In the United States, the media climate is so diversified, brands are increasingly looking for alternative ways of communicating through long-form branded entertainment. While web series are more common, sometimes the brand message is fertile enough to warrant a deeper story and a bigger investment, both in production dollars and media costs. In these so-called “time buys,” the brand pays the networks the total advertising costs for the broadcast, and assumes all production costs.

The brand effectively “owns” that hour, although the network has final approval. Consequently, the brand can creatively craft the message they want. With How to Raise an Olympian, the quality of the content synced up so well with NBC’s promotional needs that they gave it a prime broadcast timeslot, two evenings before Opening Ceremonies. They also liberally promoted the program on NBC and on its sister stations.

There are no specific regulations in the U.S., but such programming does require a true partnership between the brand and distribution platform. As a rule, this is improved if the content is not perceived as a transparent long-form commercial, but stands as a valid entertainment experience.

The music we used for Pick Them Back Up was a licensed track called Primavera by Ludovico Einaudi. The track offered the perfect combination of struggle, achievement, and encouragement – all in one emotionally charged arrangement. Our sound designer worked to select different pieces of the full track to underscore the story we were telling visually.

How to Raise an Olympian was a huge success on multiple fronts. It deepened viewers’ emotional engagement with P&G and helped dimensionalize the campaign two days before Opening Ceremonies. The show played a key role in helping P&G be named the most effective Olympic sponsor of the Sochi Olympic Winter Games according to Ace Metrix.

It was also a huge success for NBC, helping build more interest and depth to The Olympics, their biggest sports franchise of the year. The show earned a 4.32 HH rating. This successful rating prompted NBC to air the show two more times on its sister stations Bravo and Oxygen.

The show helped transform one of the world’s biggest corporations into a brand with a huge heart. This love converted to sales—with the overall program on track to reach $150m in global incremental sales.