Droga5 relaunched Honeyshed last week complete with a kick-off party. No. We were not invited. Honeyshed, in case you missed it, is Droga’s QVC for teens and was backed by Publicis and Smuggler.
Adweek has taken a stab at dissecting the failing enterprise. Here’s the highlights:
“Its yearlong beta period provides scant evidence that HoneyShed can attract its target: 17-27-year-old consumers steeped in popular culture for whom shopping is a national pastime. The dominant Internet measurement services, ComScore and Nielsen Online, did not detect a large enough audience to measure. According to Compete, HoneyShed never drew more than 7,000 visitors a month.”
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Um, yeah. We’ve been saying that all along.
“In a world moving to distributed content, HoneyShed acted too much like a video portal, Greifer [HoneyShed CEO] this August admitted. It is now distributing its videos widely, striking deals with Glam Media and Heavy to run it across their networks.”
It’s about fricking time. At least they are learning right?
“It’s played well to the New York and L.A. audiences,” said Witt. “It has that [Brooklyn] 718 sensibility to it. The types of brands attracted to it are those in Urban Outfitters.”
Oh I spoke too soon. Note: it does not have a 718 feeling to it. LA sure, but who the hell in the rest of the country really digs on that LA solipsistic vibe? Raise your hand. Honeyshed has taken that 718 vibe, mussed it up and commercialized to the point of non-recognition. Urban Outfitters? No, no, no. It should be Surface2Air and iHeart and Opening Ceremony, Adidas, In God We Trust. That would be 718 you numbskulls.
“So far, 150 brands have signed up to try it from beta through the launch. HoneyShed will produce segments for their products that it will use to populate its eight channels devoted to topic areas like fashion, gadgets, DVDs and beauty.”
Well, good for them. It’s nice that 150 brands are willing to take a chance. Lets hope Droga stops fucking it up. Damn it, I like Droga, but it’s so hard to see good ideas fail in the execution. I pick on Honeyshed all that time, but seriously – It’s. So. Very. Hard.
More: What’s The Deal Droga?