Branded entertainment in Australia is a growing area across TV and digital platforms, particularly due to the growth of video-over-broadband and social media.Our free-to-air TV networks do have some limited restrictions, but the system is largely self-policing, to enable networks to maximise revenue opportunities. There is a constant balancing act between brand involvement, quality control and programme integrity.The majority of content integration is managed via the networks, rather than brands doing deals with production companies. In off-peak and on subscription TV there are more opportunities for brand involvement. Prime time is the most difficult to secure and is based on a number of variables - ratings and audience numbers being 2 obvious key factors.Due to the nature of our target’s media consumption, much of our strategy focused on digital branded entertainment.5 Gum’s target of ‘explorers’ (described below) are predominantly aged 14-29. Traditional TV once dominated their media diet, but digital technology has now massively fragmented their attention across a broad spectrum of digital channels and content.In the digital environment, our client Wrigley imposed the only significant restriction we faced: all content had to be suitable for an audience aged 12+.

This is the first time a media agency has created a new product to answer the client challenge. Our 5X packs, on sale in almost every grocery store across Australia/New Zealand, were our primary media channel.

An on-pack call-to-action drove explorers to create their mutant alter-ego and battle other mutants at 5XMutantGum.com. Battle results were displayed on a real-time online scoreboard.Every 5X pack also contained a unique code, which unlocked exclusive powers at the website.This drove repeat purchase, as players became thirsty for powers no other mutant had.An integrated 5X campaign surrounded the release of X-Men First Class:oCinema, TV, digital broadcasting, high-impact digital formats raised awareness of 5XoBranded TV content, digital editorial integration told the deeper 5X storyoFacebook.com/5GumANZ was our social hub: fan-base engagement included prizes for the most liked mutants, ‘Hot Or Not?’ mutant polls, exclusive X-Men First Class content

The results achieved during the May/June 2011 campaign illustrate the depth of the 5X experience:•41,000 mutants created•490,000 battles fought•263,109 site visits•4.3m page views•6min 34sec average session time•16,000 visits were longer than 30 minutes•19,000 visitors returned over 50 times•39,000 visits viewed over 20 pages•Total fan engagement: 28,795 hours = 3.29 years•64,000 new Facebook fans•This took total 5 Facebook fans to 373,000•This made 5’s Facebook community the 6th largest Australian Facebook brand community at the time•The most powerful mutant battled 20,595 times = 4.8 days gameplay•1 5X fan purchased 179 packs of 5 containing unique codesThis immersive engagement delivered extraordinary sales results:•5X drove 5 to its best-ever market share, anywhere in the world: 26.5%•5X was the no.2 selling gum in Australia in June 2011.Only the mass-market Extra spearmint, an exceptional result for a limited edition youth-focused product, beat it.