Federated Media and Ask A Ninja Announce Ask.com's Sponsorship of the Popular Ask A Ninja Online Video Series

June 18, 2007 | 11:30 am

SAUSALITO, Calif., June 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Federated Media Publishing, Inc. and Ask A Ninja are pleased to announce Ask.com's sponsorship of Ask A Ninja, the first-ever feature-driven campaign on the popular online video series. As part of the innovative effort, the Ninja character is inviting viewers to go to Ask.com(R) and search for secret Ninja words, highlighting the search capabilities of the Ask.com search engine.

Ask.com believes Ask A Ninja is the perfect media partner because of the extensible nature and viral aspects of one of the most popular, well-circulated video shows on the Internet. Ask.com and Federated Media collaborated to develop the idea and execution.

"Ask A Ninja represents the inquisitive and fun spirit that we foster at Ask.com," said Greg Ott, vice president of marketing for Ask.com. "Ask.com continues to innovate with ninja-like search advancements."

Each episode of Ask A Ninja is viewed, on average, around 400,000 times by visitors to the show's website, at askaninja.com, and on video syndication portals Revver and YouTube. The show recently won a Webby Award for Best Actor, and was an honoree in the inaugural YouTube Awards. The Ask.com sponsorship will run for about 3 months and each episode will feature a new Ninja keyword to promote Ask's search capabilities

Author-driven, next-generation publishing firm Federated Media (FM) is a pioneer in conversational media. Rather than simply selling the industry standard pre- or post-roll video ads on behalf of its authors, FM starts conversations among marketers, authors and their communities. By doing this, FM helps advertisers become engaged with the author's audiences and start the kind of transparent, authentic dialogue that community members demand.

"The most successful online publications and video programs are two-way conversations in which the 'content creator' hosts a community engaged in sharing entertainment and information," said John Battelle, founder and CEO of Federated Media. "Marketers with the courage to let their brands be a part of those conversations engender trust and affinity among those communities in a way that traditional advertising can't. Ask.com's sponsorship with video podcaster Ask A Ninja is a shining example of conversational marketing done right."

The latest episode of the series, featuring the Ask.com sponsorship and the secret keyword "ningiants", was released late Friday afternoon, and is available at http://www.askaninja.com.

About Ask A Ninja

Ask A Ninja is one of the largest independent video podcasts on the net today, with over 300,000 viewers for each new episode released. Technorati ranks it solidly among its Top 100 Blogs -- more than 3,100 sites link to the Ninja. One of Forbes Magazine's top "Fictional Stars," the Ninja has been featured on CNN and ABC News, and praised in Ad Age, the New York Times Magazine, Wired Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, the Washington Post and on National Public Radio. It is also the recipient of two "Podcast Peer" awards, including one for favorite video podcast. The show won a Webby Award for "best actor" in 2007 and was recognized as "best series" in the inaugural YouTube video awards. Delivering its quirky wit at the speed of lightning, Ask A Ninja is redefining American humor.

About Federated Media Publishing

At FM, we believe great voices attract great audiences. We're in the business of supporting those voices by connecting them to great marketers, as well as providing a suite of services that let authors focus on what they do best: make compelling media. In so doing, we are creating federations of respected voices that prosper on their own terms. Current federations include Sports, Technology, Automotive, Business & Marketing, Media & Entertainment, Momentum, Travel & Leisure, Graphic Arts and Parenting.

    Contact:
    Neil Chase, Federated Media Publishing
    nchase@federatedmedia.net
    415-332-6955 x148