Viewers binge-watching The Boys or Reacher on Prime Video might find themselves invited to purchase something between episodes.

At its Unboxed conference in Austin last month, Amazon Ads rolled out interactive shoppable ads for Prime Video in North America. Consumers can add items from the ads to their Amazon carts, ask Amazon to notify and email them about products, or book appointments with businesses using their remote or by scanning a QR code.

The interactive ads are just the latest addition to a growing shoppable TV realm as streamers like Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, and Roku aim to make it easier for consumers to make purchases directly from ads on their TV screens.

As the ad formats grow in popularity, experts told us that not all shoppable ads are equally compelling and that there are various challenges to achieving broad buy-in from consumers. The proliferation of the ad formats means that—like it or not—ad-supported streaming platforms are beginning to look a little more like QVC and HSN, the home-shopping networks that popularized the practice of selling directly to consumers through TV programming.

“Bringing the ads into either the content itself or ads that are running in between or throughout the content, and then being able to actually action on that and shop, is a huge trend that streamers, social, and brands should be really leaning into,” said Jana Arbanas, vice chair and US telecom, media, and entertainment sector leader at Deloitte.

Continue reading here.—JS

Cash App is always on the lookout for rising stars in sports.

In January, the digital wallet service signed a deal reportedly worth more than $20 million per year to become a co-sponsor of Red Bull’s Formula 1 B team along with Visa. Also with Visa, it’s an official partner and the official prepaid debit card of the New York Jets. And it has pushed further into basketball, becoming the official payments partner of the Overtime Elite league earlier this year.

Up until October, though, the payments app hadn’t touched pro women’s basketball. That all changed when the brand inked a deal with Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, one of the brightest stars from this year’s shining WNBA rookie class, in a deal slated to last through the end of the year.

“There’s no shortage of talent in women’s basketball, and that’s become clear this year for sure, but I think with Angel specifically, we really feel like she’s redefining what it means to be a game-changer,” Cash App CMO Catherine Ferdon told Marketing Brew. “Angel is authentically and consistently pushing the boundaries between sports and culture, and that’s a place where Cash App shows up pretty naturally.”

Angel on your shoulder: Cash App is leveraging its partnership with Reese in several ways.

• On Oct. 21, the brand debuted the “Angel Machine” at Chicago’s Fulton Market, an interactive game that let fans play for the chance to win several of Reese’s items, like her jersey, sneakers, and iconic crown from March Madness.
• A few days later, Cash App rolled out Reese-inspired debit cards and offered its cardholders discounts on Reese merch from her website.
• The brand is also sponsoring Reese’s podcast, Unapologetically Angel, will feature her in its “That’s Money” brand campaign by the end of the year, and has plans to do exclusive prize drops on X.

Continue reading here.—AM

This story is the sixth in a series about how marketers for sports teams and leagues around the world approach social media strategy.

“Help I need some hobbies.”

“On island time.”

“Don’t look at the caption look at the praying mantis.”

No, those aren’t posts from your Gen Z cousin. They’re a few recent Instagram captions from the Hartford Yard Goats, a minor-league baseball team based out of Hartford, Connecticut.

Izzy Meckfessel, who was the Yard Goats’ client services, social media, and promotions manager from 2021 until recently, told us she is often “pushing the envelope a little bit” on social in an effort to get a laugh while also keeping fans in the loop on and off the field. (Marketing Brew spoke to Meckfessel while she was still working for the team.)

“Our voice is definitely very casual, friendly, occasionally sassy, a little bit raunchy at times, but within reason,” Meckfessel said. “I’ve sort of taken the voice and the identity that [General Manager Mike Abramson] built early on and continued it, to the best of my ability, to create these posts that people get to look at and laugh.”

Read more here.—AM