In light of increasing personalization and constant customer care, the onus is often on brands and agencies to come up with original and interesting content. Within these efforts we’ve seen standard product placement and celebrity sponsorships take on a whole new level of interaction and brand synergy.
One instance that caught my eye today involves a partnership with one of my favorite TV shows (sadly ending this season) USA Today’s Monk, a detective series about a comically tragic hero blessed/cursed with OCD – allowing him to solve murders but inhibiting him from living a normal life and national hotel chain Sleep Inn.
The crux of the partnership hangs on the concept that Sleep Inn is the only hotel that a hyper-critical Monk would be comfortable sleeping in. Not instantly an obvious tie-in; but I’m willing to hold my breath to see how well the sponsorship on-air episode is done. Sleep Inn is also sponsoring a sweepstakes, a Web-only video series and live events at their hotels with raffles and drawings.
The tie in to a pre-exisiting show with a dedicated fan base is a nice work around to having to staff your own content creation. In our next print issue, I’ll be detailing a campaign that enlisted its own staff in creating content. Check it out on August 31! What sources are you tapping for marketing content?
