The Corbett Drummey Interview
Corbett Drummey, the VP of Model Collaborations at Lightricks, brings a wealth of expertise and innovation to the world of promoting and influencer advertising and marketing. Corbett’s entrepreneurial journey started in 2013 when he co-founded Common Pays, a platform that helped the promoting panorama by connecting manufacturers with creators.
Beneath his management, Common Pays achieved milestones, together with participation in Y Combinator, elevating Sequence A and B funding, and facilitating creator-brand partnerships price thousands and thousands. In 2022, Common Pays was acquired by Lightricks, marking a brand new chapter in Corbett’s profession.
At Lightricks, Corbett has been instrumental in integrating generative AI into the corporate’s suite of visible content material creation apps, enhancing the capabilities of creators and types alike. His present position leverages his in depth background in influencer advertising and marketing, specializing in the event and deployment of modern instruments like LTX Studio. This AI-driven internet app is designed to streamline promoting manufacturing, providing unprecedented velocity and management in content material creation.
On this interview, Corbett shares his insights on the journey of Common Pays, the transition to Lightricks, and the transformative influence of generative AI on promoting and influencer advertising and marketing. He additionally discusses the moral concerns surrounding AI in content material creation, the way forward for influencer advertising and marketing, and affords precious recommendation for aspiring entrepreneurs within the tech and promoting house. By his imaginative and prescient and management, Corbett Drummey continues to form the way forward for digital promoting, driving innovation and creativity within the business. Right here is our interview.
1. Background and Journey
– Corbett, you based Common Pays in 2013 and noticed it develop into a major participant within the promoting business. Are you able to share some key milestones from Common Pays’ journey earlier than it was acquired by Lightricks?
Beginning Common Pays was an exciting and life-changing journey. We had some large ups and downs between 2013 after we first launched and 2022 after we had been acquired. I’m immensely grateful for the expertise, however should admit it was additionally an extremely hectic and troublesome enterprise.
Most individuals solely speak in regards to the starting and the tip of a startup, however usually pass over the center, when there actually isn’t a boring second. It was fixed problem-solving. There was the primary Common Pays workplace for me and my co-founders (our home in Chicago), stepping into Y Combinator in 2015 and transferring briefly to San Francisco. In 2017 we raised our Sequence A funding after which Sequence B in late 2018. It culminated in our acquisition by Lightricks in 2022 – our most definitive second for the reason that begin.
As Common Pays, we’ve paid out tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} to creators, which looks like an unimaginable quantity, and did seven-figure offers with large manufacturers. However in reflection, I additionally keep in mind with equal readability our first tiny campaigns that had been only some hundred {dollars} as we had been proving out the platform – which had been equally as thrilling.
2. Transition to Lightricks
– What motivated you to maneuver to your present position at Lightricks after the acquisition of Common Pays? How has your expertise been transitioning from founder to VP of Model Collaborations?
The acquisition was strategic, with Common Pays being lively with model/creator campaigns, and Lightricks figuring out influencer and creator advertising and marketing as an enormous and rising business. Turning into a part of Lightricks allowed our crew to realize extra visibility and a spotlight within the B2B sector. These synergies are much more essential with the daybreak of generative AI instruments – that are equally as highly effective for creators and shoppers as manufacturers and entrepreneurs.
Even throughout the acquisition, we noticed AI on the horizon, however we couldn’t have predicted the magnitude of its influence. In simply the final yr, my position expanded to assist with a stronger B2B rollout of our generative AI platform, known as LTX Studio. It’s been wonderful to get publicity to a brand new product space after a decade in influencer advertising and marketing, and I’ve discovered it energizing engaged on this cutting-edge expertise.
Transitioning away from my obligations with Common Pays in some methods might be robust, nevertheless it’s additionally tremendous rewarding to see progress even after I’m moved off of these groups, and it provides me super confidence sooner or later.
3. Generative AI in Promoting
– Lightricks has built-in generative AI into a number of of its visible content material creation apps. How do you see generative AI remodeling the panorama of promoting and influencer advertising and marketing?
Comparatively early on, the management at Lightricks noticed the facility of generative AI and centered on leveraging it into every of our apps, from Facetune to Common Pays. It gave us the momentum and expertise to ultimately construct new instruments with AI from the bottom up, like LTX Studio. However it could possibly’t be understated that even simply leveraging AI for present workflows on platforms like Common Pays might be full game-changers.
We first launched AI into the Common Pays platform to assist entrepreneurs write briefs extra simply, taking what was once a prolonged course of and turning it right into a three-minute one, leaning on AI and our previous database of 1000’s of briefs to assist flip a fast blurb into an almost-finalized draft transient.
