Subway in the US is expanding the breadth of its marketing with the sponsorship of an online scripted comedy series.
Its the second online series the sandwich chain has sponsored, with the first in 2012 called The 4 to 9ers.
The latest series, Summer With Cimorelli, centres around six singing sisters who have gained notoriety through YouTube, and will run for six episodes. The target for the show is teenagers and tweens.
The sponsorship takes the concept of branding placement and content marketing to a new level, with Subway to feature as part of the show’s story line. In the first episode of Summer with Cimorelli, the character order Subway to serve at a party, with later episodes seeing Subway included when one of the sisters develops a crush on a Subway employee.
The medium idea of content has been around for several years, with Hollywood having used brand sponsorships in movies and television series, but utilising the web and internet only series’ is bring the concept to the mass market, as a result of its affordability.
The majority of content marketing campaigns are seen through the creation consumer focused magazines and websites managed by brands, mostly in the fashion space.
The show will be promoted via social media, and will be broadcast on YouTube channel, AwesomenessTV.
In Australia, video programming for brands is still uncharted territory, with the majority of innovation coming from the US, although Inside Shopper anticipates it won’t be too long before we see one of the more cashed up Aussie brands turning to the concept in the future.
