Radio One, Inc. today announced the launch of OneX (www.onexstudios.com), a branded content studio, which will provide brands with premium content and native advertising opportunities across its robust platform that reaches 82% of the Black population.
OneX is at the intersection of content, media and culture; it echoes the pioneering vision of Radio One, which has led the way in developing captivating content and distributing media to Black audiences for 35 years. The mission of OneX is to harness the power of Black culture to ignite brands through the creation of compelling content that can thrive across multichannel media environments. OneX will develop innovative content for brands, including those that utilize Radio One’s many platforms, from TV and radio to digital, social media and live events. This content includes, but is not limited to: short-form video and audio segments, long-form scripted and unscripted series and films, native advertising and immersive online and offline experiences.
CEO of Radio One, Inc., Alfred Liggins, III, has tapped Detavio Samuels to lead OneX as an expansion of his current position as president of One Solution. For the past year, Samuels has led One Solution, the company’s cross-platform sales and integrated marketing group. His team grew revenue 54 percent in 2014, and won several industry awards. Prior to One Solution, Samuels led GlobalHue, the largest multicultural agency in the nation at that time, where he developed a reputable body of work and a proven track record driving brand growth through branded content solutions.
“Content is the X-factor in today’s on-demand, cross-platform media world. OneX was created to meet that growing market demand and generate unparalleled value to brands; and since creating great content is in our DNA, we know how to weave in brand stories in a way that resonates with our audience,” said Samuels, president of OneX and One Solution. “The other undeniable X-factor is Black culture, which has always been a driver of popular trends and is increasingly influential in today’s mainstream culture. Anything that fuels culture can fuel brand growth. Anything that fuels brand growth should be a top priority in C-suites across the U.S.”
As of today, the team has created experiences for Walmart, AARP and University of Phoenix. Walmart, as a part of a long-term strategic partnership, worked with OneX to develop an award-winning, multi-episode cooking series around its ‘Fresh Offerings’ hosted by Chef Roble; AARP leveraged OneX to shatter the preconceived notions of what it means to grow older through a video series of Black entertainers who are over 50 and successful in their ‘second act’ including Holly Robinson-Peete and Kevin Fraser; and University of Phoenix partnered with OneX to create a docu-style film in order to launch a new full-tuition scholarship program.
“The team at OneX not only created excellent content that positively embraced the University of Phoenix brand, but spent time with our students, graduates and their families, showing a commitment to understanding our role as a trusted provider of career-relevant higher education for working-adult students,” said Byron Jones, Chief Financial Officer at University of Phoenix. “This was a true partnership, through which we were successfully able to tell the powerful stories of our graduates with real stories of how education changed not only their lives, but those of their families.”
The newly formed team, which will report to Samuels, is comprised of storytellers and marketing experts from the advertising, entertainment, and publishing industries. Key leadership includes the recently-hired:
· Archie Bell, II, VP, Creative Director (formerly Creative Director, NBCUniversal Content Innovative Agency);
· Sherina Florence, Director of Branded Entertainment (formerly Associate Creative Director, McGerryBowan); and
· Andre Woolery, Visual Artist (formerly Digital Synthesis Director at Media Kitchen).
OneX will also utilize the personalities, talent, programmers and editors from across Radio One’s multichannel ecosystem to create content on behalf of brands.
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