That stage of exponential progress with each workflow and content material prototyping is actually transformative for branded content material creation. Lengthy-term, I absolutely consider that AI instruments would be the main technique that creators use to create content material for his or her viewers or for manufacturers, and we’d see additional developments like AI influencers, hyper-targeted AI content material, and extra. However even right now, AI’s potential to make entrepreneurs 10x extra environment friendly with issues like creator sourcing and vetting shouldn’t be discounted.
4. LTX Studio
– Are you able to inform us extra about LTX Studio, the AI internet app for promoting manufacturing firms and filmmakers? What particular wants does it handle, and what units it aside from different instruments out there?
We expect LTX Studio is the very best platform accessible right now for speedy content material prototyping. You’ll be able to go from a brief artistic blurb to a full mission with video, narration, and sound in only some minutes. It additionally provides you unprecedented management throughout the enhancing course of. You’ll be able to regulate digicam angles, add/take away objects, create constant characters, and tweak issues with wonderful element.
We designed LTX Studio to streamline the artistic course of for promoting, manufacturing firms, and filmmakers to make storyboarding, scripting, and visible idea improvement quick and simple.
For the reason that launch, LTX Studio has generated numerous curiosity, with numerous individuals becoming a member of the waitlist to get early entry. Just lately, we launched the primary main replace, known as “Visions,” which included new workflows like “Script to Storyboard” (however sure, you possibly can nonetheless begin from scratch if you happen to desire), a strong choice to export pitch decks or working video recordsdata, and a mind-blowing “Style Reference” function that may mimic visible types all through initiatives with only a single visible reference picture.
These capabilities permit creators to visualise and iterate on their concepts extremely quick, decreasing the time and price related to pre-production. We additionally launched a brand new tiered pricing mannequin to make sure
accessibility, with choices starting from free entry to enterprise-level plans. Extra updates are coming very quickly.
5. Content material Creation and Distribution
– With over 100,000 items of sponsored content material and 40,000 creator-brand partnerships facilitated by Common Pays, what tendencies have you ever noticed in content material creation and distribution? How is generative AI influencing these tendencies?
One development we’ve noticed over time is an growing shift to video, which continues to right now, with quick kind video like Reels and TikToks changing into the very best participating codecs throughout networks.
With every new community comes a shift in content material. For instance, Instagram was initially clear, fairly and aesthetic, however as Snap and TikTok rose to prominence with Tales after which short-form video, the content material panorama moved in direction of an unpolished UGC really feel – audiences proceed to desire content material that feels real and private.
Apparently, it’s extraordinarily possible that the brand new era of AI instruments will trigger one other giant shift in content material. Additionally, AI-driven analytics can present deeper insights into viewers habits, permitting for extra focused and efficient content material distribution.
6. Impression on Visible Content material Creators
– How has the combination of generative AI capabilities in Lightricks’ apps like Videoleap, Facetune, and Photoleap impacted visible content material creators? Are you able to share some success tales or suggestions from creators utilizing these instruments?
The combination of generative AI in our apps has considerably elevated the artistic capabilities of our customers. As an example, Videoleap permits customers to create professional-quality movies with ease, utilizing AI-driven enhancing instruments that recommend enhancements and automate advanced duties. Facetune’s AI options allow customers to attain flawless images with minimal effort.
One success story that stands out is a creator who used Photoleap to supply a visually gorgeous advertising and marketing marketing campaign for a neighborhood enterprise, leading to a major enhance in engagement and gross sales. The suggestions from our group has been overwhelmingly constructive, with customers praising the convenience of use, velocity, and high quality of the AI-generated content material.
7. Consumer Engagement and Development
– Lightricks’ suite of apps has seen over 730 million downloads and at the moment exports 60 million visible property month-to-month. What methods have been simplest in reaching this stage of consumer engagement and development?
Our give attention to consumer expertise and steady innovation has been key to our development. We prioritize listening to our customers and integrating their suggestions into our product improvement. Common updates with new options and enhancements maintain our apps recent and related.
Moreover, our freemium mannequin permits customers to discover and use our instruments without charge, with the choice to improve for extra superior options. Efficient advertising and marketing campaigns and partnerships have additionally performed an important position in reaching a wider viewers and driving downloads.
Lastly, our dedication to staying forward of technological tendencies ensures that we provide cutting-edge instruments that meet the evolving wants of content material creators.
8. Way forward for Influencer Advertising
– In your opinion, how will generative AI proceed to form the way forward for influencer advertising and marketing? What new alternatives and challenges do you foresee?
