TBS Announces Google Play as Exclusive, Year-Long Mobile Gaming Partner for CONAN
TBS, a division of Turner, and Google Play today announced a year-long mobile gaming partnership to power the renowned gaming escapades of late-night series CONAN. As the first-ever, exclusive mobile gaming partner of CONAN, Google Play will fuel live-streaming stunts, mobile-led marathons and in-show brand integrations throughout the year.
CONAN has become a leading late-night favorite among those in the video gamer community, who have helped turn the Clueless Gamer segments and Stream Coco weekly review show into viral sensations across the Team Coco website and social handles. Clueless Gamer features host Conan O'Brien and guests playing – or rather attempting to play – the hottest video games on the market. As part of the partnership, Google Play will serve as the platform of choice to bring the show’s gaming adventures to fans across all screens.
"The meteoric rise of mobile gaming has led to a video game community that is more diverse, inclusive, and representative than ever before,” said Chris Connelly, Global Content Marketing Lead for Google Play. “Conan's authentic personality and broad reach makes him the perfect partner to help tell that story, and show the increasing role mobile gaming plays in our lives. As huge fans of the show, we’re looking forward to showcasing the wide selection of fun and innovative games from major studios and indies alike on Google Play.”
The partnership kicked off with an in-show brand integration during CONAN’s week of shows at the Apollo Theater in New York City. As Conan O'Brien rode to the theater with associate producer Jordan Schlansky, he was able to enjoy the commute with the accessibility of Google Play, or so he hoped. The video was shared and optimized across Team Coco’s social handles, generating over 1.7MM views to date on Facebook and YouTube.
“As Conan continues to evolve the boundaries of his late-night show and build an incredible community of fans in the digital and social space, we’ve been able to take a true omni-channel approach to our partnerships with marketers,” said Jenn Cohen, Senior Vice President of Entertainment Content Partnerships for Turner Ignite. “This social-led, year-long campaign brings Google Play unique access to the show across all touchpoints, while also rewarding the fans with more of what they want – their favorite late-night gamer.”
Next up in December, Team Coco’s accomplished gamer Aaron Bleyaert (better known as “Bley”) will dive into Google Play’s 2017 “Best of Play” list, revealing and reviewing the year’s top trending mobile games in a special edition of Stream Coco. On deck for 2018, Team Coco will attempt the show’s first-ever live mobile gaming marathon, where Bley will take on Google Play’s dynamic catalogue of games for 24-hours straight. Google Play will also road trip with CONAN for the show’s fourth annual appearance at San Diego Comic-Con.
CONAN airs Monday-Thursday at 11 p.m. (ET/PT) on TBS and is produced by Conaco LLC, with Jeff Ross serving as executive producer. Since premiering in November 2010, the show continues to be a hit with young adults, consistently delivering the youngest audience of any late-night series. The show also continues to be a phenomenal success in the digital and social media arena, chalking up more than 3.4 billion video views, in addition to 70+ million views for Team Coco's branded content with clips from CONAN's nightly episodes, international excursions and Comic-Con shows drawing more than 1.3 billion views.
On the social media front, O'Brien has 26.6 million followers on Twitter, making him one of the most-followed hosts in late night. Among the show's other successes in digital arena, Team Coco and TBS earned an Emmy® for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media.
About Turner Ad Sales
Turner Ad Sales monetizes the company's portfolio of leading entertainment, kids, news and sports properties through award-winning advanced advertising capabilities that power return-on-investment for brands. Attracting a wide-scale audience of diverse fans, the collection includes leading media brands Adult Swim, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, CNN, Great Big Story, HLN, SuperDeluxe, TBS, TNT, truTV, Bleacher Report and Turner Sports' high-profile coverage of the NBA, Major League Baseball, NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, ELEAGUE, UEFA and professional golf. In addition, the company has digital sales partnerships with the NBA, NCAA and PGA.
About Google Play
Google Play is an online store with millions of digital songs, movies, TV shows, apps, games, books and more. It’s a one stop digital entertainment destination where you have access to 40 million songs, thousands of new release movies and next day TV shows, millions of apps and games and thousands of news sources that can be viewed on any device - at home or on the go!
Publicity Contacts
Allie Bodack
Turner Ad Sales
212-275-6752
Joshua Cruz
Google Communications
619-829-4315
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