Chuck Huebner, president and CEO, Big Stage, announced an addition to the company's executive ranks with industry vet Jonas Gray as SVP of marketing.
Gray, who has spent nearly 20 years creating synergies between brands and consumers, will help identify and implement strategic marketing partnerships for Big Stage, and drive overall branding, product marketing, and communications efforts on behalf of the company.
Big Stage is a media company that creates for consumers, with three simple pictures taken on a digital camera, a photo-realistic 3-D avatar called an "@ctor" is born.
The @ctor can be accessorized and inserted into an array of digital content, including famous movie scenes, TV shows, video games, music videos, short video clips, virtual worlds, still images and user-generated content. These highly-personalized "Scenes" can then be shared by users across instant messages, e-mails, social networks and more -- instantly.
"Jonas' boundless energy and his ability to see the applications for Big Stage's technology in nearly any marketing mix makes him extremely valuable to most any company and especially a start-up like us," said Huebner. "In addition, his experience across an array of industries from entertainment and promotional marketing, to entrepreneurial business development and new technology, allows for an insight that's critical to our company."
A pioneer in the digital and entertainment marketing industry, Gray brings 19 years of experience to Big Stage. Most recently, he served as Corporate VP of Worldwide Business Development at EMAK Worldwide, a leading marketing conglomerate that includes agencies Upshot, Equity Marketing and Logistix; and VP of New Ventures at Interpublic Group's Foote Cone & Belding (FCB), where he led new business efforts for the company's Southern California division, and provided branded entertainment and new technology opportunities across the client base. Concurrently, he served in a similar capacity at FCB's promotional marketing subsidiary at the time, Marketing Drive Worldwide.
Prior to joining FCB, Gray served as VP, Global Client and Strategic Development at WPP Group's Maxx Marketing, a leading promotional marketing agency under Ogilvy.
Gray recently positioned Big Stage to be part of Intel Corporation CEO Paul Otellini's keynote at the 2008 International CES, where Big Stage did a compelling on-stage demonstration on how its technology will power the next generation of the personalized Internet (from games to video and virtual worlds). He also oversaw the company's first licensing agreement, a partnership with Sony BMG that allows consumers the ability to insert themselves into Michael Jackson's role in his seminal THRILLER video, as part of the album's 25th anniversary celebration.
"From the first time I saw Big Stage's technology, I knew I needed to be a part of the company -- what we are doing is truly game changing and enduring," said Gray. "From an entertainment perspective, consumers can interact with content in a way that's never been done before, literally joining in on the action. From a marketing perspective, brands can create innovative digital experiences that set a new standard in engagement and viral pass along, overcoming many of the limitations of traditional advertising."
Big Stage's proprietary 3-D capture technology will automatically map the contours of a user's face to generate an incredibly accurate replica that is fully-equipped for animation. In less than a minute, an @ctor is born and alive with realistic movements and gestures. Users can then style it with a host of accessories, from hair to eyeglasses, tattoos, hats and more. After users create and style their @ctors, they can drop them into the library of Big Stage-enabled user- and professionally-created content or Scenes. Big Stage will officially launch to consumers in the second quarter of 2008.
