Gaia Costs $25M per Year
Speaking at the McGraw Hill Media Summit this week on building brands in virtual worlds, Matt Bostwick, senior vice president of franchise development, MTV Music Group, told the audience that it's best to start small. Build a small team that can work quickly and then show off the results. Working as a smaller start-up, though, can still be expensive. "We spent $35 million to get started and an average of $25 million on an annual basis to maintain Gaia," said Gaia Online CEO Craig Sherman. Brands wanting in to Gaia, though, typically only have to spend in the $100,000 to $500,000 range. Earlier in the week, Joe Hyrkin, VP Sales & Business Development for Gaia, explained that costs range from about $100,000 to $200,000 for a one-month sponsorship, though Gaia is now beginning to see deals in the higher six figures.
I'm a bit confused about the costs in Gaia. Does the range from $100,000 to $500,000 means per annual? Or is it just a one-time investment to integrate the brand into the world (like Scion)?
And the $100,000 to $200,000 for a one-month sponsorship has to pay for display ads or sponsored worlds like the MTV one?
Posted by: Chris | April 08, 2008 at 10:06 AM
How did Gaia cots 35 mil to get started? It was started by a few friends in a basement!
Posted by: Mindy | April 09, 2008 at 01:21 PM
I wonder about this statement as well. No one else seems to have such huge costs, and frankly Gaia lacks something. I'm wondering if this was a "stay-away-from-our-market" comment.
Posted by: Grant | July 06, 2008 at 10:31 AM
I don't actually believe a word of what that man says anymore.
Has anyone actually investigated all that was said here? He might say this, but is it all really true? If you're going to be a journalist, the least you can do is research the topic first.
Posted by: Alucardalina | May 27, 2009 at 10:54 AM