What Happened
Ford has struck a deal with Go90, Verizon’s ad-supported OTT streaming service, to sponsor its new show The Runner, set to debut on July 1 with three new episodes daily on both Go90 and AOL.com. Throughout the car chase-themed reality show which is executive produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, all contestants will be driving the 2017 Ford Escape, which will be integrated into the episodic challenges. As part of the deal, Ford will air pre-roll spots before episodes, and the show will also distribute Ford-branded content across its social platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat, and Facebook.
What Brands Need To Do
With this campaign, Ford is hoping to reach younger consumers on Go90 who are more likely to be cord-cutters or cord-nevers and therefore harder to capture with traditional TV campaigns. Its deep integration with the show also sets a good example for brands looking to reach viewers on OTT streaming services, showing that with the right sponsorship arrangement brands may just be able to get on the ad-free streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
To learn more about how brands may score new marketing opportunities on OTT streaming services with sponsorships and branded content, please check out the Appified TV section in our Outlook 2016.
Source: AdAge