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Branded Entertainment in B2B: Why is it Important?

Apurva Pathak | July 11, 2022 | 530 views | Read Time : 02:02 min

Branded Entertainment in B2B
Global B2B companies churn out content pieces such as infographics, case studies, assessments, and other forms of thought leadership content to create brand awareness. But is this content enough to engage the customers and the market? Not really. Marketers like you need to look into branded entertainment to get more customer engagement and brand loyalty.


What is Branded Entertainment?

Adweek loosely describes “branded entertainment” as any content that starts a positive conversation around a product, service, or set of values. This content builds a story around your product or services, showing it in a positive light and getting the audience to engage in your content as much as a film or a TV show. As opposed to other marketing endeavors, branded entertainment doesn’t focus on your products and their features but on entertaining the audience.


Incorporating Branded Entertainment into Your Marketing Strategy

Here are some ways to get it done without much hassle:


Web Series

Original programming, such as web series published on the brand’s social media channels, can help you raise awareness through stories that share your brand’s values instead of directly marketing your product or services.


PR Stunts

Create social media brand content that is entertaining and exciting enough for the audience to make it viral. Such PR brings positive media attention to your brand and creates mass awareness for your brand or product.


Videos

Volvo's entertaining video of Van Damme's split stunt on YouTube has 114.5 million views. The video didn't need a call-to-action because it wasn’t to convert leads. Instead, it was meant to showcase a piece of business-use truck technology and get engagement.


Podcasting

GE used podcasting for advertising twice, once with its show ‘The Message’ and again with its new series ‘LifeAfter.’ Neither show discusses GE's products. Instead, they were "GE-presented" and were received well.


Summing It Up

People are less likely to comment on or share brand posts directly, but they are more likely to tweet or share them on their Instagram stories. This way you can measure the impact of branded entertainment. B2B marketers should consider branded entertainment as a way to build trust and start conversations between their brands and their audience to get a long-term ROI.

Spotlight

Funny Or Die

Funny Or Die is an Emmy-winning leader in comedy entertainment, combining Hollywood artistry with Silicon Valley innovation to deliver cutting-edge content across a rapidly expanding distribution network. Cofounded in 2007 by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, Funny Or Die is now the number-one comedy brand across digital, social, and mobile. We produce TV shows for major networks including Comedy Central, HBO, and FUSE; host nationwide comedy tours featuring top performers; and create highly engaging original content enjoyed by millions on a daily basis. We’re constantly branching out into new forms of media and entertainment and are committed to being the absolute best at what we do.

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Metaverse: Transforming B2B Businesses with Technology

Article | July 20, 2022

In the 3D interactive space of metaverse, nothing is impossible. People from various corners of the world can create, share, and explore virtual worlds in this space. They can also interact, trade, and do business. What does metaverse offer B2B businesses, though? Let us take a look. From Virtual Storefronts to Digital Employees While metaverse is still in the early stages of development, businesses can have their own virtual storefronts, digital employees, and virtual currency in a virtual reality. Business exclusive metaverse platforms like Sansar, Somnium Space, and Decentraland offer companies an option to establish their virtual presence. How is Metaverse Transforming B2B Businesses? Metaverse presents businesses with the unique opportunity to build client relationships face-to-face. Branded experiences like product announcements, product showrooms, company updates, educational sessions, conferences, and networking events can be done in metaverse. Let us explore other ways in which metaverse can enrich B2B businesses: Richer Customer Experience Immersive buyer experiences influence prospects to make purchase decisions faster. B2B sellers in metaverse can create such experiences through interactions that surpass traditional sales approaches and focus on visually attractive sales presentations to convert prospects. Effective Marketing and Advertising New marketing and advertising opportunities in metaverse are developing with every passing day. Over time, companies may be able to sponsor events or create targets ads to attract a certain demographic. The companies that establish themselves in the metaverse might have a bigger advantage in this regard compared to the companies that venture into it later. Higher ROI and Sales Increasing sales and ROI are crucial for every business. Reaching new markets and tapping into new revenue sources is easier with metaverse. It will allow salespeople to host multiple meetings with buyers living in different parts of the world without having to leave their actual office, saving multiple costs while conveniently still creating client relationships that last. Improved Workforce Efficiency Metaverse-based training simulations help employees upgrade their skills. Additionally, customer service associates can create avatars to provide business customers assistance in real-time. Metaverse encourages employees to communicate better and allows remote employees to virtually connect for projects, meetings, and feedback. Last Word B2B businesses can capitalize on the convenience of metaverse and harness this latest technology to offer their customers visually immersive experiences.

