The Branded Entertainment landscape is cluttered with product integration and brand messaging. If we’re going to help Ford stand out, we need to differentiate its products within that environment in an impactful, yet authentic way. To create the best integration, we need to identify the right partners and the right content. To create the most interesting and effective brand communication, we need to develop and maintain relationships with broadcasters, production companies and talent. Ultimately, it’s an exhaustive search for the best possible opportunities and platforms to feature Ford products. It’s about being collaborative with all agency partners. It’s about being mindful of the context in with which vehicles are integrated. And it’s about making sure Ford’s identity maintains integrity while staying true to the brand.

Ford gave young drivers a chance at a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We connected them with their passion - action sports - and got them up close and personal with the sport’s biggest superstars. We used the X-Games to recruit the drivers and created OctaneAcademy.com to be the content aggregator for traffic driven by X Games media and social amplification. And even if a contestant isn’t selected to participate in person, he can still be radically entertained by Octane Academy’s fully-cranked, holy $%!* content. Everyone has the opportunity to take a white-knuckle ride and live vicariously through the contestants.

Season One of Octane Academy showed some serious horsepower. Ford was fired up that millennials were fired up about the program and about Ford cars. The premiere episode was released online before it debuted on Fuel TV. The tally? Almost half a million views, making it one of the top downloads on iTunes.

In fact, Octane Academy brought down the average FUEL TV viewer age from 37 to 30. Repeat airings on Speed Channel brought the age down from 50 to 38. The drivers brought in fans through social media, reaching a potential audience of over 30 million people. Without the social celebrity and clout of the Ford-sponsored drivers, those numbers would have been impossible.

Within a short period of time, an active 40K+ Octane Academy community developed and expressed nearly 100% positive sentiment along the way. Favorable opinion of the Ford brand among those who interacted with octaneacademy.com was 47 points higher than benchmark (85% vs. 38%).

Octane Academy momentum hasn’t let up. The fan base continues to grow. And Ford has committed to giving young enthusiasts another shot at living their dream of becoming a professional race car driver. Season Two launches on NBC this summer.