Vevo announces Aussie expansion with Steven Sos at the helm

Music video platform Vevo has announced it is expanding into Australia and New Zealand.

Vevo will open a new sales office in Sydney, and has announced that former Shazam Asia Pacific managing director Steve Sos will lead operations.

“It is a very exciting time for Vevo as we bring our mission to maximise the commercial and promotional value of music videos and artist content into Australia and New Zealand,” says CEO of Vevo, Alan Price.

“We welcome Steve to the team and look forward to seeing him successfully lead our office in this growing marketplace.”

New managing director for Australia & New Zealand, Sos said he looks forward to growing the company’s profile in the region.

“I am thrilled to join Vevo with the goal of growing its commercial profile in Australia and New Zealand,” Sos said.

“Vevo’s unique combination of scale and brand safe premium digital video content make it a compelling solution for agencies, marketers and brands looking to deliver impact and effective ROI in an increasingly complex and fragmented media landscape.”

Aussie radio and TV network Southern Cross Austereo previously held exclusive rights to Vevo’s content and digital inventory in Australia, and the news comes a year after Vevo called an end to the relationship.

The decision forced SCA to let multiple team members go from within its digital sales team.

Vevo said it plans to grow its team and develop partnerships with commercial and distribution partners throughout 2020 in order to scale up its operations in Australia and New Zealand.

“With approximately 10 Million monthly unique viewers in Australia and 2.2 Million in New Zealand, expansion into the APAC region was a logical next step for the business,” said Vevo president sales and distribution, Kevin McGurn.

“The reach and results we continue to deliver for marketers and agencies across every screen in North America and Europe are significant.

“I am confident we will do the same for those in Australia and New Zealand looking to align their brands and campaigns with the biggest music stars on the planet.”

Vevo also announced its new Australian team includes Tim O’Connor as head of sales and Thomas Bannon in the role of sales manager, with further appointments to follow in the coming weeks.

Previously set up as a standalone video platform, Vevo dumped its mobile app and consumer-facing website in 2018, in favour of distributing videos through YouTube and Instagram.