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Discord: A Novel Medium for B2B Marketing

Article | August 4, 2022

Discord is a real-time chat platform where anyone with a community can interact. Users can talk to others in the community on special channels and get invites to join different servers. Many people prefer to reach out to online customers through social media, but messaging apps like Discord have 20% more monthly active users than traditional social media platforms. (Business Insider) Discord generates revenue through premium subscriptions and game distribution. It does not use advertisements. However, it can help marketers through its community that grows with video, voice, text communication and more. Let us look at how: Helps Build a Moderated Community You can set up a Discord server as a moderated social discussion platform. Create different channels based on your audience’s preference and allow them to bond. And as your community grows, so will the popularity of your business. Word-of-mouth marketing is still very effective. Connects Your Brand with Like-minded Audience You can also meet others who share your interests on various Discord servers. When you know what you're looking for, finding relevant servers is simple. Check with your team members, and your community, and join those groups. There, you'll meet other business owners and pursue collaboration opportunities. Allows Sharing Relevant Industry Content Share your website articles and other industry updates on Discord. You can take the advantage of your employees’ social media presence because they are linked to a single server. They'll spread the word about the articles through other Discord servers and their personal social media accounts. It will assist you in gaining authority among your target audience. Another way to market your company is to post branded memes, GIFs, and funny screenshots. Helps Offer Great Customer Service People expect prompt service, and because Discord delivers messages in real-time, you can address issues as they arise. You can easily send direct messages to members and have private conversations with them. Parting Words Although Discord is primarily a messaging app for individuals, it also has many advantages for B2B marketing. Discord is ideal for community management and true engagement.

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B2B Movie Placements: What to Expect?

Article | May 25, 2021

As films evolved into the popular medium that they are today, brands followed suit. They took advantage of a large network of new ways to market, from print media to radio to television. Product placement, a part of branded entertainment marketing, became more common from the 1980s. Today, every moviegoer is familiar – sometimes painfully – with paid product placements. And every marketer has heard commentary on both good and bad B2C product placements. But what about B2B movie placements? Ever heard of those? If you are a B2B enterprise looking to try it out, here are some major differences between B2C and B2B movie placements: Impress the producers Create an enticing pitch for the producers, which can influence them enough to bring them to the creative department. Sell your brand or product to them (indirectly) to help them understand how it will improve the realism of their scene or set. Make them realize how your product or service can help them. Placement isn’t always ‘placement’ Prospective B2B buyers aren’t going to squint their eyes to find your product while watching a movie. However, they might actually remember your brand if you host pre-opening events around the world for them and their families to watch a popular movie. If they enjoy the movie and establish an emotional connection with it, they will definitely think of you while making any kind of purchase decision. Things might not work out No matter how hard you try to show your brand in a good light in a certain scene or situation, sometimes things happen that you can't control or ignore. In such cases, you might have to get all the branding out instead of settling for negative publicity, which could be a viable option for a B2C brand. B2B Movie Placement: A Success Story FLIR, a client of Hollywood Branded, is the leading provider of thermal military camera equipment. It co-starred in one of Warner Brothers' biggest hits of 2018, Rampage. FLIR connected with the right member of the production team and ensured that the brand was pictured in a positive light. FLIR shared its technology with the filmmakers and got advertised to its business customers, mostly film-loving decision-makers, through the movie and the way it was shot. The film earned $427M at the worldwide box office.

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Driving ROI of Your B2B Marketing with Entertainment

Article | July 7, 2022

B2B companies are harnessing entertainment to drive their marketing ROI. They are using strategies that meet the changing needs of B2B customers and take advantage of how technology is improving. Let us examine the top five entertainment marketing strategies that can get engagement for your B2B content: On-Demand Content Rules B2B corporate Salesforce recently announced a new streaming service—Salesforce+—that exclusively caters to businesses. If you want to try something like this, you don’t need to create a new streaming platform. Instead, you can use your social media accounts to share unique content that your target audience will find interesting. Presentation Shouldn’t Be a Priority Your B2B audience isn’t any different from the audience that consumes basic TikTok videos, reality TV shows, or YouTube clips that don’t have the best scripts. Any grippingly human content presented on popular channels of entertainment appeals to the viewer and can influence their buying decisions. Harness User-generated Content Harness user-generated content like videos, reviews, and testimonials. When your customer tells your brand’s story or how your brand helped them solve their problems, the content is engaging and authentic for your prospects and influences their purchase decisions. Additionally, such content receives high engagement and improves your brand’s reputation. Relevance Wins Hearts If the content you are producing is entertaining and engaging, addresses the pain points and demands of your target audience, and is timed perfectly to match the dynamic market needs, your prospects might relate to your brand better and avail your product or services. Create Immersive Experiences Through Events With the help of experience experts Boost Experiential, Google created an Event Series to target small businesses in the U.S. They led a nationwide initiative to offer educational seminars and coaching to small businesses. They held events in 50 states and introduced Google’s tools to thousands of business owners. As a result, they have got more than 50, 000 small businesses online. Entertainment Could Be a B2B Trend for 2022 Create valuable, memorable, entertaining, and engaging content addressing customer pain points. Make it available to your target audience through popular channels like streaming sites, social media, webinars, live events and more to get your marketing ROI.

