Quick Facts
Biography
Brendan Gahan is an American social media marketer, public speaker, and YouTube marketing expert. He is the founder of Epic Signal, which later sold to the creative agency Mekanism. Gahan was responsible for creating viral campaigns for clients including Pepsi, Virgin Mobile, Axe, and 20th Century Fox.
A regular commenter on various topics related to YouTube, Gahan has appeared on CNBC, Al-Jazeera, and other shows to discuss how to gain traction online and drive content sharing.
Career
Brendan began his career in social media, being among the first to leverage YouTube stars for brand collaborations.
Later Gahan orchestrated viral campaigns including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals's viral video "Hovercat" and 20th Century Fox's "Ape with an AK-47", which would go on to be the 18th most viewed viral advertisements of all time. He also drove the implementation of the first ever ad integrations on Imgur and Formspring.
Gahan later worked as VP of Brand Strategy for Fullscreen (company), the #1 independent multi-channel YouTube network. He is also on the advisory board for Vidcon, which is the largest annual YouTube gathering.
Gahan is the founder of Epic Signal, a social media marketing business with clients including PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Microsoft, and Uniqlo, among others. In 2015, Epic Signal sold back to Mekanism for "several million."
In 2014, Gahan helped create the "It's On Us" campaign for the White House to combat sexual assault on college campuses. The campaign included Casey Neistat, Jon Hamm, Kerry Washington, Vice President Joe Biden, and Lady Gaga.
Influence
In 2012, Forbes named Gahan one of the "30 under 30: Brightest Minds in Marketing". In 2013, Gahan was invited by President Barack Obama to the White House as one of the '160 finest young leaders' aged 18–35 to meet with Administration Officials to discuss raising awareness of Affordable Care Act among the nation's youth.
Gahan is a frequent panelist and keynote speaker on the topics of YouTube marketing, viral marketing, and influencer marketing, speaking alongside Tim Ferriss, iJustine, Hermione Way, Chase Jarvis, and others. In 2014, Gahan delivered keynote addresses about creating and distributing viral content on YouTube at The Next Web and Playlist Live. He has also been quoted and featured in Yahoo! News, Fast Company, and others.
Gahan has been called the “Don Draper of social video.”