Shows averaged 41 minute watchtime per unique viewer on BDM-hosted microsites

From Marshmello and Demi Lovato at the Troubador to Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith’s virtual basketball camp to the Hyundai Elantra Global Reveal, one company was behind all these experiences. Bulldog DM used its expertise to deliver custom livestream experiences from brands and entertainers to dozens of platforms. These streams racked up more than 61 million total views and resulted in an average watchtime of 41 minutes per unique viewer on Bulldog DM-powered, whitelabeled client microsites over the past 12 months. 

In 2020 alone, Bulldog DM powered events with Jennifer Lopez, J. Balvin, and Reba McEntire, to name a few, and worked with brands from AT&T to Hyundai to Gillette. It helped the independent member venues of the National Independent Venue Association raise much needed funds, ran a virtual basketball camp with NBA and WNBA players, made sure New York City high school graduates had a streaming ceremony to remember, and encouraged young women to consider STEM careers in partnership with the Ad Council. 

Bulldog DM streamed these events on every platform and in every virtual environment imaginable, including Minecraft, as well as on dedicated sites custom built for clients’ needs. Growing business 320% over the previous year, Bulldog DM capped off 2020 powering TikTok’s New Years Eve livestream, broadcasting 20 streams across 13 time zones. The experience from that show was paramount to pulling off the Justin Bieber “Journals” Valentine’s Day 2021 show, the most watched livestream of all time by a single artist on TikTok. 

Founded in 2012, Bulldog DM’s success is a natural result of a business that preceded the livestream craze, built on quality creative and technical excellence. “Livestreaming has exploded but the learning curve to deliver a high quality, seamless experience is still high,” notes John Petrocelli, Bulldog DM Founder and CEO. “Our approach of creating custom livestream destinations unique to each client means no two experiences are ever the same.”

In an era where capturing and maintaining audience attention is more challenging than ever before, Bulldog DM’s custom approach ensures audiences remain engaged for longer, resulting in an average watchtime of 41 minutes per unique viewer on Bulldog DM powered white-labeled client microsites. Unique tools such as broadcasting in stereo quality and feeding high quality livestream footage directly into Instagram Live ensure a premium experience, additional key drivers of average watch time. 

By carefully considering the right talent, distribution platforms, and interactive features for every event, Bulldog DM sets the standard for keeping more viewers engaged for longer. For 2021, the company is continuing bringing its bespoke approach to livestreaming. A chief focus is growing its market-leading best practices in the live shopping space, which is ripe for never-before-seen programming. No matter the client, Bulldog DM’s primary goal remains powering experiences that turn fans into participants.

Bulldog DM, the premiere livestream studio, is announcing the hire of veteran entertainment executive Simon Rust Lamb, Esq. as COO and as the co-founding partner of Bulldog DM’s new company dedicated to producing original livestreams. As CEO of the curiosity preservation society, the new Bulldog DM offshoot, Lamb will chart its creative course and develop original livestream programming in collaboration with a diverse range of partners from across entertainment, philanthropy and music. Powered by Bulldog DM’s premium production and unique interactive capabilities, the originals will focus on connecting communities and supporting philanthropic missions. 

“Bulldog’s incredible growth over the last eight years has brought us to a point where we’re seeking investment to expand our capabilities and our creativity,” says Bulldog DM’s CEO and founder John Petrocelli. “Simon’s proven ability to lead a creative company through incredible growth and his passion for livestreaming made him a perfect fit.”

Lamb’s extensive experience in producing livestreams, music festivals, and independent film, along with his long history in journalism, will complement Bulldog DM’s expertise in the production and distribution of custom livestreams for Fortune 100 brands and entertainment companies.

Lamb is a live entertainment strategist and attorney whose practice specializes in large-scale music festivals. He has been deeply engaged with  non-profits, including serving on the boards of Film2Future and Pablove. He formerly worked as COO and General Counsel at Live Nation subsidiary Insomniac, the producer of Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) and other major festivals. Lamb is now applying his experience and creativity to livestreaming. “There’s so much creative exploration to do in livestreaming and Bulldog DM is the most forward-thinking player,” explains Lamb. “It reminds me of when I was throwing raves in the desert: There are no rules, just a chance to create memories and build communities in an evolving space that is very accessible.”

In addition to his role as COO of Bulldog DM, as the CEO of the new offshoot, Lamb and Bulldog DM plan to take a collaborative approach to creating original content in their new partnership. “We want to be a force for good, and we’ll develop programs that will be best served as livestreams that also support this mission,” says Lamb. “Bulldog DM is the best at livestreaming stories for our clients, but now feels like the right time to use our skills to expand our storytelling and create original content."

Livestreaming performances and experiences became The Thing in 2020, but the technology has existed for two decades. Founder/CEO John Petrocelli and the team at Bulldog DM were there at the beginning, mastering the technical and creative aspects of a medium just coming into its own, long before it was hot. They’ve learned its true power: Turning viewers into participants.