Read More
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Discord: A Novel Medium for B2B Marketing

Article | July 20, 2022

In the 3D interactive space of metaverse, nothing is impossible. People from various corners of the world can create, share, and explore virtual worlds in this space. They can also interact, trade, and do business. What does metaverse offer B2B businesses, though? Let us take a look. From Virtual Storefronts to Digital Employees While metaverse is still in the early stages of development, businesses can have their own virtual storefronts, digital employees, and virtual currency in a virtual reality. Business exclusive metaverse platforms like Sansar, Somnium Space, and Decentraland offer companies an option to establish their virtual presence. How is Metaverse Transforming B2B Businesses? Metaverse presents businesses with the unique opportunity to build client relationships face-to-face. Branded experiences like product announcements, product showrooms, company updates, educational sessions, conferences, and networking events can be done in metaverse. Let us explore other ways in which metaverse can enrich B2B businesses: Richer Customer Experience Immersive buyer experiences influence prospects to make purchase decisions faster. B2B sellers in metaverse can create such experiences through interactions that surpass traditional sales approaches and focus on visually attractive sales presentations to convert prospects. Effective Marketing and Advertising New marketing and advertising opportunities in metaverse are developing with every passing day. Over time, companies may be able to sponsor events or create targets ads to attract a certain demographic. The companies that establish themselves in the metaverse might have a bigger advantage in this regard compared to the companies that venture into it later. Higher ROI and Sales Increasing sales and ROI are crucial for every business. Reaching new markets and tapping into new revenue sources is easier with metaverse. It will allow salespeople to host multiple meetings with buyers living in different parts of the world without having to leave their actual office, saving multiple costs while conveniently still creating client relationships that last. Improved Workforce Efficiency Metaverse-based training simulations help employees upgrade their skills. Additionally, customer service associates can create avatars to provide business customers assistance in real-time. Metaverse encourages employees to communicate better and allows remote employees to virtually connect for projects, meetings, and feedback. Last Word B2B businesses can capitalize on the convenience of metaverse and harness this latest technology to offer their customers visually immersive experiences.

Read More
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Boost Your B2B SaaS Business with Live Streaming

Article | August 4, 2022

Discord is a real-time chat platform where anyone with a community can interact. Users can talk to others in the community on special channels and get invites to join different servers. Many people prefer to reach out to online customers through social media, but messaging apps like Discord have 20% more monthly active users than traditional social media platforms. (Business Insider) Discord generates revenue through premium subscriptions and game distribution. It does not use advertisements. However, it can help marketers through its community that grows with video, voice, text communication and more. Let us look at how: Helps Build a Moderated Community You can set up a Discord server as a moderated social discussion platform. Create different channels based on your audience’s preference and allow them to bond. And as your community grows, so will the popularity of your business. Word-of-mouth marketing is still very effective. Connects Your Brand with Like-minded Audience You can also meet others who share your interests on various Discord servers. When you know what you're looking for, finding relevant servers is simple. Check with your team members, and your community, and join those groups. There, you'll meet other business owners and pursue collaboration opportunities. Allows Sharing Relevant Industry Content Share your website articles and other industry updates on Discord. You can take the advantage of your employees’ social media presence because they are linked to a single server. They'll spread the word about the articles through other Discord servers and their personal social media accounts. It will assist you in gaining authority among your target audience. Another way to market your company is to post branded memes, GIFs, and funny screenshots. Helps Offer Great Customer Service People expect prompt service, and because Discord delivers messages in real-time, you can address issues as they arise. You can easily send direct messages to members and have private conversations with them. Parting Words Although Discord is primarily a messaging app for individuals, it also has many advantages for B2B marketing. Discord is ideal for community management and true engagement.

