Liquid I.V. is continuing to experiment with co-branded content through a partnership with Amazon Prime Video’s new “Off Campus” show, which is based on a popular book series of the same name by Elle Kennedy. Working with the Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab, the Unilever electrolyte drink mix brand created a short piece of custom content featuring lead actors Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli, appearing in character, to promote a new Sugar-Free Ring Pop Cherry flavor.
“This partnership aligns so well with the way we really want to approach brand partnerships in Prime Video,” said Kate McCagg, global head of Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab. “We were super committed, when we first wrote the vision for how we would do these, to making sure that these partnerships were additive to the fan experience versus feeling like it’s a tax that you have to pay in order to watch great content.”
During the 30-second spot, Cameli’s character, a hockey player named Garrett Graham, is practicing hockey as he spots the main love interest Hannah Wells, played by Bright. He mixes a packet of the new Liquid I.V. flavor into his water before giving her a wink. The spot then cuts to a montage of them being intimate with one another and a voice over explains that Liquid I.V. is “giving your body what it needs, so you can go after what you want.”
The creative is part of a larger campaign surrounding the hockey romance series, which debuted on May 13. Other elements in the tie-up include shoppable ads, a co-branded Feature Rotator on the Fire TV user interface and a landing page. Additionally, Liquid I.V. was the official hydration partner of a hockey-themed influencer event produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video.
Enriching personalization
Amazon Ads is focused on delivering personalized efforts for brands as advertising becomes a more important part of the e-commerce giant’s overall business. Amazon’s ad revenue is expected to reach $82.07 billion this year, capturing 9% of global ad revenue, according to Emarketer forecasts. Liquid I.V. isn’t the first brand Amazon has created custom content for. Earlier this year, it worked with Mercedes-Benz USA on several custom spots that aired during Prime Video’s NBA broadcasts.
What makes the Liquid I.V. effort unique is that the video is the first time lead talent from a Prime Video show has appeared in a co-branded spot, according to McCagg. Planning for the campaign began well over a year ago, before Liquid I.V. had any knowledge around casting. Not only does the show have a heavy sports element — an important factor for Liquid I.V. — but it also places an emphasis on social since it takes place at a college.
“We thought this was a beautiful intersection of culture being very relevant with our usage occasions,” said Aaron Jones, chief digital officer at Liquid I.V. and the Wellbeing Collective at Unilever.
“Off Campus” is not Liquid I.V.’s first foray into co-branded content. Previously, the brand partnered with the Prime Video series “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” which is based on the book series by Jenny Han, to promote it’s Orange Vanilla Dream product and other flavors. The resulting spot was filmed to invoke the nostalgic nature of the show.
Both properties are based on popular BookTok books, a sizable TikTok community that shares book recommendations, with romance and young adult novels a major factor. Books that go viral on the platform often have a built-in fanbase, which can provide advertisers with a unique opportunity to reach certain demographics.
“The fandom is so hungry for anything about these people, about this show, about the chemistry between the stars. So, the stars just aligned super well on this one to help us start to really demonstrate our vision,” said McCagg.
