Official Industry Press Release
TORONTO, November 19, 2019 – One social video publisher is obsessed with boiling down complex subjects in a fun and engaging way. “The purpose of What If videos is to tell great stories about science that educate and inspire Millennials to live more informed lives and create a more understanding world,” said Steve Hulford, co-founder and CEO of Underknown who started the company in his living room three years ago as a response to the lack of positive content on social media.
Underknown’s unique way of explaining science has resulted in What If becoming the #1 Science & Technology video publisher according to Tubular Labs. It is also attracting attention with an invitation by the U.S. House of Representatives to attend Digital Day on the Hill in Washington, D.C. and for Hulford to speak about Digital Strategy at the World Congress of Science & Factual Producers in Tokyo this December. “I want to thank our 14 million What If followers around the world for their support, their 100,000 What If question submissions, and our incredible team of storytellers for their ability to inspire others to discover the known and unknown universe,” said Raphael Faeh, co-founder and Head of Product.
What If is a video series on social media that takes you on an epic journey through hypothetical worlds and possibilities, some in distant corners of the universe, others right here on Earth with popular videos that have generated over 2 billion video views including: What If the Sahara Desert Was Covered With Solar Panels? What If Another Sun Entered Our Solar System? What If You Stopped Sleeping?
But what may be the most interesting What If is how these questions work in our brain. “We always knew that our audience kept things very civilized when commenting on What If videos, but we didn’t know why. After some research we learned that when you ask a normal question, your brain quickly uses previous information to create an acceptable answer. With a What If question, your brain holds no previous answers, so it heads to a different part of the brain where you use your imagination to construct an acceptable answer. So, What If questions literally open your mind to new possibilities,” added Hulford.
Brands can now access the unique storytelling talent behind What If with the launch of the Underknown Brand Studio for branded content, custom content, licensing and sponsorship opportunities. This unique storytelling has attracted clients like Greenpeace and Adventure Canada. “We are open to working with brands who share our values. Asking questions is our craft, if we find a kindred spirit in a brand partner, we would love to work together” Hulford emphasized.
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About Underknown
Based in Toronto, Canada, Underknown produces What If videos in English, Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin for its social media channels on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and whatif.show to over 14 million followers monthly and licenses its videos to publishers around the world. Underknown has raised $2.5 million in capital and debt to date. What If videos are made possible with the support of Ontario Creates. For interviews or opportunities, contact co-founder and CEO Steve Hulford.
