layoffs
Young man's video site Heavy will lay off nearly a quarter of its staff — 25 out of 105 workers — as it cuts costs and spins off its video ad network Husky Media into a separate company. Most of the layoffs will come from tech and ad sales. Heavy co-CEO Simon Assaad told PaidContent the re-org will make the site profitable this year. We're not surprised.
Buying shady traffic cheap and then selling it on to ad agencies at a higher price may not be a way to build a business for the long haul, but it'll get that cash flowing fast.
online video
Already under fire for its racy videos, Heavy.com now wants to bring all of the online-video world into its sticky embrace. Heavy has mastered the art of selling advertisers on wrapping Web videos with advertising banners, like the example above. Surrounding the video itself is a come-on for newly released movies or other similar fare, paid for by advertisers eager to reach Heavy's young-male demographic. But as BrightRoll CEO Tod Sacerdoti
points out in a not-safe-for-work blog post, the result isn't always good for an advertiser's brand. Heavy's anything-goes website is already dangerous territory for advertisers. But a new initiative, Heavy's so-called "Husky Network," could make it trickier yet.
More »
Valleywag
Heavy, one of 400-some online-advertising networks competing to broker banners in a pale imitation of Google, has laid off 14 of its 71 employees. Layoffs and attrition have reduced its staff by almost half since June. [Silicon Alley Insider]
