Pulse Network leading digital media revolution

The Pulse Network produces cutting-edge "social TV" at its state-of-the-art studio on Turnpike Street.

Imagine a world where traditional television programs become obsolete, where content remains king but it is packaged and distributed in an entirely different way across a variety of platforms, where the line between viewer and producer is blurred almost beyond the point of recognition.

Welcome to the world of social TV, a highly interactive and integrated approach to video production that taps into the vast potential of social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and Skype. Already an industry buzzword, social TV has been gaining steam among the major television networks and is poised to explode onto the scene in 2012 and beyond.

Believe it or not, one of the early leaders in this emerging field is a company based right here in Canton — the Pulse Network, a self-described “content creation factory” specializing in the production of “Enterprise Social TV” for dozens of leading business and consumer brands.

In layman’s terms, the Pulse is a marketing firm, an event management business, and an online television network all rolled into one. Previously operating under separate business units — including CrossTech Partners and CrossTech Media — the company merged its operations and rebranded itself as the Pulse Network in July 2011.

Tucked away in a nondescript industrial building on Turnpike Street, the Pulse is headed by brothers Stephen and Nick Saber, who both had years of experience in the IT field before starting their respective CrossTech brands in the early 1990s.

Two years ago, when the company decided to dive headfirst into the social TV waters, the Sabers hired Butch Stearns, a Braintree native and a popular Boston sports media personality, to head up the TV studio and production team as vice president of content delivery.

At the time, people didn’t know what to make of the hire, and Stearns, who had just left Fox25 after ten years as a sports anchor, initially had his own questions about the fit.

“I had honestly zero expectations,” said Stearns, recalling his interview with the Sabers in January 2010. “Who were these guys in a warehouse in Canton? So they started talking to me and I realized two things right away: one, that they were serious business people, and two, that they were interested in me. And so I was really intrigued because I needed a job, and I realized these guys had something to offer.”

Ironically, it was the website that Stearns had built — the butt of many jokes among his colleagues at sports radio WEEI — that convinced the Sabers that Stearns was a guy who was “making the leap” into the world of digital media.

For Stearns, that leap involved territory he was familiar with, such as hosting TPN’s original sports programs, as well as plenty of areas that were relatively new to him, including social media marketing and emerging technologies.

“Before I was talking [exclusively] sports, but now I’m talking business and I’m talking the digital media business and Enterprise Social TV,” said Stearns.

It was a steep learning curve to be sure, but the same can be said for the entire Pulse team, which has spent the better part of two years working and reworking its vision into a singular, overarching mission statement.

“I think we’ve now reached the phase where we’re past having a definition of the solution,” said Pulse President Nick Saber. “When we started this mission a couple of years ago, we didn’t know what the heck the Pulse was going to be. We didn’t know what our products were going to be … We’ve reached a level of maturity now that we’ve got products, we’ve got packaging, we’ve got solutions that work.”

Among those who have been instrumental in this process is Allen Bonde, who was brought aboard in July to serve as the company’s chief marketing officer. With 20 years of experience as a marketer, researcher, and internet executive, Bonde has helped the Pulse understand that it has “a story to tell,” according to Stearns.

He also helped steer the company toward its “sweet spot,” which has at its core an emphasis on marketing, and in particular business-to-business (B2B) solutions.

For instance, whereas the network initially offered seven hours of live, original programming five days a week on its website (thepulsenetwork.com), they now use the studio increasingly to produce a variety of programs and webinars for clients.

“We might have started off building programming; now we’re building engaging, entertaining content for businesses,” said Bonde, referring to Pulse products such as “Executive Brief 3.0” and “Webinar 3.0.”

Besides producing and hosting videos, they also offer a range of marketing services, from strategy building to online distribution to “community building” on websites and online forums.

“So it’s one part web design, one part video production, one part social media, and one part strategy,” Bonde explained.

To CEO Stephen Saber, a big key to the company’s success thus far has been “understanding what you are good at” and then “bringing on the right people.”

“They always say your team is what makes you successful,” said Saber, “and there’s no question that in our business it’s the team that’s made us successful and kept us going.”

And the team is not simply limited to high-level executives or high-profile talent like Stearns.

Through an aggressive internship program, the Pulse has been able to attract and develop at least seven new employees, including Canton resident Pat Leonard, who took an unpaid internship after graduating from Curry College in 2009.

Canton native Pat Leonard

“I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of working for free, but I knew that that’s what you have to do in order to get noticed,” recalled Leonard, who now works for the Pulse full-time as a digital production associate.

A 2005 graduate of Canton High School, Leonard studied TV production under Ed McDonough and was named the winner of the school’s Excellence in TV Production award in his senior year. He recently returned to Mr. McDonough’s class, where he spoke to a group of students about his new career in a rapidly changing field.

Currently, Leonard’s job consists of post-production and pre-production work, including editing content and building graphics for the network’s various programs. However, he has also done everything from market research to camera work for a live event.

“Since day one, I’m always learning something new here,” said Leonard, who drew praise from Stearns as a “real success story.”

Stearns also sees a parallel between Leonard’s rise from intern to valued employee and the company’s growth and development over the past two years.

“What I’m most excited about is that we have an opportunity here to build something special,” said Stearns, echoing a sentiment shared by the company’s two founders.

“I think we are on the verge of an explosion,” predicted Stephen Saber. “I think we have found ourselves really at the epicenter of a new movement. We’ve been able to position ourselves very strongly for where the industry is going. The timing is right — we’re not too far ahead, but we are ahead of the curve.”

The key for Pulse, according to Nick Saber, is that it can see the future of media but has the tools to execute what companies want in the present.

“Customers are sick and tired of being talked to; they want to be responded to,” he said. “Social allows you to talk with your customers rather than talk at your customers.”

“Every company is a media company whether they know it or not,” added Stearns. “It’s about ‘narrowcasting’ now. It’s not necessarily about delivering the largest audience; it’s about delivering the right audience.”

And if they can pull that off, Stearns sees TPN emerging as a force within the new media landscape. His ultimate hope, in fact, is to make “a lot of money” and to help build the Pulse into a “huge company” — at which point they would likely move into a sprawling headquarters in a high-profile location, perhaps even a big city like Boston or New York.

In the meantime, however, Stearns appreciates the company’s humble exterior and the fact that it’s not too far from home.

“Honestly, in this day and age and in digital media, where your business is located really means nothing,” he said. “It could be anywhere, but the fact that it’s here [in Canton], for me being a local guy, it’s cool. It’s really cool.”

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=11334

Posted by Jay Turner on Feb 1 2012. Filed under Business. Both comments and pings are currently closed.