Chad Bennett
Chad Bennett is founder and CEO of Populus Brands, an innovative brand-building company that drives franchise growth, incremental revenue and consumer engagement for clients. The company forms strategic partnerships between content creators, sponsors, licensors, manufacturers, retailers and marketers to build lifestyle and entertainment brands derived from and driven by show content.
Bennett has produced more than 650 hours of network and cable programming, developed and launched more than 1000 product skus and brand extensions, driving more than $500 million in consumer spend, and sold in and executed hundreds of integrations and marketing extensions driving millions in revenue and billions of marketing impressions.
Prior to launching Populus Brands in February 2012, Bennett served as Vice President of Brand Development at Reveille where he built the brand development department from the ground up, changing the landscape of the business around reality programming. He was tasked with continuing to redefine and drive new paradigms around reality and digital content by establishing and proving new revenue streams and business models. He leveraged show content to drive deeper financial and emotional investment from the audience to maximize larger business opportunities through strategic integration, licensing, interactive marketing and key partnerships/relationships.
Whether creating new, branded products with companies like Lionsgate, Rodale, THQ, Royal Caribbean, Ediets and Active.com or partnering with advertisers like Subway, General Mills, 24-Hour Fitness, Jennie-O, Ford, Walgreens and Brita, Chad oversaw brand development, merchandising and licensing as well as generating sponsorships and cross promotions for all of Reveille’s alternative programming. He managed all advertiser, agency and network relationships and pioneered the development of brand partnerships for network TV series. Chad worked to create and grow the lifestyle brands for two of the world's biggest reality hits The Biggest Loser, one of NBC’s highest rated programs and currently airing in 90 countries and produced locally in 30 territories, and MasterChef, the worldwide phenomenon starring Gordon Ramsay on FOX.
Bennett managed The Biggest Loser consumer products brand which has generated more than $400 million in global consumer spending at more than 25,000 major domestic retailers, and includes an online subscription site (biggestloserclub.com) with over 700,000 subscribers to date, a New York Times best-selling book series (12 books, over 4 million copies sold), #1-selling fitness DVD Brand, best selling interactive games, magazines, mobile applications, at home delivery meal programs, fitness equipment, appliances, cookware, scales, protein supplements, medical extensions, apparel, 5K Run/Walk event, refrigerated foods, a Biggest Loser Visa card and countless other products, including The Biggest Loser Resorts.
As part of General Mills’ partnership with The Biggest Loser, Bennett developed the Pound For Pound Challenge, a philanthropic initiative benefitting Feeding America, which engaged viewers to lose weight along with the show to help feed people in their local communities. For every pound of weight participants pledged to lose, The Pound For Pound Challenge delivered one pound of groceries to their local food bank. Over the three-year program, millions of dollars in corporate donations and over 650 million media impressions were delivered and 13 million pounds were pledged from over 450,000 participants.
For MasterChef, Bennett established MasterChef cookware, knives, appliances, kids cooking kids, cooking classes, a magazine, two cookbooks, an iPhone and iPad app and a digital retail shop.
Bennett has managed production for unscripted series and served as the creative and production point person for broadcasters producing and airing the programs in international markets. Over the course of his career, he has worked on shows including Live to Dance (CBS), Shear Genius (Bravo), Tabatha’s Salon Takeover (Bravo), The Buried Life (MTV), One Born Every Minute (Lifetime), Who Knew? (Yahoo!), Blow Out (Bravo), American Gladiators (NBC) and Nashville Star (NBC, CMT) and with blue-chip marketers, including Clorox, Wrigley, Kraft and SC Johnson. Bennett graduated from Furman University with a degree in communication studies.
REVEILLE’S FORMER HEAD OF BRAND DEVELOPMENT CHAD BENNETT LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE BRAND-BUILDING AGENCY, POPULUS BRANDS
Reveille, Litton Entertainment, Power Music and Quepasa Corp. on board as Charter Clients
LOS ANGELES, February 23,2012 – Reveille’s former Head of Brand Development Chad Bennett today announced the launch of Populus Brands, an innovative brand-building company that will drive franchise growth, incremental revenue and consumer engagement for clients. The company will form strategic partnerships between content creators, sponsors, licensors, manufacturers, retailers and marketers to build lifestyle and entertainment brands derived from and driven by show content. Reveille, Litton Entertainment, Power Music and Quepasa Corp.’s social networking sites Quepasa.com and myYearbook.com have signed on as Populus Brands’ charter clients.
