We (obviously) believe firmly in the role of content in driving the future of brand engagement online. We have also written frequently about the brink of the Internet TV revolution, one where early adopters are pledging to “cut the [cable] cord” and rely on online video and TV broadcasted and streamed over the Internet. In both of these veins, yesterday a new online-only TV show was put out by big brand Kraft called HerSay.
Behind the campaign is Boston based leading integrated brand agency Digitas, who just made news yesterday announcing a partnership with Google. Digitas worked with MediaVest and DECA to make HerSay possible.
HerSay targets moms and is hosted by Soleil Moon Frye, a much followed mommy blogger (she has over 1.4 million Twitter followers and 98,000 Facebook fans) and former celeb on Punky Brewster. Digitas tells us that Frye will actually be one of the speakers at their NewFront conference in NYC the beginning of June — a big event that is all about the intersection of brands and content, with the tagline “The NewFront: The Event Where Brands Meet Content.”
One of the most unique aspects of HerSay is that Kraft and Digitas designed the initiative specifically around being part of conversations that their target audience (moms) are already having online on blogs. Content and themes for each show will be pulled from and based on what’s buzzing in the mommy blogosphere across the web at the time. There are also active places for user submitted comments and widgets to fuel new content and topics.
On the brand engagement front, forty of the 72 episodes will weave in and feature Kraft brands like Jell-O, Mac & Cheese and Chips Ahoy! It is a great example of the power of content in marketing and driving brand engagement. Digitas told BostInno,
“Brands are realizing that creating and aggregating content of value to consumers is critical to building dialogue and loyalty, and HerSay was created with that in mind. … Kraft understands that to reach their audience, their original content needs to be engaging, entertaining, valuable and sharable. Kraft’s success with original recipe content made for and also by consumers has led to broader initiatives – including programs like The Real Women of Philadelphia for Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Laugh Out Loud – a comedy series for and about women, and now, HerSay.”
The first episode kicked off last night and will run four times a week, ranging anywhere from 2-4 minutes in length. The show will be promoted across MSN properties and search advertising.
“In order to create content that is engaging, entertaining, valuable and sharable, at the start you need to identify and design an audience,” said John McCarus, SVP Brand Content. “As we’ve learned through our previous content partnerships with Kraft, knowing how to design content for your audience upfront leads to scalable engagement. From there, a brand can go from relevance to resonance and build a sustainable conversation.”
