Pioneered branded content integration for Tasty's viral videos (20M+ views/minute), launching partnerships with Mondelez and Bravo that generated $30M in year one and established Tasty as a top revenue driver for BuzzFeed.
The Problem
In 2015, Tasty's videos were generating unprecedented viral reach (20M+ views/minute), but BuzzFeed had no scalable way to monetize this engagement beyond traditional display advertising. Brands were desperate to reach Tasty's massive millennial audience, but standard banner ads felt disconnected from the content experience. Meanwhile, the creative team was protective of Tasty's authentic, quick-hit recipe format, and sales lacked a structured product to sell. The company needed a way to unlock this audience's commercial value without compromising what made Tasty successful.
The team started in a room on a friday night looking to integrate ritz into Tasty.