Branded entertainment in the U.S. is becoming one of the most common ways to market a product, service, or piece of content. In today’s media landscape however, consumers have become jaded regarding unauthentic integrations with talent and media brands. This provides an opportunity for agencies to strive to communicate a brand message to a target audience in a completely new and original way, crafting unique associations between the brand and the program. Branded entertainment continues to grow and adapt to the advertising landscape—now most notably with online, specifically YouTube, integrations. With 800 million people visiting YouTube worldwide every month, the audiences brands want to reach are undoubtedly on this platform. More than the half of this audience is made up of the teenage segment—a highly engaged and loyal consumer of content—creating a guaranteed audience for branded content.

YouTube allows fans to feel part of a content creator’s world and become a reliable video consumer. YouTube star Mike Tompkins is no different; he has created a loyal fan base which guarantees tune-in to every upload—including participation. Mike’s audience was drawn to his call-to-action because by submitting their own videos they felt connected (600+ submissions; 250,000+ views in 10 days). Then, when the official music video premiered, fans who submitted content were that much more engaged due to their personal connection, while a new audience took notice due to the hit song, celebrity cast, and ease in sharing.

“’Starships’ performed by Mike Tompkins, the cast of PITCH PERFECT and YOU” resulted in significant views; strong awareness; substantial press coverage; engaged fan participation; ticket, soundtrack and DVD sales; and award recognitions. After fan submissions were submitted, the official music video launched on September 18, 2012. The video achieved 1 million+ video views in just two weeks, and has generated now over 4 million views to date. It was an instant hit on Twitter, shared by fans, celebrities, press and more – 500+ people used the hashtag #handsupandtouchthesky (a line from the song) and 'PITCH PERFECT Cast and YOU‘ was trending in the United States. An engaged viewer is one of the most intriguing and successful aspects of this type of integration and with over 75,000 YouTube “likes,” 13,000+ comments, 11,800+ shares, and 20,500+ “favorites”—fans definitely took notice to this branded content. Over 7,000 fans also clicked on the film’s trailer directly from the YouTube watch page. The program has already garnered an ADDY and TELLY award this year and helped drive: 10 film award nominations, $112 million+ worldwide box office sales, the top-selling soundtrack of 2013, a Billboard 200 #3 slot, and $40 million+ in DVD sales.