The CNBC Brand Studio changed the game of branded content at NBCU with THE SHIFT as the first-ever longform, branded documentary series to appear on CNBC, airing for nine consecutive Saturdays during paid programming time. The creative thinking that led to its conception was matched by an innovative distribution strategy: It is the first program of its kind to be sydicated on Peacock, NBCU’s acclaimed streaming platform. Those were only two of several channels, including Salesforce’s own Salesforce+ platform and CNBC.com, to feature all episodes of this groundbreaking, cross-channel content program. The linear airings provided a burst of short-term visibility

Recognizing it was in a tough competitive environment in which multiple companies were undertaking similar endeavors with varying degrees of success, Salesforce wanted to differentiate its thought leadership efforts by letting its customer stories do much of the heavy lifting. Salesforce hoped to inspire their target with stories of businesses that experienced significant challenges – many of them pandemic-related – and emerged successfully. Since CNBC is filled with insights and thought leadership from subject matter experts across all sectors and has a lineup of business-based reality docuseries, the idea of a long-form branded docuseries franchise was a natural fit. Establishing a unique value proposition was a key objective to differentiate our groundbreaking series from both CNBC editorial content as well as content from other brands.

THE SHIFT is a documentary-style, branded content television series spotlighting seven Salesforce enterprise clients as they evolved their business practices to adapt to changing landscapes with the help of Salesforce's innovative technology. The seven-part series positions Salesforce as a superlative enterprise strategy partner by showcasing real-life use cases and business victories. Each 22-minute episode showcases one business, with the first act devoted to establishing the “problem” and subsequent acts highlighting the strategic and decision-making process and, finally, successful transformation and resolution, which are made possible by innovative technology from, and partnership with, Salesforce. The series showcased multiple paths to partnership with Salesforce by featuring a wide array of businesses, including a bank, a nonprofit, a startup and an established global retailer among others. Salesforce messaging or branding is subtle and organic, so that it never interferes with the individual dramatic narratives.

Our strategic approach was to leverage the popularity of CNBC longform docuseries to create a first-of-its kind, “big splash” content program that breaks through the B2B content clutter. We proposed a linear-led, omnichannel franchise to reach CNBC’s vast viewership of C-suite executives and executive-level business decision makers across all business verticals, including Operations, Finance, Sales, Marketing, IT, Business Tech and Human Resources. The series aimed to provide risk takers as well as the risk averse with actionable examples and supporting rationale to make crucial decisions during a time of heightened uncertainty, as our internal research demonstrates that the CNBC audience strongly prefers content with utility. Secondarily, we pitched the series as an important client relationship tool which would provide key Salesforce customers with an opportunity for significant exposure to CNBC’s massive audience of business decision makers.  

This type of long-form branded content, running as paid programming, had never been executed before on CNBC. The linear airings over nine consecutive Saturdays (including two encore presentations) were the “crown jewel” of the program. Further disrupting the typical branded content distribution plan, we leveraged an innovative mix of ancillary digital syndication. Following their TV debuts, episodes were featured on the Salesforce+ streaming platform and on Peacock, NBCU’s acclaimed video streaming service, which was another first for this groundbreaking branded content series. As part of an extensive multiplatform media campaign, significant promotion via a range of tactics on all CNBC digital channels and social media maximized awareness and viewership and drove traffic to the always-on THE SHIFT digital hub on CNBC.com. In total, 164 video assets were created for use across channels, from footage taken over 60 shoot days in five countries spanning the first three quarters of 2022.

Content engagement exceeded benchmarks on several key metrics. Despite a preference for shorter video content by CNBC users, video completion rates were above benchmark by double digits, and digital viewers engaged with multiple episodes, which speaks to the power of the series’ storytelling. The groundbreaking nature of the branded series led to coverage in several trade publications. The target audience took notice, and we received multiple inquiries from businesses interested in being featured in future episodes, which provided Salesforce with real lead generation opportunities. Most importantly, Salesforce considered the program an unqualified success by all measures, and we are now in discussions for a second season of THE SHIFT.

THE SHIFT was borne from the global business breakdown caused by the pandemic and its aftermath, an unprecedented disruption that created an enormous, insatiable demand on the part of CNBC’s vast audience of business leaders for strategic insight, as companies across all verticals struggled to adapt to volatile business conditions and ever-evolving “new norms.” Salesforce wanted to seize that opportunity and challenged the CNBC Brand Studio to develop a content program that would position Salesforce as an innovative, solutions-oriented enterprise partner. THE SHIFT disrupted the brand content ecosystem with a first-ever CNBC branded, longform format that grabbed the attention of the Salesforce target, with distribution on all-new VOD channels in addition to unprecedented linear premieres.

Convincing high-growth, high-profile companies (all Salesforce customers) to allow viewers behind their PR team's steel curtain and into the decision-making process that led their organizations to success was challenging, since companies largely avoid unnecessary scrutiny. It took a very long time to negotiate and secure the featured businesses. Securing CNBC editorial approval to run a longform branded content was also challenging, so when it happened, people took notice.