SANTA MONICA, CA, September 12, 2008 - Olivier Katz has been named President of The Viral Factory North America. With offices in the US and UK, The Viral Factory is a digital marketing and media company whose recent credits include a string of award-winning projects for Samsung. Their online campaigns have generated over a billion views on behalf of such clients as Sony, Paramount Studios, Microsoft, Google, and Unilever.

Katz (pict., r.) is a 25-year industry veteran with senior-level managerial experience in Entertainment, Television, Advertising and Media. Most recently, he served as an Advertising and Marketing Consultant, providing expertise on integrated and new media as well as branded entertainment strategy and execution to such brands as AT&T, Coors Molson, Activision, Dex media, Exxon Mobile, and PepsiCo (Quaker Foods, Tropicana, Gatorade, and Frito Lay).

"I don't know of anyone with a set of experiences as diverse, and uniquely suited to The Viral Factory, as Olivier," said TVF Senior Partner Don Block. "He is the perfect person to focus on expanding the company's identity while maintaining and nurturing its core creative genius."

Katz, whose work in new media predates even his role as Executive Producer of South Park's famed "Santa versus Jesus" video - arguably the first viral - agreed that The Viral Factory provides "the ideal platform to leverage my history. TVF has the right idea at the right time."

Exploring un-charted territory is the hallmark of Katz's career. A film purist, he started out as an Assistant Director to many renowned French filmmakers, and Walt Disney Studios in Paris, Monte Carlo, and Burbank. As an editor, he worked with ABC, Dick Clark Productions, and Paramount Pictures. Between 1980 and 1993, Katz produced over a thousand commercials and music videos, garnering the Grand Prix, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Lions at Cannes, dozens of Clio Awards, and other industry accolades. 

In 1993, Katz Co-Founded Celluloid Studios, which grew into a leading animation production company boasting agency and advertiser credits including Leo Burnett, DDB, FCB, General Mills, P&G, Nintendo, and Bud Light. The studio pushed the boundaries of commercial and TV production with seminal, award-winning work such as the South Park pilot, and the creation of online interactive entertainment website BunnyGrenade.com.  

Seeking to break more ground, Celluloid Studios spawned multi-million dollar spot and TV production company Visitor LLC, as well as Chicago and LA-based agency Fusion Idea Lab, a visionary endeavor that explored new media opportunities with Fortune 500 companies such as Anheuser-Bush (U.S and Europe), Fox Network, Expedia, Orbitz, and Motorola.

Katz was exposed to the distribution side of content creation as President and Founder of BOB - Brief Original Broadcasts - in 2001. A cable and satellite television network dedicated to the broadcast of short programming, BOB created, and developed an innovative programming concept, a new television advertising paradigm and unique business and financial model that would soon become a core element in media and marketing.

In his next role, as a media and programming consultant to brands, Katz refined his approach to narrowcasting. He developing business and creative strategies for media and media-related companies, seeking exposure to specific audiences. Katz designed all aspects of programming (conceptual, production an acquisition) for multiple platforms (IPTV, narrowcast networks, broadband, cable and satellite TV) for such clients as Comcast, Gotuit Media Corporation, ATT U-verse and Adbeast. It is this perspective that he brings to The Viral Factory. "We find a niche viewer and create an immersive experience in which that audience invites us into their space," Katz explained. "It's a truly interactive experience."

Katz said his goal is to expand the role of the digital marketing and media company as a business model, harnessing all the potential and possibilities of the medium. He added that technology, too often dismissed in the viral marketing dialogue, will be a key area of focus and will include the development of proprietary technology to place and track media. 

"The Viral Factory was and continues to be a pioneering viral marketing company and its founding partners (Ed Robinson, Matt Smith, Rich Carter, and Block) are committed to maintaining a leadership position in the industry," Katz stated. "The opportunity to help grow the company into a broader digital marketing and media company alongside inspired and talented people was the primary factor in my decision to come on board."