Diageo, Amazon Prime partner to produce 'shoppable' films

Dive Brief:

Spirits company Diageo has partnered with Amazon Prime for "shoppable" 20-minute films featuring premium brands like Dutch Vodka Ketel One, Don Julio tequila, Cîroc vodka, Ron Zacapa Guatemalan rum, Johnnie Walker's luxury variants and Haig Club whisky, according to a report in Ad Age.
The films series, called "World Class List," is presented in the style of travel documentaries and takes viewers to bars in Sydney, Barcelona, Mexico City, San Francisco and Taipei. World Class is Diageo's bartender training program, and was launched in 2009, per Ad Age. In the U.K. and Germany, the "World Class List" videos will include links to Diageo's e-commerce website embedded in the content.
"We are connecting content with commerce," Johanna Dalley, World Class director at Diageo, told Ad Age. "We have worked closely with Amazon on a market-by-market basis to create custom landing pages with a direct link to purchase."

Dive Insight:

The campaign is the latest example of how content marketing is intersecting with entertainment to include more cinematic storytelling elements instead of direct, straightforward messaging. Diageo's effort, while striving for an authentic feel, also layers in an additional e-commerce element with the shoppable aspect.

Though the combination of narrative-driven branding and a direct sales tactic like shoppable film might make for an uneasy combo, early feedback from viewers via consumer tests found 80% wanted to watch more of the sponsored content, Dalley told Ad Age.

Shoppable photos and video are picking up traction as brands and retailers seek to lessen friction on the consumer path to purchase. Most of these efforts have been allocated on social media, as platforms including Facebook and Facebook's image-sharing app Instagram have introduced shoppable posts. Amazon getting into the space points to the platform's growing importance in digital advertising.

While Amazon is often positioned behind big digital ad players like Google, its ad revenue is forecast to hit $3.5 billion this year, and continued innovation with major brands like Diageo might give it a leg-up on the competition.