Taking an innovative approach to promoting small-business insurance, CJP Digital Media and client Hiscox, created Leap Year, a comedy web TV series that follows five quirky entrepreneurs who take the “leap” and start their own businesses.

The series debuted in June on the Hiscox website, Hulu, YouTube, Inc.com and other sites. 

Hiscox, the first U.S. insurer to offer small business coverage direct, in real time, online and by phone, recognized the unique needs and challenges faced by new business owners and entrepreneurs. Taking this concept from the office to must-see web TV, CJP worked with Happy Little Guillotine Films to develop and produce Leap Year, a 10-episode scripted ensemble comedy that chronicles the adventures of five downsized entrepreneurs.

Co-written and directed by Yuri Baranovsky, Leap Year features an impressive cast of characters including Craig Bierko of Damages, Julie Warner of Crash and Doc Hollywood, as well as CJP’s own Wilson Cleveland, who leads the firm’s digital group.

Leap Year has generated serious buzz from Inc., Portfolio, AOL TV and more. So, what are the critics saying?

• “[Leap Year] is a great template for an original Web series, supported by a brand but not overwhelmed by it.”
  – DigiDay Daily (an Adweek publication)
  

• “Leap Year is unique in the pantheon of web video because it’s branded entertainment, but with an eye on realism.”
  – Mashable

• “It's well-thought-out, well-written that's actually about something…It's this funny and unique thing that might not have been done for TV because there would be seven people saying, "I don't know, that could offend."
  – Craig Bierko in TV Guide

•  “Leap Year not only watches way better than any branded web series I’ve ever seen, but way better than most broadcast television series out today.”
  – Tubefilter

• “[Leap Year] wraps the ambition, greed, excitement, camaraderie, exhilaration and terror into one touching and funny package. You care about the characters, and have a week in between episodes to think about how you got yourself into the life of a small business owner.”
  - The Washington Times

CJP Digital is also the creative force behind The Temp Life, created for client Spherion, which provides staffing services. The Temp Life is widely regarded as the first and longest-running branded web television series. CJP Digital also had a leading role in the popular web series, Easy to Assemble, the IKEA-sponsored comedy featuring Illeana Douglas. Both series were named among the web's five best series in 2010 by Fast Company and Advertising Age.