Read More
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The rise of the introverted salesperson

Article | May 25, 2021

As films evolved into the popular medium that they are today, brands followed suit. They took advantage of a large network of new ways to market, from print media to radio to television. Product placement, a part of branded entertainment marketing, became more common from the 1980s. Today, every moviegoer is familiar – sometimes painfully – with paid product placements. And every marketer has heard commentary on both good and bad B2C product placements. But what about B2B movie placements? Ever heard of those? If you are a B2B enterprise looking to try it out, here are some major differences between B2C and B2B movie placements: Impress the producers Create an enticing pitch for the producers, which can influence them enough to bring them to the creative department. Sell your brand or product to them (indirectly) to help them understand how it will improve the realism of their scene or set. Make them realize how your product or service can help them. Placement isn’t always ‘placement’ Prospective B2B buyers aren’t going to squint their eyes to find your product while watching a movie. However, they might actually remember your brand if you host pre-opening events around the world for them and their families to watch a popular movie. If they enjoy the movie and establish an emotional connection with it, they will definitely think of you while making any kind of purchase decision. Things might not work out No matter how hard you try to show your brand in a good light in a certain scene or situation, sometimes things happen that you can't control or ignore. In such cases, you might have to get all the branding out instead of settling for negative publicity, which could be a viable option for a B2C brand. B2B Movie Placement: A Success Story FLIR, a client of Hollywood Branded, is the leading provider of thermal military camera equipment. It co-starred in one of Warner Brothers' biggest hits of 2018, Rampage. FLIR connected with the right member of the production team and ensured that the brand was pictured in a positive light. FLIR shared its technology with the filmmakers and got advertised to its business customers, mostly film-loving decision-makers, through the movie and the way it was shot. The film earned $427M at the worldwide box office.

Read More
SOLUTIONS,BUSINESS

Driving ROI of Your B2B Marketing with Entertainment

Article | July 7, 2022

B2B companies are harnessing entertainment to drive their marketing ROI. They are using strategies that meet the changing needs of B2B customers and take advantage of how technology is improving. Let us examine the top five entertainment marketing strategies that can get engagement for your B2B content: On-Demand Content Rules B2B corporate Salesforce recently announced a new streaming service—Salesforce+—that exclusively caters to businesses. If you want to try something like this, you don’t need to create a new streaming platform. Instead, you can use your social media accounts to share unique content that your target audience will find interesting. Presentation Shouldn’t Be a Priority Your B2B audience isn’t any different from the audience that consumes basic TikTok videos, reality TV shows, or YouTube clips that don’t have the best scripts. Any grippingly human content presented on popular channels of entertainment appeals to the viewer and can influence their buying decisions. Harness User-generated Content Harness user-generated content like videos, reviews, and testimonials. When your customer tells your brand’s story or how your brand helped them solve their problems, the content is engaging and authentic for your prospects and influences their purchase decisions. Additionally, such content receives high engagement and improves your brand’s reputation. Relevance Wins Hearts If the content you are producing is entertaining and engaging, addresses the pain points and demands of your target audience, and is timed perfectly to match the dynamic market needs, your prospects might relate to your brand better and avail your product or services. Create Immersive Experiences Through Events With the help of experience experts Boost Experiential, Google created an Event Series to target small businesses in the U.S. They led a nationwide initiative to offer educational seminars and coaching to small businesses. They held events in 50 states and introduced Google’s tools to thousands of business owners. As a result, they have got more than 50, 000 small businesses online. Entertainment Could Be a B2B Trend for 2022 Create valuable, memorable, entertaining, and engaging content addressing customer pain points. Make it available to your target audience through popular channels like streaming sites, social media, webinars, live events and more to get your marketing ROI.

Read More
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Spotlight

Funny Or Die

Funny Or Die is an Emmy-winning leader in comedy entertainment, combining Hollywood artistry with Silicon Valley innovation to deliver cutting-edge content across a rapidly expanding distribution network. Cofounded in 2007 by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, Funny Or Die is now the number-one comedy brand across digital, social, and mobile. We produce TV shows for major networks including Comedy Central, HBO, and FUSE; host nationwide comedy tours featuring top performers; and create highly engaging original content enjoyed by millions on a daily basis. We’re constantly branching out into new forms of media and entertainment and are committed to being the absolute best at what we do.

