Why brands are flocking to Hollywood
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
CANNES, France — Chatter along the Croisette is that big brands and production companies are coming together to create the next iteration of branded content.
Why it matters: If you want people to care about something, you have to entertain them.
- Communicators and marketers are flocking to Hollywood for partnership deals that allow their corporate narrative to seep into culture, break through the noise and appeal to key constituencies by being entertaining.
What they're saying: "The future of communications is going to be working with leaders and organizations on their narrative, which is their message, reputation and positioning, rather than exposure and publicity," said Adam Mendelsohn, who founded Upland Workshop and led communications for LeBron James, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and TPG.
- Upland Workshop recently hired former Wall Street Journal reporter Julia-Ambra Verlaine, former Bloomberg tech reporter Alex Barinka and Business Insider alum Meredith Cash. "Journalists know how to work with teams to develop a story as opposed to just pitch[ing] one," Mendelsohn said.
- "It's less about generating media and more about developing content that breaks through, wherever that is," he added.
Between the lines: Brands are going Hollywood by underwriting documentaries and films that help tell their corporate story and reach broad swaths of stakeholders where they are in a seemingly organic way.
State of play: Internal content studios are being formed, and brands are increasingly partnering with major production teams to execute these strategies.
- Earlier this month, Starbucks launched Starbucks Studios, which will partner with Sugar23 to produce original entertainment that amplifies its narrative and weaves it into culture.
Meanwhile, a docuseries on McDonald's All-American Game, produced by Roc Nation, Known and Creative Control, was recently sold to Prime Video.
- The docuseries "is an authentic way to connect the brand to audiences," McDonald's chief marketing and customer experience officer Tariq Hassan said during an Amazon Port panel at Cannes.
Rolex is backing the new Roger Federer documentary, "Federer: Twelve Final Days," and Mattel co-produced last year's movie blockbuster "Barbie."
Yes, but: This isn't just about strategic product placement, it's about subtly lacing a corporate narrative into high-quality entertainment — and underwriting the TV and film business in the process.
What to watch: This could be the next generation of entertainment financing.
💠Thought bubble from Axios Media Deals reporter Tim Baysinger:
- "This feels like the next evolutionary state of branded content and will only further blur the lines between Madison Ave. and Hollywood."
Go deeper: X wants to produce more sports docuseries for "ferocious" fans, CEO says
