ThePostGame, a 4-year-old digital media property that reaches roughly 40 million people per month, is set to make a few major announcements. First up will be a sales and marketing partnership with WPP's new entertainment, sports and partnership business, ESP Properties.
ThePostGame has already produced more than 250 original editorial series, underwritten by advertisers. Toyota, Citi, Ford, Gillette, Exxon Mobil, Samsung, Scottrade, Macy's, BP and the U.S. Postal Service are among the brands that have worked with TPG in the past.
"Our broader view of Sports is incredibly appealing to premium brands. They want to be associated with inspiring content that shares their values, and that is the essence of ThePostGame's mission," ThePostGame founder and CEO David Katz said.
The partnership with WPP aims to deliver peak value to brands from ThePostGame's content development, which has successfully launched campaigns such as Mobil 1's Extreme Grillers. The 18-episode series features lovers of both food and cars who have turned their automobiles into designer cooking grills. The kooky-yet-compelling series is exactly what appeals to partners and advertisers.
"ThePostGame found a totally unique way to realize our brand identity editorially," said former UM Studio vp Eric Wallach, who led the "Extreme Grillers" campaign, and now works for Havas Media. "The scope of the project was enormous and ThePostGame was outstanding to work with at every stage of the campaign."
ThePostGame will also announce the formation of TPG Studios, which is essentially a spin-off business-to-business division where brands and agencies can go to see their body of work. It's not intended for typical readers, but more of a venue to create original series and make other video content available to brands. Its mission is to "align the brand values of advertisers and rights holders with inspiring editorial."
The companies' YouTube network has been viewed over 3.8 million times, but the partnership with ESP Properties and the launch of TPG Studios should let the content reach its desired audience. ThePostGame’s growing MCN currently has over 25 YouTube channels, combining for more than 470 million views in the last 12 months.
"Content is becoming increasingly important for brands as they look for better ways to engage with passionate communities," ESP Properties global CEO John Kristick said. "So we are excited to be working with ThePostGame as they launch TPG Studios, strengthening their successful track record in producing quality video and editorial for brands."
As part of the big news week for ThePostGame, an extended partnership with Yahoo will become official on Wednesday. The renewed deal will allow the Yahoo audience to continue viewing TPG's content on a variety of platforms.
"Yahoo has been an extraordinary partner, and we are grateful to be extending our content and distribution relationship with them," says Katz.
