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Got a ton of people on the internet talking about the same thing for a day? Brands might rush in. Got a ton of people talking about the same thing for weeks on end? Brands will<\/em> rush in.<\/p>\n That\u2019s exactly what has happened over the last two months amid the third and final season of Amazon Prime Video\u2019s The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/em>, an adaptation of a book series by Jenny Han that nabbed 25 million viewers in the first seven days following its premiere, according to Amazon internal data shared with Marketing Brew. The coming-of-age romance drama following Isabel \u201cBelly\u201d Conklin and her relationship with two brothers has been the talk of the summer on social media, with fans speculating what will come next each week, making predictions, and dissecting episodes. And many, many brands and sports teams and leagues have made content chiming in.<\/p>\n Social media teams who spoke to Marketing Brew said the response to their show-related posts has largely been positive. So why not continue to build on the momentum? For some marketers, the show has a particular element making it ripe for conversation: there\u2019s a team element to the show, with many fans rooting for either Conrad or Jeremiah Fisher to win over Belly\u2019s heart and declaring themselves #TeamConrad or #TeamJeremiah.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat really excites us in social is that fandom is a universal language, whether or not you are a fan of a baseball team or a TV show or a musician,\u201d said Cameron Gidari, VP, social media and innovation for MLB, which has been posting about the show on its socials since August. \u201cThis show is having watch parties [where] you\u2019re team Conrad or you\u2019re team Jeremiah, so a lot of the instinct and the behavior is really similar to that of a sports fan.\u201d<\/p>\n For many brands, tapping into The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/em>\u2019s popularity\u2014and brand placement in the series\u2014is driving big numbers. Engagement for social content about the show\u2019s third season is up 514% from Season 2 for Mondelez\u2019s Swedish Fish, according to the company, and the brand\u2019s top two TikToks for the summer were both about the show. Meanwhile Sour Patch Kids, another Mondelez brand, has netted 12 million impressions so far this year for its show-related social content, the company said. <\/p>\n Both brands were referenced in the show at the end of the second season, with each brother debating which candy she will choose\u2014an on-the-nose metaphor for which brother Belly will ultimately end up with.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a pleasant surprise to us to be featured in such a prominent way,\u201d John Vasington, senior brand manager, candy, at Mondelez, told Marketing Brew. \u201cJenny is a fan of the brands, and I know has included us in the third book, so we had an idea that we\u2019d probably at some point make an appearance in the show. But for it to happen in such an impactful way in Season 2 was a really welcome surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n In the gap between seasons, social chatter tying the brands to the show didn\u2019t slow down, said Sandra Yang, associate director of social and strategy for Dentsu Creative, Mondelez\u2019s agency, and both brands opted to advocate for the brother tied to the brands online. For the third season, the brands became an official brand partner, with limited-edition boxes of Sour Patch Kids for Team Conrad and Swedish Fish for Team Jeremiah.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew this show was going to be very top of mind for Gen Z as the new season kicked off, and we wanted to be a part of it in a much more substantial way,\u201d Vasington said.<\/p>\n Most brands don\u2019t have the luxury of appearing in the show\u2019s universe. Even so, brand social accounts big and small have recognized the value of staying up-to-date on the show.<\/p>\n Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n MLB, for example, started posting about the show in mid-August after a member of its social media team who is a fan of the show pitched getting involved, Gidari said. As of late August, the social content around the show had generated 2.5 million views and 540,000 engagements.<\/p>\n In addition to the brand TikToks and Reels referencing episodes, brand accounts are also showing up in the comment sections of edits that fans make for the show, sometimes doing so with commentary about the episode or rooting for a particular character.<\/p>\n \u201cI think why this phenomenon caught wildfire this summer, in addition to the pure escapism\u2026 [is that] it allows us to talk the way these people talk, make creative the way that they\u2019re already seeing stuff on their own algorithms and their own platforms, like it doesn\u2019t feel brand-y,\u201d said Mimia Johnson, SVP of creative excellence at VaynerMedia, which created social content around the show for brands like Miralax and sparkling-water brand Bubly.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t want to see ads. They want to see brands that act like people,\u201d Johnson noted. \u201cThat\u2019s why we see the brands in the comments. That\u2019s why we see brands activating Team Jeremiah versus Team Conrad, talking about love triangles.\u201d<\/p>\n Nick Mazzucco, head of social strategy at Burrell Communications, said that at a time when social media managers worry about the high stakes of internet chatter, something like this can be a low-stakes way to participate in a trend.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is that spark of old internet monoculture,\u201d he told us.<\/p>\n When it comes to activating around TSITP<\/em>, social media and brand managers said they are careful to use language like the names of the characters from the show rather than specific IP like quotes, soundbites, or even the Taylor Swift songs used in the show that could land them in hot water when creating content.<\/p>\n \u201cThere wasn\u2019t a specific line in the trend that you had to use, you could really make it your own,\u201d Katherine Blessis-Poto, social media specialist at Hannaford Supermarkets, said. \u201cSo we felt comfortable taking that risk and putting it out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Some brands have an advantage by working with the show\u2019s cast or creators to get them to be part of the content that they\u2019re making around the show. The reigning WNBA champs, the New York Liberty, for example, hosted cast members and Han courtside; a subsequent post with the cast garnered more than 80,000 likes on Instagram, and on TikTok, content with the cast was one of the top four highest-engaged videos of August. Meanwhile, content with the cast for Barclays Center, where the Liberty plays, nabbed 8.1 million views and more than 920,000 engagements on TikTok and 3.1 million impressions on Instagram.<\/p>\n Shana Stephenson, the Liberty\u2019s chief brand officer, said the partnership worked well because Liberty players are fans of the show themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cLiberty center Nyara Sabally is a fan of The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/em> and proudly reps Team Conrad,\u201d Stephenson wrote in an email. \u201cBringing her together with the cast courtside postgame felt organic and true to who she is\u2014and that authenticity is exactly what we aim for.\u201d<\/p>\n After the show\u2019s season finale on September 17, brands will look for more shows to, like consumers, throw themselves into.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to continue to see that more and more as people are looking for that escapism,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThey\u2019re looking for something that totally sucks them in.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nBrother lover<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The summer I became a fan<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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