As impromptu as his antics at the VMAs and Emmys appeared, they were meticulously planned and executed as part of a strategy known as "culture jamming." Simmons and other celebrities are employing specialty digital companies such as theAudience and WhoSay, which are helping the stars deliver social interactions and buzz.
theAudience "culture jammed" Simmons' career by having 18 employees help him create possibly viral live moments on the VMAs red carpet. The magic viral moment happened when Simmons posed with Miley Cyrus for an Instagram photo, which fans favorited on her account roughly 284,000 times.
Simmons' social reach has since ballooned to more than 100,000 total followers.
"We're a little bit like the man behind the curtain,"
"We're a little bit like the man behind the curtain," Oliver Luckett, founder and CEO of theAudience, told Mashable. His company builds and grows social presences for stars as well as film and television properties on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+. With solid analytics tools, he's helping artists know who and where to target.theAudience, which represents about 700 entertainers such as Pitbull, Mark Wahlberg and Russell Brand, is venture backed by a group that includes William Morris Endeavor as well as Napster co-founder and Facebook's first president Sean Parker.
To get a feel for his clients, Luckett sits down with them and asks them what they think fans respond to. "It's like a psychology session," he said, adding that theAudience doesn't post on their behalf as much as help them devise a plan.
Next, theAudience stages an object, such as a tweet, that they email to clients to get to rewrite or approve copy before any social material is posted. He said the secret to good content is unlocking the voice of a celebrity or brand and creating an emotional reaction to drive shares, comments and clicks.
"Marketing companies don't think that way," Luckett claims.
His clients' content is seen by about 1 billion people ever month, with 10 billion impressions — staggering numbers that allow theAudience to charge monthly retainers ranging from $10,000 to $150,000. All profits garnered through subsequent deals with clients and third parties are shared in a 50-50 split.
"There isn't another group out there who has the skill, the creativity, the talent or the resources to reach the masses via social media," the energetic Simmons told Mashable.
Competitor WhoSay — venture funded by WME's rival Creative Artists Agency (CAA) — has about 1,500 celebrity clients such as Tom Hanks and Jim Carrey. The agency lets them manage their own digital presence and publish directly to social networks.
Steve Ellis, WhoSay's founder and chief executive, said his company never posts on behalf of clients, instead guiding them on best practices. Thirty percent of clients are from CAA, while more than $20 million in investments comes from Amazon, Greylock, Comcast Ventures and others.
Last month the company launched a free iOS app that lets fans use celebrity-generated content to create their own customizable digital magazines.
Unlike theAudience, WhoSay doesn't charge anything. Monetization hinges on the success of the new app, and making enough ad revenue from it, explains Ellis. The plan is to eventually build a revenue-share model with clients.
"We empower celebrities themselves to be their own business," Ellis said. "We don't charge clients fees."
It's a gamble, but with 12 million fans visiting the site every month and more than 2 million already using the new app, Ellis is confident banking on clients' star power.
"If you have an audience you have a media business," he said.
United Talent Agency, Creative Artists Agency, International Creative Management and William Morris Endeavor are the big traditional firms farming out celebrities to the above companies — or using in-house staff and services. Then there's hybrids such as Fanpagedirect, Maker Studios, HUGE Inc. and Giant Media, with niche and mainstream clients.
One management company going in-house is United Talent Agency. Eric Kuhn, a social media journalist turned agent who joined the company three years ago, shepherds clients' digital presences. Kuhn said the agency never posts on behalf of clients. Rather, he trains them on how to best navigate the social landscape, everything from which startups are ripe for partnership to social media practices and emerging trends. He said the total social reach for UTA clients is in the billions of impressions every week.
"Every client has a different goal," he said. "Some to sell movies, some to sell books, some to share a charity."
Josh Spector, who directs social for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, manages celebrities much differently. Spector overseas a team of eight people, who post to the Academy's four million social fans. They work with stars on more than 100 events each year, including live-tweeting the Oscars.
Spector said a problem with outside agencies running campaigns is that everyone calls themselves an expert these days.
"We've reached a point where everybody in Hollywood knows social media is important, but a lot fewer people know how to judge who does it well,"
"We've reached a point where everybody in Hollywood knows social media is important, but a lot fewer people know how to judge who does it well," Spector said.Courtney Holt, chief operating officer of Maker Studios, agrees with Spector. Holt said his business differs by partnering with talent and distributing content instead of directing what to post or piggybacking on high-profile celebs. Maker distributes content through YouTube, boasting 4 billion views a month and 260 million subscribers on 60,000 channels. Partners include Snoop Dogg and Robert De Niro's Tribeca Enterprises.
The Culver City, Calif. company has raised more than $62 million in funding, and in August, acquired the video distribution network Blip. Distribution is what sets Maker apart, and social is the secret sauce, Holt said.
"Twitter and Facebook are huge amplifiers," he said, noting artists like Snoop see social as the end game to monetize their social following. "Snoop wants to have a vehicle to connect directly to his fans.
"We provide the fuel in the engine."
10 Unexpected Moments From the 2013 VMAs Red Carpet
Open Gallery
1. Richard Simmons kissed Katy Perry, and he liked it.
Eccentric fitness personality Richard Simmons stunned attendees with a flashy appearance on the red carpet. The 65-year-old even stopped to kiss singer Katy Perry on the hand, to which she laughed off.
Image: Kevin Mazur/WireImage for MTV
Show As List
Images: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for MTV, theAudience, Emily Dyan Ibarra, WhoSay
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