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Helbiz Media and Italian National Television Rai Sign Agreement to Broadcast Highlights of the Italian Serie BKT Championship Worldwide

Helbiz Media | August 12, 2022

Helbiz Media, the exclusive distributor of media rights to Serie BKT worldwide, announces a new agreement with RAI-RADIOTELEVISIONE ITALIANA S.P.A. RAI Italia will broadcast weekly highlights of the Serie BKT championship for the 2022/2023 season, offering a vast number of fans abroad the thrill of the exciting championship. The highlights of the Serie BKT Championship will be shown on the program "Casa Italia," which airs Tuesdays starting September 20. Helbiz Media also aims to sublicense its distribution rights of Serie BKT with the goal of increasing both revenues for the League and the international visibility of the championship. The agreement with RAI represents a further step in the path of achieving significant international growth for the Serie BKT championship, after the success of last season in which Serie B was broadcasted in more than 30 countries including the United States, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Balkans, Greece, Spain, Latin America, Indonesia, Romania, and Israel. "I am particularly pleased with the agreement reached with RAI for the broadcast of Serie BKT highlights in international channels with RAI Italia. It is good news for all the fans who abroad will be able to follow the spectacle of an incredible Championship and enjoy the best moments with the most spectacular goals, always with the guarantee of quality and professionalism of RAI's journalism." -Matteo Mammì, CEO of HELBIZ MEDIA Statement by Fabrizio Ferragni, Rai Director Foreign Offer Thanks to the agreement with Helbiz, Italian soccer is back on Rai Italia. Our compatriots abroad, reached by our channel all over the world, with an audience of about 25 million homes/families, will be able to receive the most exciting moments of the Serie B Championship, presented and commented every Tuesday, starting from September 20, by Piercarlo Presutti and his guests, inside Casa Italia, the renewed afternoon format created by Rai Italia for and with Italians around the world.

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Paramount+ Joins The Roku Channel’s Premium Subscriptions Lineup, Bringing a Mountain of Entertainment to Streamers

Roku, Inc. | August 04, 2022

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) announced that Paramount+ will launch as a Premium Subscription within The Roku Channel later this month. The launch will make Paramount+‘s critically acclaimed originals, hit movies, a world class library of popular series, 24/7 news and marquee sports, accessible directly to consumers within The Roku Channel.Users can subscribe to Paramount+'s ad-supported Essential Plan ($4.99 monthly) or the Paramount+ ad-free Premium Plan ($9.99 monthly) on The Roku Channel. Within the Paramount+ experience on Premium Subscriptions, Roku has also created a dedicated Live TV Guide for all Paramount+ live content, marking the first time a dedicated programming guide for a Premium Subscription partner has been created. Through the dedicated Live TV Guide consumers will be able to access Paramount+’s live content all in one place. This includes marquee sports, such as THE NFL ON CBS and UEFA, as well as breaking news from CBS News Network and the latest in entertainment news from Entertainment Tonight. Premium subscribers also have access to their local live CBS station, which includes the live stream of must-watch events and specials. The addition of Paramount+ to The Roku Channel will also mark the first time that live sports content will be available for streamers within Premium Subscriptions. “Paramount+ features an expansive breadth of content for the whole household, spanning original dramas, blockbuster movies, popular unscripted series, sports and news, all at a competitive price point, We are excited to expand our successful partnership with Roku and bring Paramount + to The Roku Channel.” -Jeff Shultz, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Business Development Officer, Paramount Streaming. We're thrilled to partner with Paramount+ in its continued growth, and for the ability to provide our audience with easy access to its extraordinary breath of content, IP and live news and sporting events," says Rob Holmes, Vice President, Programming. “Premium Subscriptions connects today’s highest-quality content providers to the millions of streamers on The Roku Channel, and we’re excited to introduce streamers to everything that Paramount+ has to offer directly within The Roku Channel. The Roku Channel offers Premium Subscriptions from over 50 services. It allows users to enjoy a unified one-click experience and enables simple subscription management with a single monthly bill. Users of The Roku Channel can now easily browse Paramount+ content before signing up, then enjoy a free seven-day trial with one click and no extra apps or other fees required. Once registered, users can watch Paramount+ content from within The Roku Channel. 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The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world’s biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream CBS News Streaming Network for 24/7 news, CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis and ET Live for entertainment coverage.

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With Investment From The Sandbox and Com2us, MetaWorld Aims to Bring Brand-New Entertainment Experiences to the Web3 Era