“Content producers have the full attention of their audience, but many do not have the time or resources to fully leverage them. There’s huge opportunity to use content to develop and build lifestyle brands that complement the viewer experience and drive a maximum number of ancillary revenue streams,” said Bennett. “Populus Brands will focus on leveraging the audience’s relationship with the content to create tangible products and experiences that viewers can bring into their everyday lives. “
Populus Brands’ offering grows out of Bennett’s eight-year tenure at Reveille where he oversaw production and was part of the team that created the company’s brand development department to directly translate content into viable and profitable consumer brands like The Biggest Loser, which has generated more than $400 million in global consumer spending at more than 25,000 major retailers, and MasterChef, both of which he helped build.
For content creators, Populus Brands will actively build lifestyle brands, create strategic sponsorships and promotional partnerships and develop consumer products directly from TV, digital and entertainment properties. The company will also represent and work with advertisers, manufacturers, retailers and distributors to immerse them into those properties, allowing them to reach their consumers when they are most engaged. The ultimate goal is to strategically connect all parties directly to content.
In addition to launching more than 1000 product SKUs and brand extensions which have driven more than $500 million in consumer spending, Bennett has produced more than 650 hours of network, cable and digital programming, providing him with a unique skill set to connect and communicate with his clients in entertainment, advertising, manufacturing and retail. He has sold in and executed hundreds of integrations and marketing extensions to drive millions of dollars in revenue and billions of marketing impressions for brands including Subway, General Mills, USPS, Clorox, Wrigley, Rodale and Lionsgate.
“On The Biggest Loser and MasterChef, I empowered the stakeholders to understand the full potential of these entertainment properties and execute against every possible revenue stream. I bring that experience to Populus Brands where I will help clients strategically connect every dot to bring maximum ancillary dollars to the table for all parties involved,” continued Bennett.
For Reveille, Bennett will continue to consult around The Biggest Loser sponsorships and its consumer products brand that he previously built and managed, which includes online subscription site biggestloserclub.com with more than 700,000 subscribers to date, a New York Times best-selling book series, best-selling fitness DVDs, best-selling interactive games, magazines, mobile applications, at-home delivery meal programs, fitness equipment, scales, protein supplements, apparel, a 5K/1 Mile event, refrigerated foods, a Biggest Loser credit card and The Biggest Loser resorts. In addition, he’ll work closely with the network, production team and ancillary businesses to further drive growth of MasterChef, which has spawned product lines including cookware, appliances, cooking classes and cookbooks.
About Populus Brands
Los Angeles-based Populus Brands (www.populusbrands.com) is an innovative brand-building company that drives franchise growth, incremental revenue and consumer engagement for clients. Launched in February 2012 by Chad Bennett, the company builds lifestyle brands, creates strategic sponsorships and promotional partnerships and develops consumer products directly from content creators’ TV, digital and entertainment properties. The company will also represent and work with advertisers, manufacturers, retailers and distributors to immerse them into those properties, allowing them to reach their consumers when they are most engaged. The ultimate goal is to strategically connect all parties directly to content.
Clients include The Biggest Loser, MasterChef, Reveille, Litton Entertainment, Quepasa Corp. and Power Music.
###
For further information, please contact:
Karlyn Nelson / Pascale Marchand – MPRM Communications
323.933.3399
knelson@mprm.com/ pmarchand@mprm.com
Chad Bennett interviewing Kris Jenner and
Jonathan Murray on the building
of the Kardashian Brand
Bennett created and moderated this 2012 NATPE panel entitled "Build Your Brand Before Shooting Your Next Episode - Case Study: The Kardashians"
The question you should be asking yourself is not what my TV show is about, but what is the brand and lifestyle I want to create – then letting the brand drive the TV show. In today's ever-changing media landscape, network license fees and product margins are continually decreasing and the need for strategic partnership to drive direct revenues from royalties and sponsorship fees and indirect revenue from strategic press and marketing is ever-increasing. Companies spend billions of dollars on traditional TV advertising around the :30 spot and as producers we have control over the majority of the time on air around the creation of compelling content through movies, scripted and reality TV. Maximize your show time and your audience engagement by using the show to drive your strategic licensing and sponsorship deals.