NickSplat Channel Launches On VRV With Nostalgia-Driven Marketing

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Nostalgia marketing is in full swing at OTT service VRV as it announces the on-demand debut of NickSplat. Nickelodeon’s ’90s show line-up is going on the road with a series of experiential pop-ups designed to recreate audiences’ TV childhood.

Nickelodeon has partnered with VRV (pronounced “verve”) to bring its NickSplat TV line-up to OTT for the first time. VRV is a fan-focused video aggregation platform from Ellation that offers SVOD channels such as Crunchyroll, Funimation, Rooster Teeth, Shudder and now NickSplat.

The new NickSplat channel will feature selections from the ’90s and early 2000s including Are You Afraid of the Dark?, CatDog, Clarissa Explains It All, Doug and Rocko’s Modern Life. VRV will be the exclusive channel at launch and continue to be exclusive for “most of the content,” Ellation revealed.

With this news, fans are being invited to put “adulting” on hold. VRV is relying heavily on nostalgia with an experiential marketing activation in Santa Monica from September 8-9. Dubbed “Childhooding Zone,” the pop-up will feature a stocked breakfast cereal bar, inflatable furniture, ’90s décor and of course, a place to eat cereal and watch NickSplat. The activation will feature a giant cereal bowl that visitors can swim and pose in for social media.

“This is definitely one of the largest scale marketing campaigns we’ve done to date in terms of budget and time,” Elizabeth Moothart, senior director of marketing at Ellation told AList. “Pretty much anyone in this target range of late 20s to early 30s has been exposed to these [NickSplat] shows before, so [the channel] is one of our broadest reaching types of content. Because of that, we really want to use the NickSplat brand and use these shows to drive awareness to VRV.”

Moothart explained that they will work with social media influencers to drive awareness for the events, as well as encourage use of the official hashtag #ChildhoodingWithVRV on social media.

After its appearance in Santa Monica, the Childhooding Zone will travel across the country, where it will be installed outside of New York Comic Con. Nickelodeon isn’t the only one delving into new territory with this partnership. This activation will mark the first time Ellation has created a dedicated, stand-alone event outside of an existing event or partnered with marketing delivery service Fooji.

“We wanted to create a place that physically embodied a fan’s childhood and deliver that nostalgia in an impactful way,” Moothart said.

Those who use the #ChildhoodingWithVRV hashtag, use a TV emoji and list their favorite NickSplat show will have a ’90s-themed box of snacks delivered to them. The boxes will include snacks like AirHeads, Gushers and Teddy Grahams in addition to codes for VRV Premium and “other goodies.”

“We wanted to go for places that were high traffic among our target demographic and also by aligning with NYCC, we can do some pretty interesting things there, too,” said Moothart. “We can tell people who are at our activation inside Comic Con to also come to this one, which will be off-site just outside the venue. It gives us a lot of opportunities to overlap with other things that our partners and Crunchroll are doing as well.”

The marketing campaign for NickSplat purposely sticks to those who grew up with the content, Moothart explained.

“We’re not trying to introduce NickSplat to a new audience and we’re not marketing to children, even though the shows were originally created for children,” said Moothart. “This is all about nostalgia. We want fans of the show to remind themselves of their childhood, reminisce about the shows that they love and rewatch this content that they’ve already watched.”

Digital, TV Drive Growth For National Advertising Market In July

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The national advertising market experienced growth of 10 percent in July according to data provided by Standard Media Index. Digital continues to dominate in terms of advertising spend, as marketers poured 17 percent more into the platform last month.

After declining for April, May and June, National TV finally experienced growth of three percent, excluding the World Cup. Within that category, cable TV rose five percent YoY while broadcast fell one percent in terms of ad revenue.

In July, the Upfront market grew five percent, while the Scatter market grew one percent. Standard Media Index attributes the growth of National TV ad spend to an increase in the number of 30-second spots. There was also a reduction in unpaid spots, also known as makegoods or ADU.

“The decline in ADUs is a positive sign for the industry, indicating that programs are delivering the expected audience figures this month,” said James Fennessy, CEO of Standard Media Index in a statement.

Revenue growth for televised sporting events was due entirely to soccer. Ad revenue for the sporting category dropped six percent if you don’t count the World Cup, but increased 20 percent if you do. Compared to the last match in 2014, however, in-game revenue dropped 29 percent.

News programming continues to be a draw for advertising dollars, especially MSNBC. The network grew an impressive 44 percent YoY in July. Broadcast news experienced the first YoY gains in 2018.

