- 📺 U.S. consumers are likeliest to have engaged with TV shows, films and video content by brands.
- 🍔 Shake Shack launched a merchandise collection.
The types of brand content people engage with most
When it comes to the types of brand-funded content U.S. consumers recall engage with most, TV shows, films and video top the list, followed closely by social media content and recipes.
A survey of 6,562 U.S. consumers conducted by Toolkits and National Research Group found that 53% of consumers recall engaging with TV film and video content from brands. Just over half (51%) recalled engaging with social media content, followed by recipes (46%), memes and humor content (44%) and games (40%.)
Perhaps surprisingly, consumers were least engaged with analysis content (26% recall engaging) and insights/data-driven content.
Wear Shake Shack
Shake Shack has launched Shake Shack Store, a collection of sweats, t-shirts headwear and accessories, all branded with the Shake Shack logo. The collection sells t-shirts for about $36, and sweatshirts for about $65. “Our guests are always asking us for Shake Shack merchandise, and we’ve finally found a way to bring it to life with high quality materials that live up to the Shake Shack name,” said Michael McGarry, VP of Brand, in a statement.
The project was headed up by my former colleague Emma Paul, who now runs content marketing at the company. In a post, Paul wrote: “At Shake Shack we stand for quality in our food, so it was important for us to create a high quality website and merch collection for our guests that feels premium and elevated.”
Why it matters: We’ve noted before that companies are increasingly looking for new ways to monetize their content and their brands more generally. Physical goods have been part of that: Mailchimp’s Courier sells issues of its magazine, plus apparel featuring the Courier logo, for example.
How brands are monetizing content initiatives directly
Brands are increasingly attempting to monetize the content they produce and publish directly, turning what was previously a marketing activity into a source of revenue in its own right.
For companies that have invested meaningful resources in publishing operations – and in many cases hired journalists and borrowed strategies from “traditional” media companies – monetizing their content more directly may seem a logical next step. For some, the desire to explore monetization is underpinned by a need to diversify revenue streams, while others are attracted by the opportunity to offset their costs.
Lyft as media seller
Brands are increasingly tapping into the first-party data they have on their customers to sell media. A new entrant into this: Lyft, which is selling ad space on in-car tablets and car rooftops, and says its intimate knowledge of foot traffic can help differentiate its offerings in the market.
Retail media’s maturation point
Retail media continues to grow quickly, with U.S. retail media spend predicted to more than double by 2027. But the channel is evolving rapidly: One columnist argues that standardization of reporting and metrics is nigh, and says that in the coming year, more brands will attempt to sell to non-endemic advertisers in an effort to grow margins.