Karmaloop TV & Pharrell Williams Urge Youth to "Reclaim Your TV" with New Site & Guerilla Marketing Campaign

NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Karmaloop TV, the hugely popular and influential multi-platform programming network designed to help operators "reclaim" viewership among the 18-to-34 year old demographic, today launched www.ReclaimYourTV.com. The site will serve as the centerpiece for a social media blitz that will stretch well into 2012, raising awareness about the power of the "Verge Culture" demo to cable operators and creating excitement among young people for a new network dedicated to their passions.

As a key global purveyor and leader of the lifestyle that drives this multi-screening, tech-savvy demographic, Karmaloop is establishing the planned promotional and social media integration that will be a key differentiator for its cable TV network by allowing young people to get directly involved in this digital revolution. Viewers and fans can win up to $3,500 in weekly prizes by uploading an original video from YouTube to the site, and by tweeting with the hashtag #ReclaimYourTV. Content will include what they want to see on TV, and why a network just for Verge Culture is long-overdue. It’s a 21st century guerilla takeover, waged on social media.

"ReclaimYourTV.com is the frontline of a digital revolution," says Greg Selkoe, CEO and Founder of Karmaloop TV and Karmaloop.com. "It's an interactive community where young people can cultivate and share ideas on what the future of television should be – one that also gives them the tools to be a part of that change on a business level. It will also serve to raise awareness and showcase the voice and creativity of this $100-billion-a-year demographic, giving cable operators authentic insight on how to keep this generation – the first to be raised on the Internet – tuned in to television."

Karmaloop TV's parent company, Karmaloop.com, is an established global hub for verge youth culture, with 4.5 million unique monthly visitors. For years the company has been a pioneer in harnessing the power of social media to give a voice to young people, shape global culture and impact its bottom line. It is one of the world's largest e-commerce sites dedicated to edge-pushing streetwear fashion, with $72 million in 2010 revenues and $130 million in anticipated 2011 revenues.

Karmaloop.com and the ReclaimYourTV.com campaign is fueled by an 85,000-member strong force of online ambassadors: the Karmaloop Rep Program. These "brand evangelists" use Facebook, Twitter and low-cost local and online guerilla marketing avenues to generate approximately 20 percent of the company's total retail revenues. This experienced and energized force will power www.ReclaimYourTV.com and Karmaloop TV's planned promotional rollout across the United States this fall, which will include street teams and nightclub promotions, partnerships and activations at popular art, music and fashion happenings – including Rock the Bells and Art Basel – and targeted "Reclaim Your TV" grassroots activities in targeted markets.

At the ReclaimYourTV.com splash page, site-goers are greeted by a massive, stacked wall of vintage TVs. Some include endorsements by Karmaloop TV's celebrity supporters, more than 100 "iKons" that help shape this ever-evolving culture. These include: music superstars like producer and Karmaloop TV Creative Director Pharrell Williams, Diddy, Nicki Minaj, Keri Hilson, and Gym Class Heroes' Travie McCoy; sports superstars like Olympic snowboarding Gold Medalist Shaun White, NBA great Shaquille O'Neal, and skateboarder Paul Rodriguez; and film and television personalities like Cedric the Entertainer, The Hills' Whitney Port, and Bryan Greenberg, star of HBO's How to Make It in America.

Importantly, most of the screens are set aside for a real-time feed of viral videos and tweets from young people voicing their opinions about why they want to "Reclaim TV" and have their local cable operator carry Karmaloop TV.  The videos and tweets are updated in real-time to the site and voted on by visitors, who can automatically share their favorites with their own Facebook and Twitter followers.

Everyone who uploads a video receives an individual link, which they can also share with their own Facebook and Twitter networks (and encourage them to both experience the site and vote for their favorites). The most popular submissions will receive weekly prizes of Karmaloop.com products totaling $3,500 ($2,500 for the most popular video; $1,000 for the top tweet). Weekly winners also receive a Karmaloop TV-branded prize package, including a "Reclaim Your TV" tote bag and t-shirt with a logo created by internationally-renowned street artist and long-time Karmaloop supporter Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the famous "Obama Hope" poster.

In addition to aggressive promotion via its 85,000 Karmaloop Rep force, the site launch is being promoted to Karmaloop.com's 2-million-strong opt-in email list and its army of Facebook and Twitter fans.

About Karmaloop.com: Karmaloop TV is part of Karmaloop.com, one of the world's largest online retailers of streetwear. The site features apparel, footwear and accessories from more than 500 brands, attracting more than 4.5 million unique visitors per month, with 2010 revenues of $72 million and projected 2011 revenues of $130 million. Reacting to its position at the epicenter of the Verge Culture market, Karmaloop launched its broadband entertainment network, www.KarmaloopTV.com, in 2008. KarmaloopTV.com is projected to garner 40 million views in 2011.

In May 2010, Karmaloop announced its plan to launch Karmaloop TV as a multi-platform, 24-hour-a-day cable programming network, designed to help operators "reclaim" viewership among the 18-to-34 year old demographic.  Funded in part by venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners and spearheaded by former Lionsgate Entertainment and AMC President Katie McEnroe, Karmaloop TV is planning to launch on cable television in 2012.  Karmaloop TV has an equity and representation deal with United Talent Agency (UTA), one of the entertainment industry's "Big Three" talent, literary and sponsorship agencies. In May 2011, Karmaloop TV announced music and fashion mogul Pharrell Williams as the network's Creative Director and a significant equity partner.

Karmaloop.com corporate backgrounder available.

SOURCE Karmaloop TV