The Sandbox | August 10, 2022

Following a round of seed investments by The Sandbox, Com2uS, CRIT Ventures, and Formless Capital, Firefly Games CEO Michael Zhang has announced the formation of a new venture called MetaWorld Entertainment. Key partners in this new metaverse company include The Sandbox, the leading decentralized virtual gaming world and subsidiary of Animoca Brands, and Com2uS, a global multi-content platform leading the way in the blockchain gaming spaceThis announcement of MetaWorld Entertainment's formation comes at a pivotal time in the evolution of the Web3 space. Michael Zhang has described MetaWorld’s vision of Web3 as “the venue for entertainment in the new digital age. The metaverse is where audiences will play, engage, and interact with new levels of immersion, unlike anything we have seen before. Michael, who will serve MetaWorld as its CEO said, “We have the advantage of leveraging great technology and our know-how of creating engaging and meaningful experiences for people. This allows us to think more from the user’s perspective: what meaningful experiences can we bring to them and what value will this give them. MetaWorld Entertainment will be an all-encompassing entertainment company, bringing concerts, events, and games to the global market through metaverse platforms, including The Sandbox. MetaWorld will serve as both a developer and publisher of multiple experiences and games, empowering audiences around the world to interact with the metaverse like never before. MetaWorld will maximize the immersive experience using the support of key partners such as Agora and their real-time audio technology. MetaWorld will also utilize the Web2 game publishing experience of its partners to target a massive gaming audience while using the "play-and-earn" model that offers high-quality and engaging games through which players can also earn virtual currencies. By combining and utilizing its unique gaming resources, platform advantages, and business cooperation in technology and entertainment, MetaWorld plans to bring brand-new play-and-earn entertainment experiences to the Web3 era to drive broader adoption. “The Sandbox is pleased to support the entry of veteran gaming entrepreneur Michael Zhang into the metaverse by establishing his next gaming venture as a metaverse builder studio, We believe he will leverage his experience and team creativity to build fun, engaging, multiplayer games and diversified experiences on The Sandbox platform, starting with Atari games available in Alpha Season 3 and with more brand names soon to be announced.” -Sébastien BORGET, COO and Co-Founder of The Sandbox. Com2uS President Kyu Lee was similarly optimistic, “The next wave of Web3 builders will be more focused on the content and experience that are built on the platforms. Michael and his team have both the strong vision and the track record of working with top tier brands to scale and deliver.” Com2uS has a long history of bullish growth in bleeding edge markets around the world. "Brands are looking for impactful ways to participate in the Web3 ecosystem," said Scott Levy, MetaWorld Advisor and former Managing Director of NBA Asia. "Michael has a proven track record of creating successful content and MetaWorld will become a resource for brands and consumers to meaningfully engage in the metaverse." MetaWorld Entertainment MetaWorld Entertainment, a revolutionary Web3 company to create unique experiences that allows users to engage with Web3 in a completely new and immersive way while enabling the world to connect through entertainment. About The Sandbox The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is one of the decentralized virtual worlds that have been fueling the recent growth of virtual real estate demand, having partnered with major IPs and brands including Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, The Rabbids, Gucci Vault, The Walking Dead, Snoop Dogg, Adidas, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Richie Hawtin, The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari, ZEPETO, CryptoKitties, and more. Building on existing The Sandbox IP that has more than 40 million global installs on mobile, The Sandbox metaverse offers players and creators a decentralized and intuitive platform to create immersive 3D worlds and game experiences and to safely store, trade, and monetize their creations. About Com2uS Com2uS is a South Korean mobile and online game development and publishing company established in 1998. Com2uS develops games for Android, iOS, and other platforms, and has been targeting the global market for almost 10 years, even before the introduction of smartphones. Based on their vast pool of know-how gained from their establishment of foreign offices and experience in the NA and EU markets, Com2uS has become a very competitive company. The company's corporate offices are located in the United States, Korea, Japan, and China. In 2007, Com2uS was listed on the Korea Stock Exchange (KOSDAQ: 078340). About Firefly Games Firefly Games excels in development, globalization, and localization for mobile games, with rich experience in game production and distribution. Firefly has cooperated with Hollywood studios to develop many mobile games based on popular IP, including DreamWorks' Universe of Legends, Skydance's Terminator: Dark Fate, and MGA Entertainment's match-three mobile game LoL Surprise! Room Maker, among others. Firefly also represents the North American distribution of Asian mobile games such as My Name is MT2.

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Helbiz Media and Italian National Television Rai Sign Agreement to Broadcast Highlights of the Italian Serie BKT Championship Worldwide

