Ubisoft's
'Just Dance 4' Will Be Integrated Into 'Dance Showdown'
YouTube's DanceOn Channel, backed by Madonna and manager Guy Oseary, has been attempting to bring the dance competition genre to YouTube, complete with YouTube "stars" as competitors. Now it has a sponsor that will be integrated into the show, much like "American Idol"'s Coca-Cola deal a decade ago.
The show, "Dance
Showdown," is a cross between "So You Think You Can Dance" and
"Dancing with the Stars." After a first season without a sponsor,
Ubisoft's "Just Dance 4" has signed on for season two.
In the show, each YouTube
personality is paired with a professional choreographer and then judged by the
YouTube audience. WoodysGamertag won the first season and the $25,000 cash
prize. That prize will grow to $100,000 in the second season, starting October
5, thanks to Ubisoft.
But the brand will not only be a
sponsor, it will be integrated into the show's content. Contestants will be
introduced to the audience, for example, as they are playing "Just Dance
4." The stages will be branded with the "Just Dance 4" logo. And
the game's avatars will hang out in the Dance Showdown lounge.
In a nod to "American
Idol," the show is taking on judges, including Joey Fatone from 'N SYNC,
celebrity choreographer Laurieann Gibson, and rotating guest judges Ryan Higa,
Dave Days and Shane Dawson.
Like a lot of YouTube's original
channels struggling to get off the ground, DanceOn was seeking sponsors for
"Dance Showdown," which garnered 10 million views during its first
season and helped to double the channel's subscribers, said Amanda Taylor,
founder and CEO of DanceOn. The premise of the dance video game, where players
mimic on-screen avatars matched well with the series. "[DanceOn] came to
us with the show concept that was really fun and playful and it's really in
keeping with the tone of the 'Just Dance' brand...It was a perfect match,"
said Carrie Feigel, associate director of marketing at Ubisoft.
Ubisoft is involved with other
YouTube shows, such as Machinima, Smosh, Epic Meal Time, etc., through their
traditional YouTube channels, but the DanceOn integration is its first
partnership with a YouTube Original Channel. Although the video-game company is
open to working with other original channels on a case-by-case basis, depending
on how organic the fit feels.
"We're certainly keeping an eye
on the space to see how it evolves, but our partnership with DanceOn is
atypical compared to other YouTube Original channels," said Adam Krause,
senior media manager at Ubisoft. "In most cases, YouTube is leading the
sales efforts for Original Channels, and their sponsorship packages are well
outside of our price range for a typical launch campaign. It's our
understanding that more Original Channels will start representing their own
inventory in the near future. At that time, we hope to have more scalable
options available for sponsorships and custom integrations."
And DanceOn, which was founded in
2010 by Ms. Taylor, will be looking for more brands to partner with as it
begins to roll out the series into foreign territories like the UK and
Australia.
"The popularity of dance TV
shows has put the limelight on dance like it hasn't before," said Ms.
Taylor. "Dance is a universal language that is popular everywhere."
--
Manuel Canales
Managing Director
The Media Group Inc.
809.268.7920 Dominican Republic Mobile
416.784.5663 Canada Home Office
--
Manuel Canales
Managing Director
The Media Group Inc.
809.268.7920 Dominican Republic Mobile
416.784.5663 Canada Home Office
It wasn’t just Justin Bieber’s fans who had “Bieber Fever” as the teen idol kicked off his national tour in suburban Phoenix.
Video posted on KTVK-TV’s website shows the pop music star vomiting twice on stage Saturday night during his sold-out concert at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale. He left the stage after each episode but returned and even did an encore.
KTVK reports Bieber’s fans sang some of his songs while he was offstage and he later apologized for being sick.
Bieber later tweeted “Great show. Getting better for tomorrow’s show !!!! Love u”
He later added: “And .... Milk was a bad choice!”
Bieber’s 45-city “Believe” tour continues Sunday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Video posted on KTVK-TV’s website shows the pop music star vomiting twice on stage Saturday night during his sold-out concert at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale. He left the stage after each episode but returned and even did an encore.
KTVK reports Bieber’s fans sang some of his songs while he was offstage and he later apologized for being sick.
Bieber later tweeted “Great show. Getting better for tomorrow’s show !!!! Love u”
He later added: “And .... Milk was a bad choice!”
Bieber’s 45-city “Believe” tour continues Sunday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
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