Feed Company-We're a video seeding company

Most new videos that do well will have an initial burst where it will collect a great number of views, but then it will flatten out and in comparison to the first and second weeks will be a relative trickle. That trickle means more than you might think.

YouTube has had its share of competition over the years. Companies like Vimeo and DailyMotion (plus copyright lawsuits and crushing overhead costs) led Chad Hurley and the video-sharing site’s co-founders to sell YouTube to Google. Soon Chad Hurley, who left Google/YouTube in 2010, will launch a potential new rival.

This year in viral video, advertisers either broke new ground or just got better at old concepts. Red Bull went to the edge of space with Felix Baumgartner’s freefall 23 miles to Earth, which certainly qualifies as breaking new ground. On the other hand, Cartier’s bejeweled panther was so sumptuous as to feel brand new.

When it comes to the current power of social media there is a lot of discussion of metrics and measurement and engagement. What do those numbers mean for a traditional medium like television?

Nest, the creators of the “learning thermostat,” and agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners collaborate with Feed Company and design blogs Justina Blakeney, Pennyweight, Satsuki Shibuya, Design Milk, and Design for Mankind on a Pinterest-related contest and video seeding campaign.

I sat down recently with Josh Warner, president and founder of Feed Company, the first video seeding company to launch in the U.S. in 2006, which seems like many years ago in Internet time. Feed Company is definitely a pioneer in video seeding, having been behind several of the industry’s brand viral video hits.

Andy Murray tries his hand at a series of new jobs in a new short film. The Scot imagines life as a barber, a chef and a rock star in the minute-long promotion of racquet manufacturer Head’s new IG Radical Pro.

Some of the most successful viral videos on the web keep us coming back for more, intent on unraveling the mystery of how they were made. From walking on water to death-defying stunts, MSNBC’s “Caught on Camera: Viral Videos” includes commentary from our own Josh Warner, president of Feed Company.

In the interest of full disclosure, I wanted to be Ferris Bueller when I was 16. So while part of me was a bit put off by this beloved character being used to sell me a car that wasn’t a vintage Ferrari, I also was suitably impressed with the level of detail in Matthew Broderick’s homage to Ferris’ day off.

Feed Company Founder and President, Josh Warner, joins a panel of video experts for a discussion on video seeding at the Streaming Media West show in Los Angeles.

A few weeks ago I got a chance to sit down with the President and Founder of Feed Company, Josh Warner. We talk a bit about how Feed Company began and what they’re up to with regard to video seeding, social media, video marketing.

This year in viral video ads feels a lot like last year — many advertisers chose to evolve successful concepts and characters, such as Old Spice pairing Mustafa with Fabio for an old-fashioned Internet duel, and DC Shoes continuing Ken Block’s hugely popular Gymkhana series. I guess the adage is, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

Major advertisers, including Nike, Ford, and Microsoft, are using the marketing practice of video seeding to reach online users with brand videos longer than 15 or 30-seconds required by pre-roll video ads. Marketers like that video seeding reaches online audiences in environments that are inherently more social than commercial.

If you ever need to book a room during a skydiving free fall, these guys have you covered. Courtesy of Hotels.com and Young & Rubicam in Chicago, there’s another crazy activity to add to that list: extreme hotel-room booking.

In March, eMarketer released a report declaring that, contrary to the pro-digital pundits, TV ad spending will not be shifting dramatically to digital display. They are partially right.

Feed Company, the leading video seeding company for creative brands and agencies, today announced that Jonathan Quello has joined the company as Vice President of Sales. Most recently Director of Digital Ad Sales at Alloy Media + Marketing, Quello will be responsible for fueling sales and client service growth at Feed Company.

YouTube has been a powerhouse in the online video arena since well before search giant Google (GOOG) bought it for $1.65 billion in 2006. What’s still a question is how much the video-sharing site will add to Google profits. One thing is certain: YouTube dominates the sector.

Last year Ford put its Fiesta brand in the hands of America’s drivers to help tell the real story behind the car. This year the company has placed its social-media faith in an orange puppet called Doug. In the annals of adland Ford is following a well-rehearsed script of using puppet power to help add spice to a brand.

Air New Zealand has teamed up controversial puppet Rico with superstar rapper Snoop Dogg in its latest video – although it is hard to tell how the clip promotes the national carrier.

“Go easy on the branding” says Josh Warner, CEO of video-seeding firm Feed Company, said a new kind of “engagement capital” has emerged with viral marketing in which different levels of branding tend to work better than others. Lightly branded videos that function as standalone content were found to be four times more effective than heavily branded videos.