Bundaberg Rum has become the first brand to advertise with BuzzFeed Tasty since it opened its doors to Australian brands in September.
The first piece of branded content features a recipe for a chicken parma roll, alongside Bundy’s newly launched Lazy Bear premix drink. It has already been viewed 2.1 million times since 14 October and shared more than 16,000 times.
The second is a recipe for sweet chilli prawn skewers cooked on the BBQ and paired with Lazy Bear. It has received high engagement from viewers, with more than 2000 comments about the meal.
The videos are shot in the now iconic Tasty style; overhead shots of hands assembling reasonably simple recipes in an average-looking kitchen.
BuzzFeed director of brand strategy Dave Nemes tells AdNews the collaboration with the Diageo-owned brand came about because Bundaberg is aiming to target the younger demographic that Tasty captures and test its alignment with food.
"It came down to audience and the fact that Bundaberg knew we could reach and engage the target market they are looking to speak to,” Nemes says.
Currently BuzzFeed Tasty is reaching an average of 10 million Australians every 28 days – almost half the population. The food-focused video publisher provides a minimum view guarantee to its advertisers for 30-second spots.
"No one else guarantees views to 30-seconds. People are spending a lot of time with our brand and while people in the market are trying to do what we do, no one has our reach," he says.
“We've worked with Bundaberg in other markets, such as the US and UK. From the first two videos we have done for Bundy it looks like we are matching the success Down Under."
Bundaberg marketing manager Jodi McLeod tells AdNews Diageo paired with BuzzFeed to drive scale and cultural relevance for its summer push for Lazy Bear.
Lazy Bear launched earlier this year as part of a $20 million investment to make Diageo's ready-to-drink portfolio “sexy again” - $10 million of that dedicated to the Bundy product.
“Tasty provides the perfect platform for Bundaberg Rum to be front of mind for consumers who are planning summer backyard events where we know food and drink go hand in hand,” McLeod says.
“The bespoke Tasty videos deliver valuable content to inspire casual summer days with your mates and the results to date have been great, particularly when you break down the engagement and time spent with the content.”
BuzzFeed Tasty content is made for Facebook and utilises the social platform's targeting capabilities matched with its own behavioural data.
“We know we can reach the exact audience the brand wants to reach, which makes it more likely for business to work with us,” Nemes says.
While BuzzFeed Tasty couldn't reveal the brands they are currently creating content with - Nemes says we can expect to see more branded content from Aussie businesses soon.
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