If you noticed a lot more “possible side effects” scrolling across your TV set last month, that’s because prescription pharmaceuticals increased TV ad spend by 26 percent and 37 percent across all platforms.

Quick service restaurants opened their wallets to reach more audiences in July, increasing ad spend across all categories by 51 percent and 19 percent on TV.

Out-of-home ad spend grew a modest one percent in July, while radio remained flat and print dropped 18 percent for the month.

BrewDog Launches Branded Streaming Video Service

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The beer business has had a tough time engaging with younger audiences, but Scottish brewery BrewDog may have come up with a solution by launching an SVOD platform that’s dedicated to beer and its lifestyle.

BrewDog craft brewery co-founders James Watt and Martin Dickie began The BrewDog Network after their show Brew Dogs was canceled on the Esquire Network.

“Just as Netflix has pioneered mainstream streaming services, The BrewDog Network will be the first globally-recognized, passion-focused platform,” Watt said in a statement. “We believe craft beer can be the inspiration for the most popular content on the internet–maybe even more popular than videos of cats falling off walls or celebrity sex tapes.”

The BrewDog Network features 14 shows that cover craft beer, cocktails, food, travel, comedy and more. Watts and Dickie return with The BrewDog Show, which is a reinvention of the duo’s previous TV program where the two tour the world to drink beer and provide entertainment. Upcoming programs include Four Sheets featuring comedian Zane Lamprey—inspired by his previous show, Three Sheets—and Are You Smarter Than a Drunk Person, a game show where average people compete against inebriated MENSA members.

Other programs include Brown Bag Wine Tasting with William Shatner and The Nerdy Bartender featuring Canadian Actress Stacey Roy, who creates cocktails based on movies, comic books and other aspects of geeky pop-culture.

In a statement, BrewDog described the platform as “a genuine move to take the video-on-demand revolution to a new level. Driven by true passion and enthusiasm, we are doing exactly what we did with craft beer; raising standards and eyebrows in equal measure.”

To mark the launch of the service, the brewery created a specialty craft beer called Small Screen Hero, which is available both online and at global BrewDog locations.

The BrewDog Network launched worldwide on August 27 with both iOS and Android apps, and even though a Roku device can be found in its promotional imagery, the service has not yet announced any official partnerships with connected devices. The SVOD service costs $4.99 a month, which—as the company points out—is less than the cost of a pint of beer.

New York Public Library Launches ‘Insta Novels’ Campaign On Instagram Stories

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Although the New York Public Library mainly services its namesake city, it is also a recognizable global brand that is dedicated to the promotion of literacy. As part of this mission, the library has launched an Instagram campaign that brings classic books to the social platform for book lovers everywhere to enjoy in a new way.

“Insta Novels” uses Instagram’s Stories feature to present entire books such as Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland (presented in two parts) to social media using animation and music with others including The Metamorphosis and The Yellow Wallpaper.

“We’re always looking for ways to inspire people to read more, using unlikely places to reach new audiences,” Richert Schnorr, director of digital media at the New York Public Library, told AList. “For a while, Instagram was seen as a younger platform, but I think that is changing dramatically. Our social media base has a lot of New York people, but it’s also national and global.”

Schnorr explained that the NYPL is always looking to find new ways to engage with both local and global audiences and that this campaign perfectly serves the goal of inspiring reading and lifelong learning. The campaign also encourages audiences to download the library’s SimplyE app, which lets readers borrow books from anywhere using a library card.

Although the library engages with users across multiple platforms to spread awareness of its booklists and core services, Instagram is a particularly good fit because of the institution’s visual nature, which includes iconic architecture in the heart of New York City. There’s also the benefit of upending expectations by using a fast photo sharing platform for a contemplative campaign that celebrates the written word.

Users can then decide to follow the library on social media, and perhaps discover that the institution has more to offer than books. The library also has a regular podcast and education classes.

“A campaign like this is exactly what the New York Public Library wants to be known for,” said Schnorr. “We are proud to be thinking in innovative ways, partnering with the best of the best, and always being centered around reading—inspiring reading and a lifelong learning. So, this is exactly the kind of campaign that we’ve hoped for.”

Spotify And New Amsterdam Vodka Partner To Launch Branded Podcast

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Spotify is partnering with New Amsterdam Vodka to create Ebb & Flow, a branded podcast, which represents a new revenue path for the streaming service. The five-episode series features music influencer DJ Jasmine Solano and her candid conversations with rising hip-hop artists and entrepreneurs.

Spotify currently hosts a variety of non-branded audio programs and it makes the majority of its revenues through advertising and subscriptions but has to pay out about 70 percent of the money made from each music stream to labels and publishers.

