Branded entertainment in the United States continues to be an emerging space, with Branded videos specifically housed on Youtube representing the lion share of content. As would be expected, the deluge of content produces very few organic hits. Brand are often forced to spend money promoting the video, or running pre-roll ads to get the view count up, artificially inflating the numbers and creating content that is faux-viral.

To promote the 56th Grammy Awards, we put a new spin on backmasking – showing how it can unleash a positive message in a modern way. We started by taking it away from vinyl and into to the way people experience music today - online, through music videos. Through a customized rich media banner, music fans were able to take one of our TV commercials featuring a song by Grammy nominated artists Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – and play it backwards unleashing new content. In the end, we didn’t just unleash backmasking; we unleashed what could be done with a banner ad.

Without a single dime in paid media, the banner gained attention from major news networks, blogs and influencers alike. It helped build buzz the week of the show and lead to increased viewership. In the end, we turned what was once considered an antiquated and stuffy awards show into a modern event that appealed to a young demographic.