Updated: Yahoo Builds Out Branded Entertainment

GroupM Entertainment has announced a partnership with Yahoo to develop multiple branded entertainment series, which will be distributed on several top Yahoo properties, including Yahoo Sports, Yahoo News and Yahoo Finance.Though the two company’s have yet to green light any particular series or sign on specific clients, several series concepts are being discussed. Among the projects in development are a pair of reality series, including a show centered on a band on tour dubbed The Rock ‘N Roll Jet Plane!, and one tracking two unemployed people as they search for job in each of the 50 states called Now Hiring: The Great American Job Search.Yahoo and GroupM are also seeking to cast several well known actresses in Tales from the Carpool Lane, a series about different types of moms. That series would look to leverage Yahoo’s community by soliciting story ideas from the audience. Lastly, the two camps are discussing The Yahoo Insider, a show that would potentially sending users to prominent entertainment, sporting, political or business events to share their first person perspective through blogging and shooting photos and videos. As part of the partnership, GroupM has the first right of refusal to place its clients brands in one or more of these shows. However, according to Margaret Clerkin, GroupM's director of digital assets, agencies and clients from outside the GroupM family could end up being sponsors. “Yahoo is looking at us as a creative resource for them—like any production company,” she said. “We have a pool of talent here, and that pool of talent creates a lot of ideas that may or may not be sellable to clients of GroupM.”Clerkin said that her group is already out in the marketplace trying to sell these new series—but neither Yahoo or GroupM has any definitive financial commitment. “We’re hoping to have something in production by first quarter,” she said. For Yahoo, the pact with GroupM would appear to be something of a victory for its branded entertainment division. Just a few years ago, GroupM’s Mindshare Entertainment group created the Web series In the Motherhood exclusively for Yahoo rival MSN, which has made original branded entertainment a major emphasis. That show, which, like Tales from the Carpool Lane used real stories provided by its audience, was eventually picked up by ABC.Yahoo’s GroupM partnership is being stewarded by Erika Nardini, vp of packaging—who previously ran branded entertainment at MSN.However, Clerkin emphasized that GroupM’s deal with Yahoo was not exclusive, and that it would continue to work with MSN and other vendors.

Performance Marketing

Updated: Yahoo Builds Out Branded Entertainment

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