Podcasts represent a promising form of revenue, given their relatively low production costs and high engagement. In 2017, about 40 percent of people in the US said that they listened to podcasts, many on a regular basis. A 2018 IAB study found that podcasts have high ad revenue potential, predicting that they will rise to $659 million in revenue by 2020.

“We chose to do a branded podcast less because of the format and more because of the opportunity with Spotify,” said New Amsterdam Spirits marketing director Michael Sachs in a statement. “When discussing ways to work together, we wanted to be sure that we were supporting the latest and greatest that Spotify has to offer.”

The podcast promises personal interviews with guests that include Bryce Vine, GASHI, J.I.D, Saweetie, and Skizzy Mars, who will talk about their struggles moving up in the music industry. Ebb & Flow also fits neatly into New Amsterdam’s “Our Your Soul Out” campaign, which matches music with the spirts brand. One of the campaign’s first trailers follows the story of a drummer rising up to become a professional musician.

In the show’s announcement, Spotify said that it is “focused on fueling the discovery of stories, culture and communities through audio-driven experiences. Podcasts are an integral part of this discovery. And as the number two podcast provider in the world, podcasts help us to bring fans closer to the creators and subject matters they love.”

AMC And Postmates Deliver Edible Marketing For ‘Better Call Saul’

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AMC is once again using its fictional Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant to promote Better Call Saul. From August 20-22, fans in Los Angeles and New York City can order a special mini meal of fried chicken and curly fries, then have it delivered for free.

The activation is a partnership between AMC and delivery service Postmates to promote the fourth season of Better Call Saul—a prequel to the hit Breaking Bad TV show. Deliveries will be available at 12 p.m. local time each day and will continue while supplies last. Delivering meals from the famous chicken restaurant allows viewers to feel somewhat immersed in the show’s lore.

To fans of the two shows, Los Pollos Hermanos is as much of a character as Walter White or Saul Goodman are. Last year, AMC launched a pop-up of the restaurant in select locations including Austin, Los Angeles and New York City. During SXSW, guests lined up to get free curly fries and branded soda cups, as well as see actors from Better Call Saul. Thanks to partnerships with local restaurants, this is the first time fans can get chicken, too.

Chicken and curly fries delivered for the promotion arrived in branded containers as if they originated from the real Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant. So far, the activation has yielded numerous social media posts that show off the Los Pollos Hermanos branding. Some even pretended to have met the manager Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito).

AMC’s marketing team works closely with the Better Call Call production staff to make sure every detail of these activations is in line with the show.

“Being authentic is incredibly important to us,” Theresa Beyer, senior vice president of promotion, activation and partnerships at AMC Networks told AList. “If we don’t work closely with [the show’s production team], there’s a really good chance of not being authentic. Fans know it the second you are not authentic and they will call you out for it. I would never want to disappoint those fans.”

Beyer explained that her team follows the beats of the show and caters marketing around story developments. The traveling restaurant was conceived last year, for example, to coincide with Fring’s debut on Better Call Saul.

“We’ll always use traditional marketing methods but this sort of fan engagement does something that billboards and digital ads can’t,” said Beyer. “[With activations like the Los Pollos Hermanos delivery] we can provoke emotions and engagement in a way that goes beyond media buys. That makes it a very fun way to communicate.”

In addition to the delivery activation, AMC is continuing another marketing tradition from Better Call Saul season three—training videos. On Monday, the network debuted a security training video for Madrigal Electromotive—a fictional business from the two shows—hosted by Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks). The video playfully ties into the plot of the show, when Mike takes his security consultant job more seriously than his “employers” expected.

Last year, the network launched a series of employee training videos for Los Pollos Hermanos starring Esposito that covered topics like communication, cleanliness and what to do in an emergency.

Based on what happens on the show, Beyer and her team may continue to use Los Pollos Hermanos, Madrigal Electromotive or something else to engage fans in the future.

“We’re going to follow the beats of the story because we want to be able to get fans excited about what’s coming up in the season and I think the best way is with some big activation or promotion or partnership that gets them deeper into the story,” said Beyer.

Postmates is making a name for itself in the $20 million food delivery market and partnering with AMC is a good way to generate some buzz. The start-up recently added 100 markets nationwide and has made a number of strategic brand partnerships including Walmart and Jack in the Box.

‘Happytime Murders’ Pop-up Invites Guests Into Sleazy World Of Puppets

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STXfilms is promoting its R-rated puppet film The Happytime Murders with a pop-up tattoo parlor and speakeasy in Hollywood. The activation immerses guests into the world of the film while driving home its R-rated humor and providing photo ops for social media.