Helbiz Media | August 12, 2022

Helbiz Media, the exclusive distributor of media rights to Serie BKT worldwide, announces a new agreement with RAI-RADIOTELEVISIONE ITALIANA S.P.A. RAI Italia will broadcast weekly highlights of the Serie BKT championship for the 2022/2023 season, offering a vast number of fans abroad the thrill of the exciting championship. The highlights of the Serie BKT Championship will be shown on the program "Casa Italia," which airs Tuesdays starting September 20. Helbiz Media also aims to sublicense its distribution rights of Serie BKT with the goal of increasing both revenues for the League and the international visibility of the championship. The agreement with RAI represents a further step in the path of achieving significant international growth for the Serie BKT championship, after the success of last season in which Serie B was broadcasted in more than 30 countries including the United States, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Balkans, Greece, Spain, Latin America, Indonesia, Romania, and Israel. "I am particularly pleased with the agreement reached with RAI for the broadcast of Serie BKT highlights in international channels with RAI Italia. It is good news for all the fans who abroad will be able to follow the spectacle of an incredible Championship and enjoy the best moments with the most spectacular goals, always with the guarantee of quality and professionalism of RAI's journalism." -Matteo Mammì, CEO of HELBIZ MEDIA Statement by Fabrizio Ferragni, Rai Director Foreign Offer Thanks to the agreement with Helbiz, Italian soccer is back on Rai Italia. Our compatriots abroad, reached by our channel all over the world, with an audience of about 25 million homes/families, will be able to receive the most exciting moments of the Serie B Championship, presented and commented every Tuesday, starting from September 20, by Piercarlo Presutti and his guests, inside Casa Italia, the renewed afternoon format created by Rai Italia for and with Italians around the world.

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MEDIA AND BROADCASTING,BUSINESS

Paramount+ Joins The Roku Channel’s Premium Subscriptions Lineup, Bringing a Mountain of Entertainment to Streamers

Roku, Inc. | August 04, 2022

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) announced that Paramount+ will launch as a Premium Subscription within The Roku Channel later this month. The launch will make Paramount+‘s critically acclaimed originals, hit movies, a world class library of popular series, 24/7 news and marquee sports, accessible directly to consumers within The Roku Channel.Users can subscribe to Paramount+'s ad-supported Essential Plan ($4.99 monthly) or the Paramount+ ad-free Premium Plan ($9.99 monthly) on The Roku Channel. Within the Paramount+ experience on Premium Subscriptions, Roku has also created a dedicated Live TV Guide for all Paramount+ live content, marking the first time a dedicated programming guide for a Premium Subscription partner has been created. Through the dedicated Live TV Guide consumers will be able to access Paramount+’s live content all in one place. This includes marquee sports, such as THE NFL ON CBS and UEFA, as well as breaking news from CBS News Network and the latest in entertainment news from Entertainment Tonight. Premium subscribers also have access to their local live CBS station, which includes the live stream of must-watch events and specials. The addition of Paramount+ to The Roku Channel will also mark the first time that live sports content will be available for streamers within Premium Subscriptions. “Paramount+ features an expansive breadth of content for the whole household, spanning original dramas, blockbuster movies, popular unscripted series, sports and news, all at a competitive price point, We are excited to expand our successful partnership with Roku and bring Paramount + to The Roku Channel.” -Jeff Shultz, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Business Development Officer, Paramount Streaming. We're thrilled to partner with Paramount+ in its continued growth, and for the ability to provide our audience with easy access to its extraordinary breath of content, IP and live news and sporting events," says Rob Holmes, Vice President, Programming. “Premium Subscriptions connects today’s highest-quality content providers to the millions of streamers on The Roku Channel, and we’re excited to introduce streamers to everything that Paramount+ has to offer directly within The Roku Channel. The Roku Channel offers Premium Subscriptions from over 50 services. It allows users to enjoy a unified one-click experience and enables simple subscription management with a single monthly bill. Users of The Roku Channel can now easily browse Paramount+ content before signing up, then enjoy a free seven-day trial with one click and no extra apps or other fees required. Once registered, users can watch Paramount+ content from within The Roku Channel. Paramount+ combines live sports, breaking news, and a mountain of entertainment, with big originals like 1883 and Halo, family favorites like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and PAW Patrol: The Movie, blockbuster movies like A Quiet Place Part II and The Lost City, popular unscripted shows like RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars and unmatched sports programming. The Roku Channel features a diverse lineup of more than 80,000 free movies and programs and over 300 linear television channels in the U.S. It licenses and distributes content from more than 300 partners. In Q4 2021, The Roku Channel reached U.S. households with an estimated 80 million people. The Roku Channel was a top five channel on the Roku platform in the U.S. by active account reach and streaming hour engagement in Q2 2022. About Roku, Inc. Roku pioneered streaming to the TV. We connect users to the streaming content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers. Roku streaming players and TV-related audio devices are available in the U.S. and in select countries through direct retail sales and licensing arrangements with service operators. Roku TV™ models are available in the U.S. and in select countries through licensing arrangements with TV brands. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. U.S.A. About Paramount+ Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, combines live sports, breaking news and a mountain of entertainment. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world’s biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream CBS News Streaming Network for 24/7 news, CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis and ET Live for entertainment coverage.

