ViralBrand — Going viral is a moment. Being a viral brand is a system.
Building Viral Brands Since 2004

We build viral
brands.

ViralBrand pioneered the creator marketing discipline — the first influencer events, the first influencer PR box, and the playbook now used across Coachella, Cannes, and every major brand activation. Today we build predictable affiliate campaigns powered by the raving fans of your brand who are also grassroots creators, pro creators, and celebs. 20+ years. Thousands of campaigns. Disney, Chick-fil-A, Paramount, and hundreds more.

Trusted By
DISNEY WALMART PARAMOUNT CHICK-FIL-A WARNER BROS. MERCEDES-BENZ SAMSUNG
The ViralBrand Thesis

A viral brand isn't a brand that goes viral. It's a brand owned by its fans.

Your sales team just got a whole lot bigger.

Going viral is a moment. Being a viral brand is a system.

Chick-fil-A, In-N-Out, Disney — these brands didn't get lucky. They're structurally designed to be powered by communities of fans who drive awareness, engagement, and sales every month.

Our approach is precise: we find the raving fans of your brand who are also grassroots creators, pro creators, and celebs — and activate them. Not random influencers. Your people, with reach.

That's how viral brands get built. ViralBrand builds the system. Then we run it.

★ Heritage

We didn't enter this category. We invented it.

Long before "influencer marketing" had a name — before TikTok, before Instagram, before the word "creator" meant what it means today — ViralBrand was quietly pioneering the playbook now used across every major brand activation in the world.

2005
The First Influencer Event & PR Box. Ever.
We designed and executed the first-ever influencer event — and sent the first-ever influencer PR box — for The Chronicles of Narnia. Neither format existed. We invented both. We also pioneered embeddable video syndication for movie trailers in January 2005 — a month before YouTube was even founded. Twenty years later, every entertainment launch uses the playbook we created.
Category-Defining
2009
Built One of the First Influencer Platforms.
Founded DBA West and built PartnersHub — one of the first influencer marketing platforms in the industry. Later acquired by Gloo (Nasdaq). We weren't writing about influencer marketing. We were building the infrastructure.
Platform Pioneer
2010
The First Live Social Media Chat in Hollywood History.
We produced the first live social media chat in Hollywood history — with a film director, and then with Angelina Jolie promoting their films. We syndicated the chats across hundreds of blogs, reaching millions of live viewers. A decade before livestreamed creator conversations were a category, we built the format.
Livestream Pioneer
2013
The Hollywood Influencer Event Scene.
We pioneered the Hollywood influencer event scene — creating the blueprint that later became the cultural infrastructure of Coachella, Cannes, Fashion Week, Super Bowl weekend, and every major brand activation weekend in LA.
Still the Blueprint
2020
We Helped Launch Amazon Live.
When Amazon opened Amazon Live to influencers in 2020, we were early — activating creators on the platform and helping pioneer the livestream shopping category in the U.S. Before livestream commerce was a buzzword, we were building it.
Livestream Commerce Pioneer
2022
Agency of Record for TikTok Shop's U.S. Launch.
TikTok hired us as their official partner and agency of record to launch TikTok Shop nationally in America. We activated 20,000+ creators and built the early-adoption engine for what's now a category-defining commerce platform.
Platform-Level Launch
2024
Rewrote the TV Launch Playbook.
We designed a first-of-its-kind go-to-market strategy for The Chosen: launching each new season in movie theaters instead of on television to turn premieres into viral cultural events. The result — The Chosen became the only television show in history to gross nearly $150M at the box office.
Distribution Reinvented
Today
We're Still Ahead.
Two decades later, the discipline we invented has become a global industry. Platforms still hire us when they need to launch categories. Brands still call us when they want to build something that hasn't been built before.
20+ Years In
★ The Team Behind The System

Founder-led. Five cities. Built human and machine.

