The FINANCIAL — In a bold move to push storytelling beyond digital frontiers, into VR, AOL on September 26 announced its expansive content creation and distribution partnership with American Family Insurance (AFI) and Mindshare, the media agency that is part of WPP.
The campaign leverages the capabilities of AOL’s award-winning Partner Studio and Oscar Nominated HuffPost RYOT to encourage viewers to fearlessly pursue their dreams, according to AOL.
“At American Family we believe dreams are the most important things anyone will ever own. It’s why we’re so excited to use 360° video and virtual reality to bring to life stories of everyday dreamers who are pursuing their passions” says Telisa Yancy, CMO, American Family Insurance. “Partnering with AOL and using their innovative storytelling tech is the perfect way to spread a real, relatable message of inspiration – one that we hope empowers people to overcome their own obstacles and dream fearlessly.”
AFI will be the first to tap into AOL’s full-suite of new solutions and services, and leverage AOL’s premium network, which reaches more than 500 million monthly global consumers. Specifically, this multi-faceted campaign includes:
A dedicated editorial platform on The Huffington Post, celebrating, rewarding, and recognizing individuals who are passionately pursuing their dreams.
A three-part branded video series that will highlight the men and women who relentlessly pursued their dreams and achieved happiness and success as a result of being fearless. The 360° video series will be accessible across screens and enable viewers to experience the action on the HuffPost RYOT app or through a VR headset.
New 360° video that will be enabled across AOL’s pre-roll, outstream, interstitial and expandable ad formats for desktop and mobile.
AOL research around the development of metrics for 360°/VR consumer and advertiser engagement.
“This is a pivotal moment for AOL and our partners, as we continue to double down on developing the largest content creation platform in the world for brands,” said Jimmy Maymann, EVP and President, Content and Consumer Brands, AOL. “Engaging storytelling is at the core of what we do, and our work with American Family Insurance demonstrates our ability to create immersive content, putting consumers in control of their viewing experience, tapping into new technology like VR.”
The campaign will run from late October until the end of the year.
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