Amazon Launches Its First YouTube Original Branded Content Series
Amazon’s “Celebrity Substitute,” an original branded content series, is premiering today exclusively on YouTube.
The digital series released nine episodes ranging from 5 minutes to 8 minutes each in length. It follows host Julian Shapiro-Barnum, the 25-year-old comedian and actor of the online hit “Recess Therapy,” as he brings celebrity guests to substitute teach at New York City public school classrooms.
Shapiro-Barnum, as a kid who went to public schools in New York City, known firsthand that teaching kids is not an easy job. “Would it be fun to see if celebrities were up for it,” he says in the video introducing the series.
At a school located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh set out to teach drama to kids. Amazon surprised the school by giving them all the supplies on its wish list for the kids.
Lisa from BLACKPINK as well as gymnast Jordan Chiles are included in the lineup or stars. While the celebrities bring their talents to the classroom, the real stars of the show are the students and teachers. Each episode features Shapiro-Barnum and special guests partnered with Amazon to fulfill the school’s Amazon Wish List — providing essential learning supplies and resources.
Amazon Head of Entertainment Marketing Amy Powell said on a panel during Advertising Week that Amazon is a ubiquitous brand with the ability to authentically connect with consumer experiences, adding that Amazon’s most valuable assets are the smiles on boxes that hopefully spread joy.
“Celebrity Substitute” is one of many ways Amazon is working to integrate the values of the brand directly into entertainment to reach customers outside the traditional ad spot. It is part of Amazon’s new approach to branded entertainment marketing that the company believes drives brand affinity, discovery, and engagement through storytelling.
The episodes, designed for mobile platforms, cater to the ways that audiences consume content on YouTube and often connect to Amazon’s retail experience. The content is intended to be lighthearted while making a commitment to fulfilling the needs of kids and teachers.
As younger customers consume content within nontraditional media, “Celebrity Substitute” allows Amazon to reach them with brands being sold within the company’s marketplace. The key is reaching shoppers without interrupting — while fulfilling their wish lists.
Amazon often fulfills wishlists — especially for young students during the holidays. Not all of those wishlist fulfillments are from merchants who sell on Amazon.
For example, Sawyer Burich from the Brillion school district in Wisconsin developed a friendship with an Amazon delivery driver who would deliver packages to his family’s door. In September 2021, one of those delivery drivers surprised Sawyer, who has autism, with his own Amazon uniform for Halloween.
On Friday, Sawyer got to wear that uniform and had a special tour of the Greenville Delivery Station and see the inside of the new electric delivery vehicle that helps to deliver packages.
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