Open to adults 21 and over, The InkHole is a tattoo parlor and speakeasy manned by puppets and actors where guests can take a glimpse at the greasy underbelly of puppet life as depicted in The Happytime Murders. Visitors can interact with puppet and human characters from the film and get clues about its who-dunnit plotline.

The InkHole was scheduled for one weekend only but STXfilms told AListDaily that demand was so high that the activation returned a week later for another weekend full of puppet mischief.

Talking with puppets in The InkHole will earn guests a secret (R-rated) password, which can be spoken to gain access to a hidden speakeasy. Guests are treated to cocktails with names like “Good Time for You” and “DTF (Down to Fluff)” while being entertained by comedians, burlesque dancers and puppet lounge singers on the main stage.

Delving deeper into the speakeasy will reveal even more adult content, from a puppet peep show to BDSM performances. In the “Sugar Den,” a strung-out puppet named Midge offers guests sweet juices so they can get a sugar high with her.

The “Rotten Cotton Girls,” meanwhile, invite people to join them in the Photo Puppet Opp room where they can pose on a hot pink chaise in front of a neon sign of the film’s title.

Marketing for The Happytime Murders has been focused on the raunchy humor of the film, as embodied with the slogan, “No Sesame. All Street.” A pink van has been spotted driving around Hollywood that promotes topless puppet maids. Murals have been painted in spots around Sydney Australia, made to look like brothels complete with puppet prostitutes outside. The film’s name, hashtag and slogan are painted in the style of graffiti, hitting the message home that this is not a story for kids.

Last week, a public service announcement video was released in partnership with the Alamo Drafthouse that discouraged moviegoers from talking during the movie. Hosted by a puppet named Goofer from The Happytime Murders, viewers are warned that being a “moviefucker” and talking during the movie will get you shunned and send you into a spiral of hard candy addiction.

HBO Pop-Up Invited Bumble Users To Watch Movies In A $30M Home

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HBO reminded younger viewers about its movie offerings by hosting a “stay home to the movies” event in a $30 million townhome.

For two weeks, users on the Bumble Date and BFF apps had a chance to attend an exclusive event at the Brownstone in New York. Those selected were invited to hang out and watch movies in 10 screening rooms across multiple floors, as well as take photos in several branded areas with the hashtag #StayHometotheMovies. Stay Home to the Movies is a campaign that HBO started earlier this year.

An interactive wall in the house asked people to share their reasons for staying in, and an “excuse generator” helped come up with those reasons. There were also colorful areas like a bathtub filled with movie candy. A wide array of movies was available to appease any genre craving, including Girls Trip, IT and Back to the Future.

“We’re doing this because for all the buzz we get for original programming, we don’t want people to forget out about movies,” Jason Mulderig, vice president of brand and product marketing at HBO told AList. “The whole idea of the campaign is that staying in can be as good as going out.”

The exclusive event ran from August 15-16, with around 65 people attending each night. An additional 1,200 people signed up for a waitlist that HBO and Bumble launched just 24 hours ahead of the event. Guests took a quiz upon arrival to receive a movie recommendation but were allowed to wander about, mingle and of course, take social media photos to their hearts’ content.

“Bumble was a brand that was on our radar and when we started to think about their audience being younger, socially connected [and] always out looking for something to do, this idea felt like it was a really good fit with something experiential and something [Bumble’s] audience would like. It felt like a perfect match.”

Despite the partnership with a dating app, Mulderig said HBO was not inspired by the idea of “Netflix and Chill.” Instead, the brand wanted to invite people together to recapture the excitement of HBO Saturday night movies for the modern age.

“This [campaign] is really steeped in our heritage,” he said. “Back in the ’70s and ’80s, HBO was one of the first to bring movies into the home and they were special events. That was something that older audiences are nostalgic for, but when you look at the behaviors of someone under the age of 35, they grew up in a streaming and on-demand environment. They may not know of all the places where you can get movies.”

HBO’s core audience tends to skew in the high 40s, Mulderig observed, while Bumble’s audience is a bit younger. He estimated that the Stay Home to the Movies attendees were anywhere between the ages of 18-34.

“We want to be top of mind, so we were trying to figure out how you can bring that experience into the real world and reinforce the specialness of the occasion,” said Mulderig. “The townhouse was reflective of the high quality of movies that we have. Maybe not everyone can hang out and socialize in a $30 million townhouse in New York City, but you can still have the same quality movie experience wherever you are.”

In a digital age where cord-cutting has become more popular, HBO wants audiences to perceive value in its offerings, especially when it comes to movies. To succeed, however, HBO needs audiences to talk about it—something that has happened naturally over several decades already.

