Blowtorch Ignites a New Model to Entertain, Engage and Connect Young Adults

The company was established by senior executives in entertainment, technology and advertising from firms including Leo Burnett, MTV, Ogilvy & Mather, Starcom MediaVest Group, Verizon and major Hollywood studios.

“Our team recognizes that there is an opportunity to build a new type of company focused solely on serving the media consumption behaviors of young adults while providing an experience they can trust and be passionate about,” said Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Blowtorch. “Young adults today do not interact with one media brand, but with many through many channels – online, via text messages and through other traditional media. With Blowtorch, we have set out to build a media company that delivers a consistently compelling experience that will lead to stronger engagement across all the channels our audience uses everyday. And we are confident we have found meaningful ways for marketers to be a part of this experience.”

Blowtorch content will include feature-length films, professional-grade shorts, mobile offerings, an online social community and live events. Its members will help to create, influence and “blowtorch” content made just for them. Blowtorch films will be on hundreds of screens that are geographically concentrated in major cities and large college markets. The company will also distribute its own films and is in negotiations with a variety of theater owners. In addition, Blowtorch has partnered with Vivendi Visual Entertainment to distribute Blowtorch films on DVD.

Added Tom O’Malley, general manager, Vivendi Visual Entertainment, “Blowtorch has the potential to set a new standard for engaging and connecting young adults around a single brand, and we’re excited to help the company expand its presence across our broad network of distribution channels.”

Blowtorch has raised more than $50 million in financing, including an equity investment from Ignition Partners. The investment enables Blowtorch to launch a three-year stream of feature films and short-form content, as well as to build the Blowtorch.com online community. The company’s first feature film release will be “You Are Here” and will debut in theaters in spring 2008. The movie is produced by Blowtorch board member and advisor Paul Schiff, is directed by Henry Pincus, and features an ensemble cast including Bijou Phillips (“Almost Famous”), Danny Masterson (“That 70’s Show”), Michael Biehn (“Grindhouse” and “Terminator”) and Patrick Fleuger.

“Everything Blowtorch does is focused on the 18- to 24-year-old market, from creating and distributing content to developing branded entertainment and selecting venues for live events, and Blowtorch is doing this with maniacal focus,” said Renetta McCann, worldwide CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group and a member of Blowtorch’s board of directors. “The team behind Blowtorch has years of experience targeting the young-adult market and is offering a myriad of new and complementary engagement opportunities which will help advertisers and marketers connect with young adults in an integrated way that was not previously possible.”

In the coming months, Blowtorch will release more details about its future media offerings and projects in development.

About the Blowtorch Team

The founding board and executive team of Blowtorch span individuals with a history of success in entertainment, technology and marketing for a young adult audience. They include: