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Starry backs Tubi’s initiative to bring younger, diverse creators to Hollywood

The Pepsi soft-drink brand is the first brand partner of Stubios, an initiative designed to elevate new voices.
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Tubi

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Tired of endless remakes and shows that are more of the same? So is Tubi, which is bringing brands into its project to bring new creative voices to Hollywood.

This week, Tubi debuted the first batch of content from Stubios, an initiative first announced by the streamer in May aimed at bringing younger and more diverse creatives into Hollywood. Through the program, creators, or “Stubio runners,” make various kinds of programming for Tubi, and if their shows hit genre-specific, undisclosed viewership thresholds, the creators will automatically be green-lit for their next productions.

Brands are also coming along for the ride, and PepsiCo’s Starry has come aboard as its first brand partner. One of the first Stubios series, a half-hour scripted comedy Mo’ Waffles set in Atlanta and starring TikTok creators Grant Gibbs and Ashley Gill, features Starry product placements integrated throughout, according to Nicole Parlapiano, Tubi’s CMO.

“This challenging financial climate that we’ve found ourselves in across Hollywood [means] less things are getting made, and we are seeing tons of franchises and reboots instead of new voices and new stories coming to viewers,” she said. “Stubios [is] passing the camera to anyone who has a story to tell, and puts the power of the green light in the hands of the viewer.”

Lights, camera, action: To start, Stubios has released programming from four Stubio runners, Parlapiano said, as well as content from other application finalists. Besides Mo’ Waffles, there’s content from viral rapper Lady London who was brought on as a Stubio runner to make a docuseries chronicling her life and the creation of her first album.

Tubi is also collaborating with actor Issa Rae, who was a creator on YouTube before landing her hit HBO show Insecure, to mentor Stubio runners. Through the collaboration, Rae’s creator management company, ColorCreative, will help pair Stubio runners with directors, writers, and production partners, Parlapiano said.

“We thought this was a unique opportunity to bring partners in to work with these first-time creators and integrate into the projects in a very endemic way,” Parlapiano said. “This is really marrying influencers and long-form branded content within the streaming context.”

Success story: As for how it’s measuring the success of the content produced, Tubi is implementing different thresholds based on the content’s genre that projects will need to meet in order for its creators’ next idea to be green-lit, Parlapiano told Marketing Brew.

“We’re going to look at viewers and viewer retention. If it’s a stand-up comedy series, we’re going to look at comps for other stand-up comedy series on Tubi, excluding some of the bigger-swing comedians,” she said. “We’re also going to look at [whether] those viewers watched all the way through. For us, our currency is engagement.”

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Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.