With Internet access now ubiquitous in the US, and further audience fragmentation due to smartphones, DVRs and social media, brands are looking beyond the traditional TV spot, banner ad or search campaign to connect with consumers. This challenge becomes even more acute when targeting a younger, digital audience that finds their content via social media, YouTube, video games and other non-traditional media.Branded Content - which can be more than just entertainment, it can also educate, enlighten and provide utility - provides a platform for brands on which to communicate and provide value with their consumers. Even when the brand or product is not integrated directly into the experience or content, the tone, attributes and messaging of the brand are woven into the experience so that every piece of content consumed provides branding.For these digital audiences, branded experiences provide them with authentic content that makes them laugh, teaches them or inspires them. These experiences also give audiences stories and content to post about in their social media circles, the water-cooler of the 21st century, generating earned media for the brand. Brands also benefit by being able to host this content on their own digital properties.

To reach this digital consumer, editorial headlines on the MSN.com enticed the target audience to click to watch the episodes, learn about the cast members and see behind the scenes footage. On Xbox Live, audiences could view a teaser video within the ad unit before clicking to explore the full experience. Other media on Xbox Live promoted the industry first advertiser sponsored Avatar prop as well as free downloads. Consumers were also drawn to the experience via word-of-mouth from the shows’ Facebook and YouTube fan pages, via tweets from cast members, Xbox on Facebook and from the Toyota Yaris websites.

Nearly 900,000 visitors to the web and mobile sites, and over 500,000 visitors on Xbox, streamed almost 2m videos, and played the mini-games over 319,000 times. Audiences organically discovered the 1bit, 8bit, 16bit and 128bit versions of the Yaris over 50,000 times and engaged with the Gallery over 100,000 times.All this engagement with the Brand led to huge lifts in key metrics, including a 247% point lift for rating the Yaris ‘Fun to Drive’. Consumers who recalled the campaign were 58% more likely to consider the Yaris vs an average industry lift on Xbox Live of 18%. When consumers recalled 2 or more of the platforms (Xbox, Web or Mobile), there was a 195% point lift in considering the Yaris.