The Suite Spot: The Reel Deal
By: ninalubrano | Published: June 10, 2009 | Filed under: Shiner Profiles
It’s an unseasonably balmy evening in late April and ReelTag CEO Jean-Sébastien Brettes is sipping a glass of wine at a café a few blocks away from his office at Sunshine Suites on Lafayette Street. He has intense hazel eyes, a subtle five-o’clock shadow, a French accent—in short, the person you’ve always hoped was on the other end of your internet dating correspondence.
Raised on the Ivory Coast, Jean-Sébastien began his film career working on multimedia projects for the Tunisia tourism board, followed by successful stints in advertising and feature films. In December of 2006, he noticed how significantly the cost of producing digital films had dropped. Seeing an opportunity, he founded ReelTag, whose goal was producing custom, internet-ready marketing videos at a reasonable price point.
“The tools were there, the online market was there, and the demand was there,” Jean-Sébastien says. All he needed now was an office space. He toured a few office spaces for rent in New York, but, as he puts it, “When I saw Sunshine Suites my search ended.” Sunshine’s appeal was manifold – chic décor, meeting spaces, powerful internet network, and a coveted downtown address.
“We are in the center of New York,” he says, gesturing elegantly around. “Clients see your address and they pay attention.” He also found the interior design a major draw. “Clients come into the space and they say, ‘Wow, it’s beautiful.’ It’s very dramatic, very modern, very appealing.”
Another positive aspect of Sunshine Suites is the flexibility. “In New York you can get stuck with a three year lease, but this is monthly. Also, Sunshine allows me to upgrade. When I have a major project, I can request more space, more services.”
And, as is perhaps most vital to his business, Jean-Sébastien loves the networking. “I see this as a place for a person who is open, who doesn’t do ‘sales and marketing’ in a typical way. It’s the perfect environment to meet the right people to develop your business.”
In the past three years ReelTag has gone from servicing small businesses and artists for three to four thousand dollars a pop to major Fortune 500 companies whose budgets climb into the millions, and Jean-Sébastien credits Sunshine for much of this growth.
Case in point: while at Sunshine, he met Matt Cronin, the managing partner of Web Liquid an online marketing and consulting company. Together they partnered to produce a stunning piece of branded filmmaking for British Airways called “Open Skies” promoting BA’s new business-only service to Europe.
“My success is completely due to the environment of Sunshine,” he concludes. “I estimate that 80% of my business comes from Sunshine. If you take advantage of the proximity to other companies, other agencies, and the social events, the screenings, believe me, you will be successful.”
To learn more about ReelTag and Jean-Sébastien visit ReelTag.com
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thats great to know jean sebastien brettes….ive visited sunshine back in april and was moved by the whole thing….i will be joinging u guys real soon….look forward to networking with the whole team….we specialize in music, catering to producers, musicians and also artist developement…see u soon.
Richard Garcia
MUSICLASS101
There is evidently a lot for me to learn outside of my books. Thanks for the great read,