Honeyshed's segment on
Alexander McQueen Pumas

Last year, with an infusion of $20 million in seed money, Publicis Groupe, Droga5 and Digitas launched Honeyshed, a quirky online outlet for branded entertainment.

"Based on the idea that people love brands and don't mind being sold to if it's completely transparent," HoneyShed produced its own content, using professional models to demonstrate products in a series of abstract and colorful short videos. "We like to say Honey is the content and the Shed is the community," said CEO Andrew Essex of Droga5 last spring.

The idea was visually interesting but lacked a clear value ad for consumers. Yesterday, after a short-lived promotional stint on Twitter, the site relaunched as a home shopping network for young, fashionable and tech-savvy users.

With buxom hostesses and hip product vendors, HoneyShed now promises users a new discount or deal every day. It hopes to attract a base of 17-27-year-old shopaholics that will both buy featured goods and produce a steady click-through and CPM-based revenue stream. (Advertisers pay a fee each time a video for their product is viewed.)

"We need to move from a creative enterprise to a creative business," said Steve Greifer, HoneyShed's new CEO and former promotions executive at Digitas.

Over the course of its year in experimental beta, HoneyShed has never drawn more than 7,000 visitors per month, according to Compete. (comScore and Nielsen Online did not detect a large enough audience to measure.) The projected amount for the revamped site is 550,000 visitors per month after launch, 1 million/mo. by Feb. '09 and 2 million/mo. by the end of next year — a total of 9 million content views by the end of 2009.

To augment figures, HoneyShed is launching a three-month online marketing campaign. It is critical that the company establish brand awareness and a unique foothold in the market, writes AdWeek. As of now, HoneyShed is perceived as a strange mashup of "e-commerce, entertainment and voyeurism."

Initial visits to HoneyShed.com can be confusing. In an introductory video, three curvaceous models briefly explain the site's purpose ("to bring you the latest fashion, gadgets, beauty, and more"), the "Buy Now" feature (for those that are "just totally ADD,"), and "Stash" — HoneyShed lingo for a shopping cart.

"Stashed" items can posted on to a social networking page, emailed to friends, or compiled to create a personalized channel. To use any features, however, participants must complete a registration process.

Video segments are open to all visitors. One of the most prominent infomercials playing on-site is for a pair of Alexander McQueen Puma sneakers, available only on HoneyShed — likely the result of Puma's recent decision to award its $100 million global marketing account to Droga5.