen, and upload it to our site. Since 80 percent of our reviewers have never uploaded a video before, we try to make it simple and easy.
Harris: It seems like a great creative outlet for the budding movie critic in us, but how do you think this functions as a marketing vehicle for films?
Kwon: Your readers know that word of mouth is the fastest way to celebrate or sink a movie. But it's usually based on mass, generic buzz. Moviepinions let moviegoers find a targeted opinion from someone like them. Let's say you're a guy looking for a great date movie. A positive Moviepinion created by a couple may sway you to go see it, while a review from a teenager might not.
Harris: How is the Moviepinion site monetized? Do you accept advertising on the site? Is there a revenue sharing model involved for contributors?
Kwon: We are advertising supported, and target rich media ads and banners to the audience that you want-- like people find reviews on your movie! We also have the opportunity for movie companies to put previews on our site, so that interested moviegoers can keep going deeper as they consider seeing a movie.
We do compensate Moviepinion creators, since they're working hard for our community. But it's not a revenue share. We think that will bias people toward positive reviews, to please the advertisers-- you might even say the same about professional reviewers! To let our community loose to say anything they want, we compensate with a small upfront fee, plus we pay them every time someone watches their video. That way, they're motivated to be helpful to others in the community, and not worry about advertisers.
Next: Social commerce via shared interests, and the perfect word-of-mouth vehicle for film