POP CULTURE BRAND PARTNERSHIP NEWS AND INSIGHTS

The Soul Surfer as an Influencer for Your Brand

Choosing the right social influencer can be a tough task because their persona has to align precisely with your brand’s image and attract a specific target audience. Not to mention, their actions are a direct reflection of your brand’s reputation. Despite these obstacles, social influencing has become an explosive source for marketing products to larger audiences, instilling desired brand images and generating sales.

With so many types of influencers, media channels, and content platforms, choosing the right influencer for your company's goal becomes a complicated task. With this in mind, one common source of influencer marketing is rooted in the beauties of surf culture and may fit harmoniously with your brand. In this blog, Hollywood Branded will classify one type of social influencer, The Soul Surfer, and discuss their value in reaching niche audiences, spreading brand awareness and driving sales. 

Topics: Sports Marketing, Social Influencers, Influencers

Putting A Pause On The Entertainment Industry

COVID-19 has ensured that people across the globe are stuck inside for the unforeseeable future. While it is, by no means, an ideal way to spend time, many companies are finding new and different ways to entertain the public during the pandemic.

From eSports to TV reunions for charity, the entertainment industry may be struggling, but COVID-19 has given brands and companies an opportunity to stretch their creativity to find new ways to interact with consumers. In this blog, Hollywood Branded shares some of the agency's best blog posts on the entertainment industry during the COVID-19 crisis. 

Topics: Digital Marketing, Product Placement & Branded Content

What Marketers Can Learn From Their Wins + Mistakes

Covid-19 restrictions began to lift, and businesses breathed a sigh of relief at the idea of opening again.  And then... brands were thrust back into the chaos of having to figure out how to find their voice in support of their own and despite potential differing customer beliefs, in the midst of protests and riots across the country.

As brands and celebrities begin to navigate the events impacting the world, some have stayed silent out of fear of being alienated by their customers and fans.  Others have used their platforms to speak up and stand up in support of Black Lives Matter, and people are taking notice.  Today, consumers - especially Gen Z'ers and Millennials, have expectations from those they buy from to serve as extensions of their own personal values and beliefs. In this blog, Hollywood Branded shares insight for brand marketers to learn from what has worked, or failed, in how celebrities and brands have supported the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Topics: Celebrity Initiative, Social Media Strategy, Influencers

Go With The (Cash) Flow

Many businesses struggle to find a consistent rhythm of profit, allowing them to achieve the company's full potential. Often businesses will seek the advice of business coach or consultant.

Recently, our CEO sat down with Josh Patrick to learn how companies can overcome this problem and begin to truly thrive.  In this blog, Hollywood Branded learns how you create a business you love, where not only your work is valued, but you're creating profits. We discuss all of this with Josh Patrick of The Sustainable Business.

Topics: Business Advice, Podcast Interviews

Case Study: Adidas and Allbirds’ Sustainable Product Launch

Consumers are going green, which means companies need to make some changes if they want to keep making sales. Companies have been focused on increasing the sustainability of their businesses but there is still a gap in the market for innovated sustainable products. Adidas and Allbirds have decided to fill that economic gap. Both companies recently announced that their upcoming partnership will involve them creating the first shoe with a zero-carbon footprint. This is a smart move for both brands, but bad news for competing sneaker companies. 

So how do other brands compete? There are lots of companies who have already started sustainability partnerships, but what about sustainable partnerships, and what is the difference between the two? In this blog, Hollywood Branded discusses the differences between creating a sustainable brand versus a sustainability plan, and which one brands should take advantage of right now.

Topics: Celebrity Initiative, Content Creation

Music is Everywhere

Any music video you engage with, any artist’s instagram you follow, and any commercial you watch is infiltrated with the ever-expanding branding market that is associated with the music industry. Brands are always looking for ways to engage with musicians, and although it may not be easy to land, the rewards are unparalleled. 

Music brings brands to the next level, and being able to secure an effective song or a big name artist can escalate your brand, almost immediately. In this blog, Hollywood Branded discusses why brands should partner with musicians and the different kinds of integrations that are possible within the industry.   

Topics: Celebrity Initiative, Product Placement & Branded Content

Zootopia Rocks The Box Office… And The Brand World

Covid-19 disrupted the entertainment industry, pushing back movie releases and closing theaters.   One new strategy that companies like Disney and Universal are capitalizing on is re-releasing fan favorite films in the movie theaters that are open throughout the U.S. Disney's Zootopia and The Avengers are two examples of films re-released in an attempt to (safely) invite fans back into theaters, immensely driving theatrical gross profits up.

In fact, Zootopia brought in an extra "$280K, putting its lifetime total at $341.5M," according to Deadline. And this is a boom not just for the studio, but for all the 17 brands featured in the film that have a slight twist to their name, making them more real to the film.  Zootopia expertly brings in real-world brands into the world of talking animals; with plays on brands like Lululemon and Target, the film relies on brand recognition within its product placement. Bearberry, Hoof Locker, Lucky Chomps all got starring roles that will continue to appear for the decade decade plus.  The growing success that Zootopia has found is not unique, and serves as an excellent example of unique ways to integrate a brand into a fictional film, that keeps delivering impressions.  In this blog, Hollywood Branded shares our infographic and insight on how smart brands have leveraged Zootopia to become part of the animated world through product placement, which will keep delivering impressions front and center to engaged families for the next decade or more.   

Topics: Product Placement & Branded Content

How The Music Industry Is Reacting To The COVID Crisis

Quarantine is surely driving everyone around the world crazy. People have been forced to cancel the events that they were once so looking forward to due to COVID-19 and many are stuck at home grasping at straws to think of ways to pass the time. Social media usage has gone up drastically due to the virus, and many musicians are taking advantage of that fact. 

Social media is already an incredible way for celebrities to stay in contact with fans across the globe, and many musicians are utilizing the ease and access of social media to do just that. Fans aren’t the only ones missing live performances, and many musicians are using livestreams through platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch as a way to share music and memories with fans in an uncertain time. In this blog post, Hollywood Branded looks at how music artists use social media as a way to connect with fans - and how brands are joining in - during the COVID-19 crisis.

Topics: Celebrity Initiative, Social Influencers

Investing In Real (Estate) Time

Many entrepreneurs have great ideas to create passive income in addition to a day job, but successfully doing it isn't easy. Creating a program and marketing it successfully is no easy feat, which is why we have had several experts of different industries chat with us about what methods they found success in to build their own business.

Recently, our CEO sat down with Lane Kawaoka to chat about the steps he took to create his own successful group coach and eCourse business around investing in real estate as a side business, while still employed at his day job as an engineer.   In this blog, Hollywood Branded learns how successfully market and build a digital community in passive real estate from the expertise of Lane Kawaoka.

Topics: Business Advice, Podcast Interviews

How Brands Are Implementing Integration During The Pandemic

The entertainment industry as we know it was turned completely upside-down due to Covid-19. Filming for TV shows and movies was halted, movie theaters closed, and concert tours canceled.  Many brands stopped advertising all together, and other brand marketers tried to figure out how to create marketing content not only that wasn't insensitive, but also without the ability to have a production crew shoot.

This unforeseen pandemic has forced brands to reevaluate their marketing strategies in new and exciting ways in hopes of keeping consumers’ attention. And one true and tried way has worked astonishingly well for the brands who have leveraged product placement in talk shows, or last minute remote filming reality series.  In this blog, Hollywood Branded shares the agency's best blogs about how brands are leveraging product placement and brand integration in the time of COVID!

Topics: Digital Marketing, Product Placement & Branded Content