A Raw terroir. It’s not a cider, it’s the media Neo, recognizable by its editorial line which wants to be anchored in French territories and history. In the manner of a “13 hours” of TF1 to the taste of the day, relying on the proximity and the subjects “positive”the journalists of the 100% video media start-up scour France in search of colorful characters to highlight professions, passions and forgotten stories.
“We want to show ordinary people doing extraordinary things”explains Louis Perrin, co-founder and operational director of Neo. Among the biggest successes of the media, the portrait of Martin, a young cabinetmaker of fifteen years wishing to work wood and metal without electricity, alongside that of Marie-Lou, 103 years old, who refuses to close his bar. “The confinement has brought out this need to strengthen the ties between French people from all walks of life and between generations”enthuses one of the other co-founders, Anne-Henri de Gestas.
Like its competitors Raw, Loopsider or Konbini, the start-up is betting on the virality of its content on social networks, relying on the reactions of Internet users, comments and online sharing. Its videos have exceeded the symbolic milestone of one billion views, combining all platforms, since its launch in November 2020.
Localism
Publishing a hundred videos per month, the company says it reaches 30 million accounts monthly. But the economic model of Neo is far from only residing in the click. The media start-up generates 75% of its turnover with content produced for brands (brand content), including Leboncoin, EDF, Groupama, the Chambers of Trades and Crafts, or the Colbert Committee, the lobby of the main French luxury houses.
With the exception of sponsored content, the members of the editorial staff have full latitude to propose their subjects, on another condition: avoid addressing politics and divisive themes. While Neo advocates localism against globalization, is the media a “Raw Right” ?
“We’re entertaining, we don’t want to be attached to a political side”denies Louis Perrin. “Not everything should be politicized”insists Anne-Henri de Gestas, who agrees that subjects on hunting have apparently escaped this golden rule: “We find that it’s not divisive on the left-right axis, we have a tenderness for the reality of ruralities, and then we made four or five subjects out of the 3,000 videos”he said to World.
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