Dentsu Media Enters Into Partnership With OZY

This week, Dentsu Media announced it is entering into a new, multiyear partnership with international multiplatform media and entertainment company OZY. The move reflects Dentsu Media's investment in "meaningful media" as part of a larger reorganization at the company and follows Dentsu's innovation partnership with Snap Inc. last September. A forward-thinking partner The partnership is not surprising: Dentsu Media views OZY as a forward-thinking media partner that can help clients forge meaningful connections with diverse millennial and Gen Z consumers, ultimately broadening Dentsu's understanding of its core audiences. Since launching as a digital magazine in 2013, OZY has grown to reach an audience of over 75 million, with OZY's co-founder Carlos Watson estimating that around 75% of its audience is millennial or Gen Z. "We built trust with them by continually introducing them to the new and the next," Watson told Adweek. "They trust us … I think it says something to our audience when they see a brand on OZY, because they know how selective we are and they know how hungry and ambitious they are." The media juggernaut is selective about who it partners with, Watson added. "We want to do it with people who are doing bold things." The innovative clients Dentsu Media works with are looking to partner with companies exploring new approaches and ideas, something he describes as at the core of OZY's identity. Connecting to what's happening now Through the partnership, OZY will collaborate with Dentsu Media on original branded video and an audio and written content series, as well as offer services on diversity, equality and inclusion. "We talked about this notion of 'meaningful media' and not just making partnerships to make partnerships. We wanted to do something like never before," Dentsu Media's Americas CEO Doug Rozen explained. The resurgent racial justice movement after the police killing of George Floyd catalyzed the company to "go beyond ads and talk about acts," he told Adweek. "It was about connecting to what's happening right now," he added. Under a Reset America project, OZY has hosted a series of groundbreaking conversations on social inequities through online, audio and video platforms, including the Emmy-winning Black Women OWN the Conversation, Defining Moments, The Carlos Watson Show and When Katty Met Carlos. Watson described OZY's growing international reach as one of the enticing features driving the partnership. OZY is a "budding global player with reporters, filmmakers and podcaster producers all around the globe," he said. And Dentsu was committed to focusing on innovation and fresh solutions. An innovative company culture Rozen explained that the opportunities afforded by OZY's network extend far beyond its ability to reach audiences online to its popular morning newsletter, event marketing and festivals such as OZY Fest. While the latter may have been sidelined by the pandemic, Rozen envisions these events as representing important future opportunities for marketers. "We think that coming out of this post-pandemic, purpose-driven activity at OZY Fests is going to be an important activity for clients and hope this allows us to be at [the] front end of that," he said. Watson said he expects future deep dives and client briefings on rising stars, along with broader insights on societal trends. Ozy knows audiences "It's not about meeting with client leaders about putting an ad in one OZY's products," Rozen said. "It’s talking about how to make change [and] think about equality in a way that makes sense for the millennial audience. OZY knows that audience better than many of our clients and how to engage them." He explained that for Dentsu Media, which already uses its M1 data platform to differentiate audiences, tapping into OZY's audience and insights provides another layer of depth. "It enriches us and gives us a trend-setting perspective," he added. "It allows us to be for forward-thinking." Long-term relationship While most media partnerships are short-lived, spanning only a few months, Dentsu and OZY have agreed to an initial period of three years. Both Rozen and Watson envision this as the beginning of a long-term relationship featuring grand ambitions. "There's an advertising commitment at the core of this," Rozen explained, with the partnership offering access to its top leadership. The two will also partner on an ad product, something he said is necessary for marketers to connect with consumers rather than just "trying to slam ads into boxes." OZY sees the partnership as opening up a wealth of opportunities for content creation. More ambitious projects "There's no doubt that in partnering with Dentsu, we'll be able to tackle bigger, more ambitious projects," Watson told Adweek, estimating that content such as original podcasts, TV series and newsletters could be two to three times more ambitious than before, ultimately unlocking greater creative opportunities for its festivals. The partnership comes after a year of digital migration, as brands are seeking new ways to establish meaningful connections with younger, more diverse audiences and moving away from more traditional channels. "This is indicative of how media partnerships need to exist moving forward," Rozen said. Exclusive: Here’s What Dentsu’s Reorganization Actually Looks Like

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Dentsu Media Enters Into Partnership With OZY

The ambitious partnership is set for an initial period of 3 years

A forward-thinking partner

Erik Oster

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Erik Oster