Poptent
Poptent is an Orange County, CA-based marketing company that specializes in crowdsourcing and promoting video advertisements for companies. The company matches submissions from 45,000 independent filmmakers across 150 countries with client project requests.
History
Poptent was founded in February 2007 by Rick Parkhill, who was inspired by how easy it was for his 12-year old son to create his own music videos. Poptent started with a network of 2,000 videographers, who would compete to create videos for a $1,000 prize. Poptent's first client was Nestle, who hired Poptent to create an ad for its 100 Grand Bar.
In April 2012, the company launched Poptent Productions, as a faster, more cost effective option for large national brands to gain access to video talent. The top producers from Poptent's provider network are hand selected for projects.
The crowdsourcing video concept and Poptent gained additional exposure with the production of a video for Southern Comfort which started getting national coverage during the 2012 NBA playoffs. The piece was created by Fort Wayne, IN-based RezFX.
Services
- Assignment Promotion - Poptent starts by offering assignments to its registered videographers. The projects can be open, or invite only, to address client privacy concerns. In addition, Poptent might offer seed money to and make introductions for qualified videographers, to encourage participation.
- Production Services - Poptent assigns a production executive to work with the client to determine their creative needs. Poptent will also introduce clients to select video professionals, including cameramen, animators, sound technicians, actors and other required talent.
- Distribution Network - Poptent also offers distribution services for completed videos. These include Paid Services to encourage widespread viewing of the content.
Clients
Poptent lists General Mills, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle, American Express, LG, Vizio, Netflix, Geico, Novartis, Frito-Lay, Kraft Foods, FedEx, Anheuser-Busch, US Bank, Land Rover, Jaguar, Dell, Amazon and Nokia among its clients. Poptent also lists partnerships with multiple advertising agencies including OMD, Ogilvy, Edelman, Y&R, BBDO, Rosetta, Alcone Marketing, and Razorfish.
Corporate Info
Poptent’s principal offices are in Southern California and suburban Philadelphia, with regional sales offices in New York and Chicago. The company also opened an office in São Paulo, Brazil in mid-2011.