In order to convince consumers that they are not just an online retailer, Amazon launched a first-of-its-kind promotional campaign in partnership with People Magazine to shine a spotlight on their entertainment offering.

From the cover to custom integrations throughout the magazine, Amazon worked directly with People to promote their story through editorial pieces rather than through traditional advertisements. By showing off the Kindle Fire and having the star of Amazon Studio’s award-winning show Transparent featured on the cover, the partnership promoted each piece of the company’s offering by baking their story into what their consumers already read each week.

Amazon partnered with People Magazine, one of the preeminent entertainment subscriptions in the US, to create the AMaZine; a first-of-its-kind brand-integrated takeover of the magazine’s12/8 issue.

To ensure Amazon’s story was seamlessly told through the pages of People, the brand worked with People’s editorial team to provide complimentary content rather than disruptive advertisements.

A custom cover was created identically mirroring People’s classic look and featured Jeffrey Tambour, star of Amazon Studio’s Transparent. Additionally, custom Amazon content was integrated throughout two of the most prominent features of the magazine to weave their entertainment story into People’s consumer’s weekly read.

The promotional custom cover was sent to 2.6 million national subscribers while the rest of the issue, including the custom content pieces in “People’s Picks” and “One Last Thing” hit newsstands for a total of nearly 3.5 million copies delivered. People analytics also showed a positive uptick in brand sentiment for Amazon’s entertainment portfolio.

By presenting consumers with long form content displayed as a seamless ad-free integration, Amazon was able to tell their story in a way that had never been done before. The integration allowed the brand to break through the competitive clutter leading into the holidays ensuring that Amazon was not just a place to buy last minute gifts this holiday season.