On the TV show “Entourage,” Adrian Grenier played an actor who brought his friends along for the ride. But before the show was a hit, he co-founded a website with film producer Peter Glatzer. The site promotes sustainable living with sponsored articles, videos and other paid content.
That was 10 years ago, and the site, SHFT.com, is still running, with original content and links to other sites featuring environmentally friendly products and concepts.
Grenier and Glatzer recently announced a partnership with branding firm BBMG in New York, which will create original branded content for the site.
The partnership’s first clients are Sprint Co., Recyclebank and Weather Co.
Content will range from Web series, feature-length or short documentaries to television shows, depending on a client’s needs, said Glatzer.
Taking a page from “Entourage,” the idea for the partnership was formed when Grenier and Glatzer attended a cocktail party last year that was hosted by BBMG at its New York office.
“We just bonded at this party and the cocktail talk turned into, ‘Let’s meet tomorrow,’” Glatzer said.
The process involves looking at a client’s sustainability efforts and then developing and producing original content.
“We’re consumer-facing, whereas BBMG … they work B2B,” Glatzer said. “They work on the internal strategy and approach, and we bring our side of the outward-facing content strategy and content production.”
For example, SHFT and its existing client Ford Motor Co. created a 10-episode Web series, “The Big SHFT,” featuring people who “pushed the envelope in terms of bringing their area of work to a more sustainable place,” said Glatzer.
One episode profiled Tom Szaky, chief executive of TerraCycle in Trenton, N.J., which recycles garbage into plant fertilizer. Another episode profiled Bill Ford, Ford Motors’ executive chairman.
The content will be distributed on the SHFT site and partner networks such as AOL Huffington Post and Virgin America’s in-flight program.
Speed Dating
Ballantines PR in West Hollywood launched a division called BPR Speed Pitch to organize events for companies with limited public relations budgets.
At the Speed Pitch events, clients have three minutes to present their product or service to various media outlets. There are also networking opportunities when not pitching.
The events will be scheduled six times a year in Los Angeles and three times a year in New York.
The division was so popular that it’s now at capacity and she can’t take any more business.
Clients who attend a Speed Pitch also have one press release generated for them a month. BPR also offers a contract for three or six months that allows clients to attend multiple Speed Pitch events. The monthly retainer is $3,000, a deep discount from its usual $8,000 monthly fee.
The agency has signed fashion brand Burning Torch Inc. in Venice and L.A. lawyer Christopher Norgaard, who is promoting an upcoming book.
“We were getting calls (from companies) and we were saying no to the business, but now we found a place for them,” said Sarah Robarts, president of Ballantines.
Robarts founded the company in 2000. Corporate clients include Walt Disney Co. and Chrysler Group.
Agencies & Accounts
Agnes Huff Communications Group in Los Angeles last week was named the agency of record for Hotel Shangri-La in Santa Monica. The public relations and marketing firm will be responsible for national and international PR. … Adly Inc., an online ad-placing service in Los Angeles, has formed a partnership with Legacy Growth Partners, an investment company serving professional athletes and entrepreneurs. Legacy will steer its clients to Adly for Internet opportunities. … Mobile ad platform Airpush in West Los Angeles has acquired Hubbl, a digital ad distribution and platform for mobile apps in New York. … Cloud-based ad platform Republic Project in Santa Monica has been acquired by ad agency DG MediaMind in New York, Republic Project’s employees will join DG’s L.A. office. … Tris3ct in El Segundo has a new account, Nutrawise, maker of Youtheory line of beauty and wellness products. … Olmstead Williams Communications in Westwood has signed four new clients: Great Courses, DreamHammer, SmartMetric and UCLA’s Sustainable Technology & Policy Program. … Draftfcb L.A. in Venice was recently named the first agency of record for Fuhu Inc., maker of the Nabi tablet.
Staff reporter Subrina Hudson can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-522, ext. 251.