Generative AI will revolutionize influencer advertising and marketing by making content material creation extra accessible and environment friendly.
It would allow influencers to supply high-quality, customized content material at scale, which is essential for sustaining engagement with their audiences.
New alternatives embody the power to create extremely tailor-made advertising and marketing campaigns that resonate deeply with particular viewers segments. Nevertheless, challenges similar to sustaining authenticity and transparency will should be addressed. Moreover, whereas AI output is spectacular and enhancing, it’s essential to acknowledge that it nonetheless has some option to go earlier than absolutely matching the standard of human-created content material for remaining or broadcast-quality initiatives.
9. Model Collaborations
– Because the VP of Model Collaborations, what are among the most enjoyable model collaborations you’ve overseen at Lightricks? How has generative AI enhanced these partnerships?
One of the vital thrilling collaborations was with Amazon and PepsiCo Meals US. Common Pays facilitated a marketing campaign to convey social media content material to Fireplace TV by FLVR, a brand new meals leisure channel. The aim was to drive model consciousness amongst house cooks and youthful demographics by that includes recipes with Frito-Lay merchandise.
We engaged fashionable content material creators to supply branded movies, ensuing within the creation and launch of 15 new Fireplace TV movies in lower than a month. The marketing campaign achieved outstanding outcomes, together with 9.6 million whole impressions, a 64% video completion price amongst all audiences, and a 50x benchmark for return on advert spend (ROAS). This collaboration showcased the potential of mixing artistic content material with strategic placement to achieve new audiences and drive full-funnel influence.
Generative AI is barely growing the potential for model entrepreneurs to suppose extra out of the field in regards to the content material they will create, the campaigns they will develop, and the effectivity of constructing model packages.
10. Moral Issues
– With the rise of generative AI, there are additionally moral concerns concerning authenticity and transparency in promoting. How does Lightricks handle these issues?
It actually is a problem, however at Lightricks, we take moral concerns very severely. We consider in transparency and try to make sure that our AI instruments are used responsibly. Our apps embody options that permit creators to reveal the usage of AI of their content material, selling honesty and belief with their audiences.
Moreover, we’re dedicated to enabling open creativity whereas sustaining a powerful give attention to empowering and defending creators. By offering complete pointers and finest practices for utilizing AI in content material creation, we encourage customers to take care of authenticity and integrity of their work.
We additionally prioritize knowledge privateness and safety, guaranteeing that consumer knowledge is protected and used ethically. I speak with numerous manufacturers and creators who care deeply about that. Our strategy is to stability innovation with accountability, guaranteeing that our instruments improve creativity with out compromising the belief and authenticity that creators and types have with us, or that they’ve with their audiences and clients.
11. Recommendation for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
– Given your expertise founding Common Pays and now main model collaborations at Lightricks, what recommendation would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs within the tech and promoting house?
That is an attention-grabbing one. From my perspective, there’s by no means been extra change within the promoting and content material house – and AI has impacted content material greater than every other subject.
I will surely advocate that folks “skate to where the puck is going,” and even construct merchandise with the information that AI will solely get exponentially higher. If one thing with AI sort of works right now, it would have the potential to work amazingly properly in a yr.
Keep curious and adaptable, however actually give attention to what drawback you’re fixing and decide one thing actual. It’s good to work backwards from an issue, not attempt to take an answer and discover an issue. You at all times should care deeply about your founding crew as properly, as choosing the right cofounders shall be about half the rationale you’ll succeed or fail.
Lastly, suppose large. Most issues are much less dangerous than they appear. Plus, arduous issues are motivating and appeal to expertise. It doesn’t matter what you begin, it’ll be arduous, so purpose excessive!
12. Future Imaginative and prescient
– Wanting forward, what are your targets for Lightricks and its suite of generative AI instruments? How do you envision the corporate evolving within the subsequent 5 years?
Our aim is to proceed pushing the boundaries of what’s potential with generative AI in content material creation. We purpose to make our instruments much more intuitive and accessible, empowering a broader vary of creators to convey their visions to life.
Within the subsequent 5 years, I envision Lightricks main the business in AI-driven creativity, setting new requirements for innovation and consumer expertise. We plan to broaden our suite of instruments, discover new markets, and forge extra strategic partnerships to reinforce our choices.
It’s essential to notice that whereas AI is advancing quickly and producing spectacular outcomes, there’s nonetheless a journey forward earlier than it could possibly absolutely match the standard of human-created content material for remaining or broadcast-quality initiatives. We stay dedicated to bridging this hole and constantly enhancing our expertise to fulfill the very best requirements. In the end, we wish to allow creators and types to inform their tales in probably the most compelling and impactful methods potential.