Brands, events, and extraordinary artists and entertainers have turned to Bulldog DM to stream their most important moments and connect with their fans or customers, be it via a major auto unveiling or a huge festival or awards show. Bulldog DM knows livestreaming inside and out, ensuring there is no single point of failure and no creative opportunity left unexplored. The company has enabled a wide range of consumer brands, luxury companies, sports franchises, social movements, and entertainment icons to realize their livestreaming ambitions and charitable goals.  Bulldog DM clients include Spotify, NIVA.SOSFest, Procter & Gamble, Netflix, Apple, AT&T, Samsung, American Express, the NFL, Coca-Cola, TikTok, YouTube, Sony, Nestle, Snickers, Hyundai, Tiffany, Hilton, Nissan, Jeep, and Facebook.

Bulldog DM’s clients have learned what the company has known for years: Shared experience is the heart of livestreaming’s power, despite current thinking of the medium as an extension of the nosebleed seats or traditional linear broadcasts. “Our mission is to transform viewers into participants. If you hire Drake and Lady Gaga and it’s just a webcam or surveillance video, you’ll get some viewers, but they won’t stick around or come back or invite their friends. Even if it looks and sounds decent, it’s not collaborative,” Petrocelli notes. “Participatory livestreams are, because they harness conversations, posts and community. They can include camera perspective switching, photo walls, graphic overlays, calls to action, trivia, schedule widgets and all the other cool tools we have at our disposal. When they participate, people watch 20% to 40% longer because they are collaborating.”

Petrocelli never imagined he’d land in Hollywood. He started off in business administration, but longed to apply his skills to more creative projects than traditional sales and management. Together with several tech and media minds from MIT, Disney, and Berklee, he started his first company in Harvard Square, combining new internet capabilities with the creative arts and tackling a range of innovative early internet projects. His interest in entertainment grew and eventually drew him to LA, where he deepened his knowledge of the industry working at William Morris Endeavor, the iconic agency. 

“You can learn the entire entertainment ecosystem if you learn all the ins and outs in the mail room, who does what, where to deliver that script. When I was at WME, it was a time of consolidation and obsession with the internet in Hollywood. The whole industry saw what had happened to music with the filesharing disaster,” Petrocelli recalls. He realized there was opportunity in the challenge. “The logical meeting place was streaming. I decided to jump start a career in that universe.” 

He did, founding a new company to expand the possibilities of livestreaming. Petrocelli aimed to bridge what was still a nascent, enterprise-level technology, translating it into something more approachable and widely available. His company became part of AEG, which brought Petrocelli a new learning opportunity in entertainment and broadcasting. 

One often overlooked aspect of livestreaming is that the format is only as strong as the creative minds behind it, something Petrocelli understood long ago thanks to early collaborations with artists like Prince. Prince needed an online store for fans before ecommerce was widely accessible and Petrocelli helped him build it. “Being around an iconic artist like Prince was mesmerizing. He could be out there with his ideas, he could change his mind, but he was fearless and would try anything. Once he knew what he needed, he would take the risk and put it out there. It unfolded a new world, a shared experience.” 

A key moment for AEG and its talent and events, Petrocelli saw, came with YouTube and its breakthrough success. “I saw the world going in a different way from linear broadcast and cable. Users were consuming that media on a device. We began working with YouTube, clients, and brand sponsors, and by ushering YouTube into the space, we were the engine of their livestreaming.” Petrocelli did not want to stop there, however. “It’s exciting to put a big festival like Coachella onto YouTube. But there were other platforms, and the content could live anywhere. I realized we could become experts in the industry.” Petrocelli and his team were some of the first in the space, and helped nurture the growing awareness and evolution of the medium.

The medium is evolving quickly. Bulldog DM has taken the lead on discovering and sharing best practices for livestreams, creating a range of turnkey services designed to support clients’ needs. From fully managed technical services and pay-per-view options to giving clients complete control thanks to microsites, to streaming across platforms or into novel environments like games such as Animal Crossing and Minecraft, Bulldog DM’s experience allows it to explore all the many possibilities for livestreams.

Petrocelli also helped iconic directors like David Lynch and Spike Lee create collaborative works in their signature styles, working with Duran Duran and John Legend respectively. The choices these directors made epitomized for Petrocelli how creative the combination of sound and image could get, that its power could extend far beyond the concert film or webcam. Bulldog DM brings this appreciation for and desire to cultivate truly innovative expressions to its livestreaming business.

In a moment when livestreaming has become both fad and commodity, Bulldog DM remains committed to quality and unlocking artistry and interaction first and foremost. Passive viewers are not the goal; active participants are. Petrocelli sees the future in this interactivity. It will change how we shop, how we experience artistic performances, and how brands create buzz. “Livestreaming at its best unlocks watch time; it’s not about viewer numbers,” Petrocelli reflects. “More watchtime means you have more opportunity to tease your product or discuss things or demonstrate your values as an artist or brand. That’s the real differentiator,” and the true power of livestreaming.