Brand integration can drive results, but what is the most effective way to engage consumers? The Design Network’s Jason Harris, Founder & CEO, and Caroline Landry, VP Business Development, share their strategies for successful branded content partnerships. Why are integrated content partnerships important within the broader CTV media mix?
Jason Harris: Brands have found it incredibly impactful and memorable to become part of the storyline in our shows. Our brand lift studies have shown that viewers are much more engaged in the episode and have greater brand recall than during commercial breaks. The key is to make the integrations organic, natural, and not forced. When viewers are interested in a DIY or design project, they genuinely want to know what products are being used, so they often see the integrations as added value. Additionally, we focus on casting expert hosts, and it’s powerful to have our hosts endorsing products and brands in show. Once the integrations are woven into the fabric of the shows, they remain there permanently. With most of our content being evergreen, we program it on our channel for months and even years. Most of our top shows also perform very well on demand for years, so the value for brands extends well beyond an initial launch period.
What should marketers consider ahead of planning a branded content partnership?
Jason: Branded content can be an integral part of a broader branding strategy with multiple touchpoints. It’s also important to align with content that is a natural fit and on-brand, featuring trusted, expert hosts and an audience that matches the brand’s target. It’s best to partner with a channel that provides an appropriate context for the branding and products. Additionally, integrating into successful shows with a loyal, engaged audience is a smart strategy.
How can brands make the most of brand integration partnerships?
Jason: Brands can get the most out of integration partnerships by leveraging cutdowns and clips from the show on their owned and operated platforms, websites, and social media. We highly recommend running ads during the show’s commercial breaks that complement the integration. We’ve also seen great success in building out media campaigns with targeted tune-in video and display ads across the spectrum of TV platforms. Our team creates co-branded display ads that appear on home screens and in the EPGs, which are only available to channel partners or publishers. Finally, extending the campaign on the host talent’s social media platforms can be effective if the host has a scaled reach and a relevant audience.
Walk us through one of your most successful partnerships – what did TDN and the brand do differently to drive results?
Caroline Landry: One of TDN’s legacy partners is Wooster Paint Brush. Four years ago, Wooster was looking for unique, awareness-building opportunities and chose to integrate into what has now become a tentpole show on TDN, Dream Room In A Day. Through contextual integrations that showcase hero products, aligning with a suite of well-respected DIYers, and having a hand both in the creative pre-production and on-set filming, Wooster has seen significant value and differentiation from competitors by partnering with TDN. Wooster has continued to sponsor Dream Room In A Day through its sixth season, launching this Q4, and expanded their partnership with a cross-series integration to further spread Wooster messaging across different contexts of new and upcoming series, including Hometown Heroes and Date My House with Drew Lachey. The key to this successful partnership is collaboration with the brand every step of the way — casting, pre-production, post-production, and media.
Another significant partner of TDN’s is Michaels Craft Store. We recently collaborated on a three-pronged approach, creating two original integrated series (one holiday show and one creator-focused show), plus a tune-in ads package that amplified viewership and further tied the Michaels brand to the two series.
Our largest integration project to date was an original series we produced with Darius Rucker called Rucker’s Reno, where we integrated three brands into various episodes: Kohler, South Carolina Tourism, and CDW.
What are the challenges and benefits for smaller networks looking to expand into the brand integration space?
Jason: Brand integrations require a great deal of planning and coordination. This space demands a dedicated sales team and project management. It’s important to closely align with the brand’s messaging and tone and to obtain approvals throughout the production process. It is a bit of an art form to ensure the integrations flow naturally and don’t come off like ‘The Truman Show’! That can be detrimental to the network, the show, and the brand. The network also needs to have a pipeline of original content in development and be very agile and flexible.
