Several reputable sources within the industry pointed towards a content-focused solution to the Brawny® brand’s business challenge of improving brand perception and building loyalty. A whitepaper published by Contently in 2014 highlighted case studies on the effectiveness of native advertising in the CPG industry – one even touting an incredible 122% brand lift from a Buzzfeed execution.

Encouraged by this data, as well as Simmons data which showed Brawny® consumers over-index for time spent on lifestyle sites and social media networks, we recommended the development of a Content Marketing strategy to prove similar results could be achieved for Georgia-Pacific brands.

Meredith and AOL were selected as strategic publisher partners to aid in the development, curation, and distribution of content for Brawny®. In order to set the campaign up for success, we knew collaboration between editorial, media, creative and client would be crucial. We gathered all decision makers and strategic partners in one room to ensure all content within the program was on strategy, on message, and engaging.

The end result: over 160 custom and curated pages of live content, including an 8-episode branded entertainment mini-series, “Everyday Giants”, which focused on resilient people and cities that used grit and perseverance to bounce back from tough situations. The content captured the essence of the Brawny® brand and effectively resonated with our core consumer. Content from sites like HuffPost Parents, Better Homes and Gardens, and AllRecipes aligned with the DIY interest, pride, and everyday American spirit of the Brawny® consumer.

The Brawny® Stay Giant™ campaign successfully delivered the results we had hoped for:

• 28% lift in Brand Affinity after exposure to the campaign on AOL; 84% higher than AOL benchmark (Source: Radius Global Market Research)

• 73% lift in purchase intent for users exposed to branded content on Meredith sites relative to control group. (Source: Vizu)

• Contributed to 8% lift in national brand sales YOY and 7%-35% YOY sales lift in key markets

• Purchase Consideration and “Interest in Learning More” were 78% and 54% respectively above AOL’s benchmarks (Source: Radius Global Market Research)

• Positive sentiment scores tracked by Real Eyes® that exceeded norms for “Interesting” by 19%.

• Social Media engagement rates that were 87-92% higher than Brawny® average posts (Source: Facebook/Georgia-Pacific)

• Industry Recognition from Advertising Age, Yahoo, MediaPost, and Ad Exchanger