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TECHNOLOGIES,BUSINESS

With Investment From The Sandbox and Com2us, MetaWorld Aims to Bring Brand-New Entertainment Experiences to the Web3 Era

The Sandbox | August 10, 2022

Following a round of seed investments by The Sandbox, Com2uS, CRIT Ventures, and Formless Capital, Firefly Games CEO Michael Zhang has announced the formation of a new venture called MetaWorld Entertainment. Key partners in this new metaverse company include The Sandbox, the leading decentralized virtual gaming world and subsidiary of Animoca Brands, and Com2uS, a global multi-content platform leading the way in the blockchain gaming spaceThis announcement of MetaWorld Entertainment's formation comes at a pivotal time in the evolution of the Web3 space. Michael Zhang has described MetaWorld’s vision of Web3 as “the venue for entertainment in the new digital age. The metaverse is where audiences will play, engage, and interact with new levels of immersion, unlike anything we have seen before. Michael, who will serve MetaWorld as its CEO said, “We have the advantage of leveraging great technology and our know-how of creating engaging and meaningful experiences for people. This allows us to think more from the user’s perspective: what meaningful experiences can we bring to them and what value will this give them. MetaWorld Entertainment will be an all-encompassing entertainment company, bringing concerts, events, and games to the global market through metaverse platforms, including The Sandbox. MetaWorld will serve as both a developer and publisher of multiple experiences and games, empowering audiences around the world to interact with the metaverse like never before. MetaWorld will maximize the immersive experience using the support of key partners such as Agora and their real-time audio technology. MetaWorld will also utilize the Web2 game publishing experience of its partners to target a massive gaming audience while using the "play-and-earn" model that offers high-quality and engaging games through which players can also earn virtual currencies. By combining and utilizing its unique gaming resources, platform advantages, and business cooperation in technology and entertainment, MetaWorld plans to bring brand-new play-and-earn entertainment experiences to the Web3 era to drive broader adoption. “The Sandbox is pleased to support the entry of veteran gaming entrepreneur Michael Zhang into the metaverse by establishing his next gaming venture as a metaverse builder studio, We believe he will leverage his experience and team creativity to build fun, engaging, multiplayer games and diversified experiences on The Sandbox platform, starting with Atari games available in Alpha Season 3 and with more brand names soon to be announced.” -Sébastien BORGET, COO and Co-Founder of The Sandbox. Com2uS President Kyu Lee was similarly optimistic, “The next wave of Web3 builders will be more focused on the content and experience that are built on the platforms. Michael and his team have both the strong vision and the track record of working with top tier brands to scale and deliver.” Com2uS has a long history of bullish growth in bleeding edge markets around the world. "Brands are looking for impactful ways to participate in the Web3 ecosystem," said Scott Levy, MetaWorld Advisor and former Managing Director of NBA Asia. "Michael has a proven track record of creating successful content and MetaWorld will become a resource for brands and consumers to meaningfully engage in the metaverse." MetaWorld Entertainment MetaWorld Entertainment, a revolutionary Web3 company to create unique experiences that allows users to engage with Web3 in a completely new and immersive way while enabling the world to connect through entertainment. About The Sandbox The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is one of the decentralized virtual worlds that have been fueling the recent growth of virtual real estate demand, having partnered with major IPs and brands including Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, The Rabbids, Gucci Vault, The Walking Dead, Snoop Dogg, Adidas, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Richie Hawtin, The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari, ZEPETO, CryptoKitties, and more. Building on existing The Sandbox IP that has more than 40 million global installs on mobile, The Sandbox metaverse offers players and creators a decentralized and intuitive platform to create immersive 3D worlds and game experiences and to safely store, trade, and monetize their creations. About Com2uS Com2uS is a South Korean mobile and online game development and publishing company established in 1998. Com2uS develops games for Android, iOS, and other platforms, and has been targeting the global market for almost 10 years, even before the introduction of smartphones. Based on their vast pool of know-how gained from their establishment of foreign offices and experience in the NA and EU markets, Com2uS has become a very competitive company. The company's corporate offices are located in the United States, Korea, Japan, and China. In 2007, Com2uS was listed on the Korea Stock Exchange (KOSDAQ: 078340). About Firefly Games Firefly Games excels in development, globalization, and localization for mobile games, with rich experience in game production and distribution. Firefly has cooperated with Hollywood studios to develop many mobile games based on popular IP, including DreamWorks' Universe of Legends, Skydance's Terminator: Dark Fate, and MGA Entertainment's match-three mobile game LoL Surprise! Room Maker, among others. Firefly also represents the North American distribution of Asian mobile games such as My Name is MT2.

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