ViralBrand runs as a hybrid operating system. Senior human strategists lead every client engagement. Our ViralBrand Intelligence™ agents handle the volume, speed, and precision work that no human team can match at scale. This is what "Human Influence. Machine Power." actually looks like in production.

Rick Schirmer, MBA
Founder & CEO

Disney-trained, Oxford-educated brand strategist. Pioneered creator affiliate marketing in 2004 at Motive Entertainment — contributing to $2.4B+ in worldwide box office. Founded DBA West and PartnersHub in 2009, one of the first influencer platforms, later acquired by what became Gloo (Nasdaq). Designed the ViralBrand operating system.

Disney · Pixar · Paramount · Walmart · Chick-fil-A · The Chosen
Rachel McCord
Founder

Celebrity entrepreneur, author, producer, and host of Bloomberg TV's "Female Founders." Named "Master of Branding" and "Influencer of Influencers" by the media. Brings deep creator-side expertise to the ViralBrand model — the operator who built one of the most engaged personal brands in lifestyle and fashion.

Bloomberg TV · The McCord List · Fashion · Lifestyle
Five Cities · One Operating System

From the MBS Media Campus in Silicon Beach. Across America.

Creator Lounge • Production Studio • Brand Operations — all from one of Hollywood’s most iconic production lots. Home to Avatar, The Mandalorian, and Marvel.

Los Angeles · HQ Las Vegas Detroit Atlanta Boulder
What to Expect

Organic Collabs vs. Paid Partnerships.

ORGANIC COLLABS TIER 1

Product trade + affiliate commission. No upfront cash.

  • • Creator receives gifted product, experience, or trade
  • • Product value + affiliate commission drive participation
  • • Content is authentic and grassroots by nature
  • • Lighter creative brief — can’t be overly prescriptive
  • • 1–3 royalty-free UGC pieces per creator
  • • Zero per-creator activation fee
  • • Primarily attracts nano & micro creators
The upside: Activate 1 creator or 300 — same retainer price. Product seeding at scale, grassroots engagement, and high-volume posting that triggers platform algorithms. Unmatched value.
PAID PARTNERSHIPS TIER 2

Upfront cash payment. Full creative control.

  • • Creator receives negotiated cash fee + product
  • • Guaranteed deliverables with usage rights
  • • Highly prescriptive creative brief
  • • Professional-grade content for omnichannel use
  • • Content approval before posting
  • • Applies to any tier — nano to celebrity
  • • Per-creator fee applies (negotiated rate)
The upside: Full creative control. Whitelisted content delivers 2–4x CTR vs. brand-run ads.
How outreach works: Your retainer includes outreach credits (~$1/credit). Credits apply to both organic and paid — split them however you want. Discovery methods: The Funnel (scale — 5,000+ outreached/mo, VI™ scored) and The Sniper Shot (surgical — specific creator requests, custom negotiation).
The Offering

Launch a campaign. Prove the model.

Starter

Affiliate Campaign

Short-term activation. One-time build.

A self-contained creator campaign powered by our affiliate engine. Perfect for brands running a product launch, seasonal push, or market test. Proof-of-concept at speed.

  • Targeted outreach to 5,000+ creators
  • ~100 qualified opt-ins from grassroots creators and pro creators
  • Royalty-free UGC for your brand channels
  • Full campaign reporting and tracked results
  • Launch in 10 days. Done in 30.
Start With 100 Free Creators →
The People Behind the Brands

Real creators. Real influence. Real sales.

How It Works

The viral brand flywheel.

01 / IDENTIFY

Find Your Raving Fans With Influence

ViralBrand Intelligence™ identifies the raving fans of your brand who are also grassroots creators, pro creators, and celebs. Not random influencers — YOUR people, with reach.

02 / ACTIVATE

Run Targeted Activations

Our team runs organic collabs, paid partnerships, and affiliate commission structures that turn creators into salespeople for your brand.

03 / COMPOUND

Every Activation Builds

Every campaign spins off affiliate revenue, UGC, ambassadors, algorithm signals, and performance data that sharpens the next activation.

