Digital Content Studio Hires Google Ad Veteran Art Zeidman to Lead Unit

Independent digital content studio Collab announced they are launching an ad sales unit to monetize its broad reach for both the brand and the talent it represents. As a ComScore rated top ten YouTube partner, Collab averages nearly seven billion monthly views across that and other platforms.

Top 10 YouTube partner & indie digital content studio Collab is launching an ad sales unit to monetize its broad reach. Art Zeidman will lead unit.

Heading the unit will be Google ad veteran Art Zeidman, who joins Collab as executive vice president, growth.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to turn on ads for a company that is already one of the largest content creators in the world across the platforms that matter most to consumers,” Zeidman said. “Imagine if HBO or Showtime were to turn on advertising– that’s the equivalent of what we’re doing at Collab. And because we are starting today, we are launching with a solution built to meet the needs of what advertisers care about today: quality, brand safety, exclusivity and massive scale.”

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Collab has been working with a small group of the top creators across social platforms for the past six years, emerging as one of YouTube’s top ten partners with 3.8 billion total monthly video views on that platform and an additional three billion across other platforms including Instagram and Facebook. Collab says it is the first scaled premium video offering to enter the ad market in several years.

“It was time,” said Tyler McFadden, Collab co-founder. “As a company squarely focused on our creators and direct relationships with brand marketers, we know that Collab is the absolute best place for top talent to thrive and grow. Bringing an ad product to market now is the right thing to do for our creators and for the media buying community as well.”

Zeidman added, “Unlike so many companies that have quickly become a part of the media landscape in recent years, Collab is independent and bootstrapped, versus VC backed. We have full control and are making decisions that first and foremost deliver advertisers exactly what they need.”

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Zeidman is a media sales leader with more than 25 years of experience in broadcast and digital media. After a successful first career in the broadcast industry, he was recruited by Google in 2006 where he worked for four years as part of the launch team for the company’s first ad agency practice. In that role, Zeidman forged enterprise relationships and structured deals with some of the world’s largest ad agencies.

After Google, Zeidman moved into the startup world, building scaled revenue operations and delivering exponential and sustainable growth for three online video startups: Unruly Media, Pixability and Vuble. His experience with Google, YouTube’s parent company, and the startup world make him the perfect partner to bring sustainable monetization to the award-winning content coming out of Collab.

McFadden said, “Art has a stellar track record of driving explosive revenue growth for startups by providing effective solutions for brands. We’re thrilled to have Art leading sales at Collab, as we continue to pave a new entertainment career path for independent creators.”