A Brief Overview of Creatd, Inc., the Parent Company Behind Vocal

(Disclaimer) If anyone from Creatd, Inc. is reading this article, please note that it was written in good faith with the sole purpose of introducing Vocal’s parent company to the users of the platform. Any errors in this article can be attributed to my lack of research skills and/or misinterpretation of source material. Please do not sue me.

Introduction

As of September 30, 2022, the Vocal platform exceeded 1.5 million registered creators and over 100,000 premium memberships. Through the use of bonuses, challenges, per-mille (thousand) monetization and more, Vocal built a space where creativity was not only cultivated but also rewarded. This continues today with recent notable beneficiaries announced on March 30, 2023 as winners and runner ups in the Under the Purple Clouds Challenge.

With such a vibrant and active community being rewarded on the internet one may wonder what Vocal really is. How did it start, who runs it and what else, if anything does Vocal do? To answer these questions we would need to look past the Vocal platform and acquaint ourselves with another company.

CREATD, INC. ($VOCL as of April 3, 2023, formerly listed as $CRTD)

Creatd, Inc. ("Creatd") is a publicly traded data company dual listed on both the OTC market and on Upstream, an exchange and trading app for digital assets (stocks, NFTs, etc.) It was founded in 2013 by Jeremy Frommer, a 20 year Wall Street veteran, and Justin Maury, a full stack designer and product developer in the creative industry. Together, they shared a vision where individual creators and corporate brands would be able to obtain economic opportunities on a global platform. They set about creating that platform and in 2016 Vocal was launched.

Since then Vocal became Creatd’s flagship product, giving creators the ability to reach over 175 million people worldwide. But it is not Creatd’s only darling. In fact there are many businesses under the Creatd umbrella, each of which are housed in one of the company’s 4 main pillars: Creatd Labs, Creatd Partners, Creatd Ventures and Creatd Studios. Each of these pillars feed into one another, generating products, ideas and revenue for the company.

Pillar 1: Creatd Labs

This is where the proprietary technology for the Vocal platform is housed. It consists of the platform itself as well as the 40 Vocal creator communities. Revenue is generated through three main ways:

(1) monthly subscriptions from Vocal+ members

(2) platform processing fees from every tip and pledge, and

(3) technology licensing fees for companies looking to create their own communities on the Vocal platform.

This is also where established brands could partner with Vocal. An example of this is Vocal’s partnership with Unsplash. This gives creators the ability to add free, usable imagery to their content while giving Unsplash the opportunity to expand their reach. This feeds into the second pillar of Creatd businesses.

Pillar 2: Creatd Partners

This pillar focuses on cultivating partnerships with established brands. These brands include Unsplash, Moleskin, Vimeo and many more. This is done through several services, each with their own focus:

Vocal for Brands

This service provides content marketing for business and organizations through the Vocal platform. Brands mainly do this by creating or sponsoring articles. This way they are able to foster a more personal relationship with their target audience and build trust with their consumers. An example of a branded article, sponsored by the jewellery brand, Charles & Colvard, can be found below. (If you click on it you will see the brand's support tag beneath the author.)

Another way brands use this service is by sponsoring challenges or whole communities. An example of branded challenges is the Little Black Book Challenge sponsored by Moleskin, which generated interest in both Moleskin products and Vocal+ subscriptions (that was how I subscribed as a Vocal+ member.) Meanwhile the Fiction Community is currently sponsored by Unbound, a crowdfunding publisher that helps creators publish their books.

WHE Agency

This service taps into the power of influencer marketing, partnering brands with influencers around the world. These influencers are curated by the WHE Agency, which helps pair them with established brands and foster creative collaboration. While this looks like it's mainly done "off Vocal," any influencer who posts on the platform will also bring their audience with them and grow the Vocal community.

Seller’s Choice

Finally, this service focuses on performance marketing and provides brands with the tools they need to reach their target audience. Services include SEO optimization, website design and development as well as marketing and advertising.

Pillar 3: Creatd Ventures

This pillar focuses on cultivating entrepreneurs and creator-led brands. Recent partnerships include:

Plant Camp, LLC - A Direct to Consumer (DTC) food brand that puts healthy spins on classic comfort foods.

Dune, Inc. - Another DTC brand. This one promotes wellness and beauty through their Dune Glow Remedy beverage line.

Denver Bodega, LLC (dob Basis) - Another DTC beverage brand that focuses on providing high-electrolyte drink mixes.

These products help diversify Creatd's investment portfolio while helping the venture business scale their ecommerce brand (see the services available in Pillar 2: Creatd Partners.)

Pillar 4: Creatd Studios

Last but not least, Creatd Studios serves as the company’s transmedia branch. Through this pillar, creative works are transformed into films, podcasts, published books and more. This branch also houses Creatd’s NFT and AI sandbox, OG Gallery and OG AI. Both assets are registered creators on the Vocal platform and help expand the company’s reach in these fields.

Last Words

On March 31, 2023 FINRA approved Creatd's ticker symbol change from $CRTD to $VOCL, effective April 3, 2023. It is anticipated that Creatd, Inc. will also change its name to Vocal, Inc. in the near future. This is part of a larger restructuring which would see the company split into "...three distinct publically traded companies..." How that will affect the Vocal platform (if at all) remains to be seen.

In my personal opinion the fact that the company wishes to officially change their name to Vocal, Inc. shows that they recognize Vocal and Vocal creators as core to, if not the core, of their business. In light of these major changes I think it's worth keeping an eye out for any corporate announcements made this year.

Hopefully this article shed a little light on Creatd and its many ventures. Personally, the only Creatd product I use (that I know of) is Vocal, but if anyone reading this used any of the additional products or services mentioned above please let me know in the comments below.

Lastly, this is not a sponsored post. This article was written after I fell down a Google and Youtube rabbit hole. An example of a sponsored post can be found in Pillar 2: Creatd Partners above.

Most of my research was concentrated on the company’s most recent investor presentation (which was Q2 2022) and its most recent 10-Q (the financial statement for Q3 2022). The annual report for the 2022 fiscal year should be released in April or May, 2023. Please note that I am not proficient in reading or interpreting corporate financial statements and so refrained from commenting on Creatd's fiscal health.

I hope you found this article both interesting and informative.

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Sources:

"Corporate Governance." Creatd, Creatd, Inc. 2023, https://investors.creatd.com/governance/default.aspx

"Creatd, Inc. (CRTDW) SEC Filing 10-Q Quarterly Report for the period ending Friday, September 30, 2022." www.last10k.com, November 16, 2022, https://last10k.com/sec-filings/crtdw

Creatd, Inc. Creatd, Inc. Q2 2022 Investor Presentation. 2022, https://investors.creatd.com/news-and-events/presentations/default.aspx. Powerpoint Presentation

"Press Release Details." Creatd, Creatd, Inc. 2023, https://investors.creatd.com/news-and-events/press-releases/press-releases-details/2023/FINRA-has-approved-Creatds-Symbol-Change-to-VOCL-from-CRTD-Effective-Monday-April-3-2023/default.aspx