I’m a big fan of brands and media properties partnering together, especially when they have a common equity that can make the partnership even more powerful. That is just the reason I love this latest deal between location-based service Whrrl and HBO’s Entourage (which looks to be another great campaign by the team at Deep Focus). In the partnership, the five major characters from the show have profiles listing the favorite places in Los Angeles, along with a short description of why the restaurant / bar / place is important to their lives. Whirrl & Entourage promote this integration as:
“It’s all about who you know and where you go. These guys not only live the lifestyle, they define it. Take a look back at the Hollywood hotspots where it all happened.”
Talk about a great way of combining equities. Whrrl is trying to establish itself under the tagline of “The people you know, the places they go.” What better way to build this equity than by leveraging a show about a group of friends that includes more than its fair share of cameos of LA hotspots. And Entourage gets to build a Brand Experience, extending it behind being just a 30 minute TV show on once a week.
Deals like this are the way for Web 2.0 to create a revenue stream. And deals like this are how brands can play in the sandbox without relying on banner ads or other interruption marketing techniques
In fact, these types of partnerships might just be the future of digital marketing.
Brands need to build an experience…they need to create Brand Utility for consumers. Nike was able to do it for shoes and sporting equipment. Now Entourage & Whrrl show it is possible for TV shows and Web 2.0 companies. How is your brand going to create Brand Utility and become a service to your consumer?
[...] Did you love it when the characters from Mad Men started posting on Twitter? Around here we think this is a great creative twist on using social media to make a connection between fans and the characters they love (or love to hate). We’re excited to be working with the folks from Deep Focus on this promotion – these are people who get the power of social media. [...]
[...] Deep Focus, a digital shop who is doing some of the most amazing work I have seen (just check out their latest with Entourage). Ian is always willing to push the envelope. For instance, a couple of months ago he auctioned [...]