Dive Brief:
- Pepsi announced its ongoing partnership with the Fox TV show "Empire," in a joint press release. For the series' third season, the soft drink brand will offer a nine-episode weekly social series called “Emerge” that launches on Facebook and Instagram pages for "Empire" the day the show returns in the spring.
- This year's tie-up also includes six limited-edition 7.5 ounce mini-cans, available in April, with original "Empire"-inspired artwork and a scannable Shazam code that unlocks behind-the-scenes footage captured from the set of a musical tribute shoot.
- During a May episode of "Empire," fans will be directed to Shazam so they can stream a musical tribute via their mobile devices called "When Cookie Met Lucious, feat. Jamal."
Dive Insight:
Pepsi's campaign for the new season of "Empire" underscores how brands are looking to digital narratives to engage mobile consumers, who often find ads annoying, leading many to use ad-blocking software. By creating a weekly social series, Pepsi and "Empire" are reaching consumers where they are spending time — on social medial — and giving them a reason to keep coming back with new episodes once a week.
The limited-edition scannable cans are fun way to make the campaign more interactive while the streaming musical tribute shows how TV broadcasters are recognizing the need to extend popular shows like "Empire" via digital channels with content that is exclusive to those channels rather than simply a replay of what's found on TV.
About the partnership, Bruce Lefkowitz, Executive Vice President of Ad Sales, Fox Networks Group, said the multi-platform initiative shows that Fox offers its advertisers innovative ideas and solutions “that create a better, more immersive experience for our viewers — and that deliver real engagement on every platform imaginable."
