Suit Up: One and Done? first appeared in the United States. In the US, Branded Entertainment has matured over the past 10 years. Suit Up: One and Done? appeared almost exclusively through digital outlets, where there is very little regulation from the government or other regulating bodies.

79% of marketers are now reporting that their companies are shifting into branded content either at a moderate or aggressive pace according to “The Spending Study: A Look at How Corporate America Invests in Branded Content for 2012”

By 2014, branded entertainment will reach $38.16 billion, growing at a 9.2 percent compound annual growth rate. Consumer events spending will grow at an 8.8 percent rate during the period, while paid product placements will increase 11.1 percent.

U.S. consumer spending on media and entertainment will increase 4.8% a year through 2017, with digital consumption finally rivaling physical sales, according to a new report.

The audience was drawn to the content exclusively through a digital campaign.

We utilized the social media presences of our talent (including series leads), distribution partners, and sponsor (DIRECTV) to announce when new episodes, trailers and supplemental content were premiering during the series rollout.

Press included reviews from MediaPost, USA Today, NPR, Variety, and Broadcast Newsroom.

Multiple versions of trailers were syndicated through a targeted video ad-network and through other forms of earned and owned media channels.

Display advertising included homepage takeovers, video carousel placement, and featured placement in YouTube playlists. Additionally, a sweepstakes supported the release of the series.

About 49m total verifiable impressions were delivered (30% higher than goal) from June through December.

Approximately 3.4 million episode/bonus video streams were delivered across the distribution platforms.

Over-delivery of the media plan was achieved by Month 5. Total Verifiable Impressions reached 130% of goal by campaign end.

The campaign generated over $1.3m of incremental, measurable media value for DIRECTV based on industry rates.

Distribution partners delivered approximately 188k incremental Season 1 streams.

By Month 7, Season 2 had over 13% more episode streams than Season 1 episode streams (3.3 million vs. 2.9 million for Season 1).

The purpose of a Suit Up: One and Done? was to give DIRECTV the opportunity to communicate its image to its target audience (affluent males) in an original way, by creating positive links between the brand and the program.