Beautiful Branding and A Birthday Party Build Revenue for ABC’s Localish

Can throwing a beautiful birthday party increase revenue for a local branded content initiative? The team from Localish proves that it can! Tying their unique brand into an event focused on sales team and advertiser education, highlights the best parts of Localish, while gracefully showing off their strategy and their success.

Background on the Branded Content Project:

The Branded Content Project, funded by the Facebook Journalism Project in partnership with Local Media Association and Local Media Consortium, has challenged the project alpha group to create large action plans and take giant leaps toward new revenue possibilities with branded content.

The seven teams have jumped into enormous initiatives and are seeing the first round of results come in with exciting success. Graham Media Group’s Taking Off initiative was our first feature; our second was The Dallas Morning News and their FWD > DFW initiative; our third was Shaw Media and their work toward improving reporting for advertisers; our fourth is WRAL’s multiple branded content initiatives and their efforts toward a re-branding campaign that will grow revenue, advertisers, awareness and help educate along the way; our fifth is Creative Lab @McClatchy’s use of events to educate advertisers and account executives. The sixth feature focuses on a uniquely branded event hosted by Localish, a content series from the ABC Owned Television Stations, which highlights the good in American cities.

What is Localish? According to their page housed within ABC.com, Localish introduces audiences to “Good food. Good people. Good living. Localish is all about bringing out the good in America’s cities. Our locally-sourced stories transcend city limits so you can live like a local wherever you go.”

Jennifer Mitchell, senior vice president of content development for the ABC Owned Television Stations and Localish, explains the branded content strategy behind Localish. “The ABC Owned Television Stations have worked to integrate branded content into our larger multi-platform sales strategy, offering clients a range of opportunities from sponsorship of existing verticals and series, to fully custom content integrations. The strength of our broadcast brands serves as a megaphone to amplify digital-first initiatives, offering clients the opportunity to connect with audiences on all screens and platforms. OTV’s new Localish brand has opened up additional opportunities to connect with new audiences and new advertisers with its digital-first perspective and fresh narrative style.”

The power of Localish comes from the stories about the communities around all of us. Their voice is authentic and youthful and reaches national audiences across platforms while creating a brand-safe environment for advertisers.

Michael Koenigs, executive producer for Localish, explains the unique connection between telling stories and building sales relationships. “We’re focused on experiential marketing as a way to build sales relationships and drive revenue growth. Since Localish is such a new brand and we’re telling stories in ways that feel distinctly different from traditional broadcast products, the more we can do to expose buyers to who we are, the better. We believe that letting potential clients immerse themselves in the world of