04 / SCALE

Turn Fans Into a Sales Force

Top performers become ambassadors. The network grows. Your brand becomes one that fans advocate for — and sales follow.

Where We Run Campaigns

Built native to every major platform creators live on.

Instagram TikTok YouTube Facebook X Threads
Recent Wins

The brands going viral right now aren't lucky. They activated the right networks of real humans.

Beauty · DTC
#1 Beauty Brand on TikTok Shop
Dr. Melaxin's Peel Shot
Powered by ViralBrand's affiliate creator engine.
Entertainment
3 of the Top 10 of 2025
The Chosen + Top Properties
Top entertainment IPs of 2025 across TV and theaters.
Restaurants · Legacy
20-Year Partnership
Chick-fil-A
Two decades building one of the most beloved viral brands in America.
Brands We've Built Viral For
DISNEY WALMART PARAMOUNT CHICK-FIL-A WARNER BROS. MERCEDES-BENZ SAMSUNG THE CHOSEN
Case Studies

Campaigns that compounded into viral brands.

Platform · Commerce · National Launch
TikTok Shop · TikTok USA
Official partner and agency of record for TikTok's U.S. launch of TikTok Shop — activating 20,000+ grassroots creators to build the platform.

TikTok hired us as their official partner and agency of record for the U.S. launch of TikTok Shop, beginning in 2022. We mobilized our affiliate network of 20,000+ grassroots creators and ran online trainings to teach them how to use TikTok Shop — helping creators turn the platform into a livelihood during harsh winters and hard seasons, and accelerating early seller adoption across the country. TikTok Shop is now a category-defining commerce platform.

20,000+
Creators Activated
Agency of Record
Beauty · DTC · TikTok Shop
Dr. Melaxin's Peel Shot
From new launch to #1 beauty brand on TikTok Shop in under a year.

We activated a grassroots army of beauty creators already aligned with the brand — turning product seeding into an always-on affiliate engine. Creators drove sales. UGC compounded. The algorithm did the rest.

#1
Beauty Brand
on TikTok Shop
Entertainment · Streaming · Box Office
The Chosen
The only TV show in history to gross $150M+ in movie theaters — powered by an affiliate network of 10,000+ creators.

We built and run The Chosen's affiliate network of 10,000+ grassroots creators and pro creators — the largest fan-fueled activation engine of its kind in entertainment. The result: #1 on Prime Video, one of the top TV shows in the world, and an unprecedented theatrical run no other TV series has ever matched.

10,000+
Affiliate Creators
#1 on Prime Video
Restaurants · Legacy · 20+ Years
Chick-fil-A
From regional chain to viral brand sensation — beat McDonald's for the #1 spot for the first time in 50 years.

Our two-decade partnership helped Chick-fil-A grow from under $1B to nearly $25B in annual revenue. We were there when the brand became #1 for kids and family, #3 overall in America, and crossed its first million Facebook fans during the early social era. Today it's a category-defining viral brand — beating McDonald's for the #1 spot for the first time in 50 years.

$25B
Annual Revenue
#1 in America
Faith · Film · Box Office
The Passion of the Christ
The campaign that launched grassroots creator marketing in Hollywood.

Long before "influencer marketing" had a name, we built a grassroots activation engine that mobilized thousands of community leaders to drive record-breaking attendance. The playbook we built here became the foundation for every modern affiliate creator campaign.

$622M
Worldwide
Box Office
Entertainment · Prime Video · Subscription Launch
House of David · Wonder Project
#1 on Prime Video and the flagship launch title for Wonder Project — powered by an affiliate network of 5,000+ creators.

We built and run the affiliate creator network for House of David — 5,000+ grassroots creators and pro creators activated across faith, family, and entertainment. The show reached #1 on Prime Video in the U.S., captivated 44M+ viewers worldwide in 240+ countries, and became the flagship launch title for Wonder Project, the new $8.99/mo Prime Video subscription that hit 500,000 subscribers in its first three weeks.