“Whether it’s our heritage of movies on Saturday nights or Sunday nights when everyone is watching together, the brand itself have always been inherently social. We kind of own the water cooler.”

HBO’s ‘Random Acts Of Flyness’ Experiential Pop-Up

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Random Acts of Flyness may not seem like obvious material for a pop-up experience, but that’s exactly what’s happening over the next two nights as the HBO show takes over a space in New York City.

The recently debuted six-episode late night show created by artist, musician and film director Terence Nance features a variety of interconnected stream-of-consciousness vignettes to showcase some of the major issues facing the black community today.

Aspects of the show, including set recreations and some of its fictional counter-racism products, are featured at the pop-up experience alongside artistic installations. These include a “Black Women Won’t Save Us All” room—where attendees are encouraged to write the names of influential black women on its walls—an audio experience where users can listen to the everyday sounds of black culture, and a meditation room located behind the “Everybody Dies!” game show set.

Lucinda Martinez, senior vice president of multicultural and international marketing at HBO, told AList that, “When developing our promotional efforts for this series, we recognized that Terence’s style of storytelling is unique and thought-provoking and required a non-traditional approach in translating it to our audiences. Watching his show felt like an experience, so why not bring that very experience to life and have potential viewers experience it for themselves?”

Martinez added that the pop-up was one in a myriad of ways HBO reaches its audiences create awareness for its show. Random Acts of Flyness was shown at a variety of festival screenings and it even has a related mobile game called Kekubian Assassin, where a female black character must fight off racist and sexist threats.

“We’re targeting a multicultural millennial audience that feels this series resonates with them,” Martinez explained, stating that this audience appreciates authentic experiences that can be shared with others via social media. The pop-up experience, which will only be shown in New York, is being promoted through the press, social media influencers, tastemaker networks and the artist community.

But even though Random Acts of Flyness deals with sensitive political and cultural topics, HBO regards both the show and the experiences as celebrations of black culture, and they’re not meant to be at the expense of any other culture or point of view. Martinez said that it is this kind of unique storytelling, which covers a variety of topics, that defines the HBO brand.

At the same time, Martinez said that working with sensitive issues requires HBO to “be more thoughtful and intentional” with its targeting and efforts.

“We don’t see these as challenges necessarily, but rather as opportunities to develop new audiences and to present new forms of storytelling, new artists and new voices to our existing audiences,” she said. “As marketers, it is always exciting for us to innovate and explore innovative ways to promote our content.”

‘The Nun’ Ad Removal Reveals Cracks In YouTube’s Review Process

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YouTube removed a jump scare ad for The Nun after users complained and it was determined to violate “shocking content” advertising policies. The takedown perpetuates an ongoing history of ad problems for YouTube as it struggles to prevent offensive content.

One would expect the advertising for a horror film to be frightening, but Warner Bros. took it a step further with unsuspecting viewers. A short ad appeared with a black screen, over which a fake computer icon appeared to turn down the user’s volume. Suddenly, a loud bang was played and the demonic nun from the film appeared with a scream.

Many users did not appreciate the jump scare and after a number of complaints, YouTube pulled it from its site. According to YouTube’s ad guidelines, “promotions that are likely to shock or scare” are prohibited, but shocking factors can be judged by whether they appear realistic. This could explain why the ad was approved in the first place, although YouTube did not immediately respond for comment.

In the case of The Nun, Warner Bros.’ unholy character may not be real, but the frustration users felt was very real indeed.

As part of Alphabet, Inc.—the world’s largest seller of advertising—YouTube is under a lot of pressure to appease advertisers, but the jump scare ad shows a frightening truth about how consumer interest can be overlooked. In fact, the ad wasn’t removed until a tweet warning users about it reached well over 145,000 likes. YouTube responded to the tweet confirming that the ad was removed.

Last year, an ad for the game Mobile Strike was banned from YouTube after it was deemed sexist. The spot featured three plus-sized women in bikinis playing the game against one another. While praised for its use of diverse women, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) accused the ad of objectifying women through attire, performance and camera angles.

It’s impossible to keep everyone happy all the time, but YouTube seems to have a harder time than most—at least when it comes to advertisers. YouTube terminated over 270 accounts and removed 150,000 videos in the span of a week last November after brands like Adidas and Hewlett-Packard found their ads were displayed next to sexually explicit comments under videos of children.

Prior to these incidents, much of YouTube’s moderation efforts were automated. In December, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced plans to hire 10,000 employees to moderate and review policy-violating content on the site.

Thoughts? Continue the conversation at @alistdaily.