Crackle Plus Sets Branded Content Studio, New FAST Channels

Crackle Plus's NewFronts presentation is so loaded that it's providing chicken soup for a marketer’s soul. During its virtual NewFronts event on Thursday, May 5, Crackle Plus, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company, unveiled a new loyalty program, updated apps and a branded content studio for marketers. But the company first focused on its vast content expansion. This past month, Crackle Plus debuted its Chicken Soup for the Soul AVOD streaming service, which offers more than 5,000 content assets that feature diverse, female-centric programming. “What better time to seek positive change and create content that makes the world a better place, a mission pursued for over 30 years by our parent company, Chicken Soup for the Soul. We want to invite advertisers to join us in developing content that matters,” Philippe Guelton, president of Crackle Plus, said during the presentation. In addition to Crackle, Chicken Soup for the Soul and Popcornflix, the company announced five other FAST additions to the portfolio. These include Echo Boom Sports, Surf Now, BlackPix, Truli and Unidentified, an extensive collection of UFO and paranormal documentaries. Crackle Plus also increased its access to over 100,000 hours of original content from Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment sister company Screen Media Ventures, which acquired Locomotive Global and 1091 Pictures. Screen Media also entered a multi-year content deal with BBC Studios, bringing more than 2,500 hours of content, including Sherlock. The Benedict Cumberbatch-starring series is already paying dividends, said Darren Olive, evp, national advertising sales and strategy at Crackle Plus. “Right now, upwards of 10% of our viewership and our advertising is running through that series, so even just by being within the environment of Crackle and running on the network, you're getting the value of a show like that with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. We're the only ad-supported opportunity to watch that show. So I think that we're raising the value of just simply running through our networks," Olive told Adweek. The company is also unveiling an upcoming slate of more than 100 new originals and exclusives, including Going From Broke Season 3, Inside the Black Box Season 2 and new shows from Tia Mowry and Michael Rapaport. “Whether offering a different perspective like original series Inside the Black Box or high-octane suspense like the feature film Blast, we’re incredibly thoughtful about the range of original and exclusive content programmed on Crackle and Chicken Soup for the Soul,” Jeff Meier, head of programming for Crackle Plus, said in a statement. “Our upcoming slate is reflective of our continued commitment to delivering high-quality content and providing something special for every viewer.” New branded content studio Crackle Plus is also introducing a new branded content studio, backed by Chicken Soup for the Soul Television Group, which creates shows such as The Mysterious Benedict Society on Disney+. "For us to be able to leverage those capabilities to create original programming and integrate marketers as part of that process is a unique identifier for us," Guelton told Adweek. Michele Fino, Crackle Plus's new head of branded entertainment, will lead the branded content studio. The company has also partnered with analytics platform Upwave to provide brands and advertisers with more measurable data and insights. Updated products The company is also working to make the viewer experience better and more engaged. To do so, the company will roll out the Crackle Reward Program, which rewards viewers for watching, allowing them to earn points to redeem for in-app rewards or services and products from its partners. Guelton told Adweek the rewards program is a "game-changer," saying, "Really, it's the first instance of how to engage with consumers, how to create more value to our viewers and something that we're inviting brands to participate in with us." The Crackle Plus president also didn't hold back when it came to SVODs such as Netflix now potentially adding advertising tiers. "I still think that offering a second tier, still paid with ads, to me is even worse, the worst case scenario for consumers, where they have to pay and watch ads, and you're back to the cable days where you had to pay a subscription and watch all these ads. So that's why we're doing the total opposite way. And not only offering content for free, but with our reward program, we're actually going to reward our viewers for spending time with us," Guelton said. The company is rolling out new versions of its Crackle AVOD apps, and Olive told Adweek that early results from Vizio and Samsung have been "through the roof." The relaunches resulted in 42% faster start time, 40% increased viewership and a 200% decrease in ad exits. “In addition to reaching over 40 million monthly active users, we are uniquely positioned to tailor opportunities based on what we know our advertising partners are looking for—targeted and flexible campaign opportunities," Olive said in a statement. "Our core demo continues to double down on quality free programming. They are also savvy decision-makers, so brands have the additional value proposition of collaborating with us at the outset of the creative process to more organically connect with viewers."

NewFronts

Crackle Plus Sets Branded Content Studio, Reward Program, New FAST Channels

The AVOD service unveils more than 100 new originals during NewFronts presentation

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