44M+
Viewers Worldwide
#1 on Prime Video
Beverage · Wellness · Launch to Exit
KeVita
From launch to category leader to PepsiCo acquisition — powered by an affiliate network of LA creators.

We launched KeVita through an affiliate campaign network of LA-based yoga, wellness, and lifestyle creators — activating grassroots creators and pro creators who were already living the brand. The authentic advocacy compounded into category dominance, and the brand went on to become one of the most successful wellness beverage exits of its era.

Acquired
by PepsiCo
Category-Defining Exit
Horror · Film · Viral Campaign
The Purge · Universal / Blumhouse
The viral influencer campaign that turned a $3M horror film into a $500M+ franchise.

Nobody expected The Purge to do well. Industry forecasts had opening weekend under $10M. We designed a viral influencer and blogger campaign that blurred the line between fiction and reality — even standing up a fake Washington D.C. political action committee to get bloggers, creators, and commentators debating whether "The Purge" was a real proposed policy. The film opened at $34M, grossed $89M worldwide on a $3M budget, and became a five-film franchise and TV series now totaling $500M+.

$500M+
Franchise Total
From a $3M Film
What Industry Leaders Say
The Kings of Influencer and Viral Marketing
Frank Yablans
CEO, Paramount Pictures & MGM
Trailblazers for some of Disney's most iconic campaigns
Jeffrey Schwartz
Disney
The 'rock stars' of helping brands make emotional connections
Jody Dreyer
Disney
A viral brand is owned by the people who love it. They drive awareness. They drive engagement. They drive sales. They become the most powerful sales force a brand can have — because they're not paid to promote, they're powered to advocate.
— Rick Schirmer, Founder & CEO
The ViralBrand Ecosystem

Three ways to be part of what we're building.

For Brands

Build Your Viral Brand

Start with 100 free creators matched to your brand. Our gift. A proven way to test the engine and see results before going deeper.

Get My 100 Creators →
For Creators

Get Certified. Get Collabs.

ViralBrand Certified Creators get training, priority access to brand campaigns, invitations to studio events, and a credential that elevates their career.

Become a ViralBrand Certified Creator →
For Strategists

License The Methodology

ViralBrand Certified Strategists learn our system and deliver it to their own clients with our credential and methodology behind them.

Become a ViralBrand Certified Strategist →
★ Creator Central
Live Now
ViralBrand Creator Studio & Lounge MBS Studio Lot · Silicon Beach, California
The ViralBrand Creator Studio & Lounge

A real studio. A real stage. A real home for creators.

The ViralBrand Creator Studio & Lounge is our physical home on the MBS Studio Lot in Silicon Beach — the production home of Avatar, The Mandalorian, and Marvel's biggest shows. We designed it to be Creator Central: a working LED stage, a hospitality-forward lounge, and a gathering place for the grassroots creators, pro creators, and brand partners we work with every day.

Creators come here to shoot podcasts, short-form, branded content, and episodes of The ViralBrand Show. Brand partners come here to meet creators, host activations, and watch their campaigns come to life. It's where Hollywood meets Silicon Beach. Where traditional entertainment meets the creator era. Where viral brands get built.

Studio Address
ViralBrand Creator Studio & Lounge
1600 Rosecrans Avenue
MBS Media Campus
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
LED Stage Podcast Studio Creator Lounge Silicon Beach
The Content Engine

The ViralBrand Show.

Conversations about the creator economy, brand partnerships, and how viral brands actually get built. Filmed live at the ViralBrand Creator Studio on the MBS Studio Lot. Hosted by Rick Schirmer. New episodes weekly.

Start Here

Build a viral brand.

Start with 100 grassroots creators and pro creators matched to your brand. Our gift. Then let's talk about building your system.

Get 100 Free Creators →
✓ 15 Minutes ✓ No Cost ✓ Yours to Keep