Quibi is short for "Quick Bites" and it’s a not-yet-launched platform for short-form streaming video content. Movie mogul Jeffrey Katzenburg is the creative brains behind Quibi and his idea is to deliver super-short, mobile-exclusive content you can view from start-to-finish while on the go. JK says Quibi (which launches next year) won’t be a Hulu or Netflix imitator or competitor. Katzenburg told FastCompany: "Our [service] is exclusively about what you do from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on your phone… If you're in our core demographic of 25- to 35-year-olds, you're actually watching 60 to 70 minutes of YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. That growth is now a well-established consumer habit that Quibi is sailing into."
Think short-form-content Quibi will have a short run? Think again. A lot of heavy-hitters are betting big on it. Quibi has raised over a billion dollars from backers at Disney, Viacom, and multiple private-equity firms. It’s also loading up with original quick-bite content from major Hollywood names that include Antoine Fuqua, Paul Feig, and Stephen Soderburg, plus Steven Spielberg, who’ll be helming a horror anthology! (SCORE!)
Advertisers are lining up as well. The curtain doesn’t rise until next April 6, but already Quibi has booked more than $100 million in ad spots from six brands: Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch, Walmart, Progressive, and Google.
Everything about Quibi suggests to us that influencer talent will flock to this new platform in droves. We think the draw for influencers will be the opportunity to get in front of the camera as actors and to get behind the camera as original content creators. Marketers, therefore, will do well to keep an eye on this platform.