Ranker

Objective

Ranker created the role of Director of Video; I was the first person hired to build a video strategy and department from the ground up.

Challenges:

In 2014, Ranker was one of the top 150 most visited websites in the U.S.. Numbers were through the roof on the visitors side—Ranker's votable lists collectively had over a billion votes—but there were primarily two challenges:

1. The company didn't have much of a voice (it wasn't really a brand)
2. As images, videos, and "Vines" were growing in popularity, the company was not well-positioned to move beyond written content

Ranker was neither taking advantage of branded content nor pursuing O&O video advertising opportunities. They were not offering video in RFPs or monetizing through native ad units (video). I was brought in to create a brand voice through live and short-form video—expand Ranker's social following—and to create new monetization opportunities.

What we did

1. Scaled a video department; we paid for our new hires through the revenue generated off our video strategy

2. Sold white-label video offerings to publishing partners

3. Built branded content division predicated on social and O&O video views (we could guarantee anywhere from 250k to 1mm+ omni-channel views to advertisers)

4. Submitted roughly 4 to 5 RFPs/week, producing on average 3 to 4 five-figure branded videos/month

5. Leveraged our viral video network to expand social followers; Facebook grew from a single channel with 200k followers to 8 verticals with over 16mm followers in the span of 2 years.

Conclusion

Through smart spending and effective hiring practices, Ranker scaled a profitable video production business to elevate its brand on social media and provide value for advertisers looking to leverage Ranker's massive audience.

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