When Vevo launched last December, the music video-centric joint venture -- backed by competing record companies Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, investor Abu Dhabi Media, and even Google's YouTube -- had all the makings of what Lady Gaga would call a "Bad Romance." But it's actually been sweeter than Justin Bieber's smile.
In five months, the property -- Vevo.com and channels on YouTube, AOL and various CBS sites -- has surged, hitting 44 million unique users in April, according to comScore. That's a larger audience than Hulu, which Vevo also beats on time-spent metrics.
Since launching with a dozen sponsors, Vevo has now run campaigns for nearly 100 brands, including blue chips such as Ford, Heineken and McDonald's, and has become a staple for movie advertisers like Lionsgate and Warner Bros. Buyers noted that while Vevo's not pulling the same ad rates that Hulu does just yet, it's already commanding CPMs in the neighborhood of $25.
Vevo's traffic appears to have been driven largely by users searching for specific artists' music videos, but the site is doubling down on original content.
Buyers, drawing a parallel to Hulu, praised Vevo's strong engagement numbers, its quality content and user experience, and its restrained ad approach. "They have this robust, high-profile, high-quality content. What advertiser doesn't like that?" asked Steve Minichini, president, interactive marketing, TargetCast.
Vevo also has scored an unexpected success in the Hispanic world. According to David Kohl, Vevo's evp, sales and customer operations, a considerable number of users select Spanish as the preferred language when logging on to Vevo; as a result, it reached 6 million Hispanic users in April, per comScore.
(The second annual Music and Advertising Conference, hosted by Billboard and Adweek, will take place June 15-16 at the Edison Ballroom in New York. For more information, visit MusicAndAdvertising.com.)
