The Top 4 Reasons Why Entertainment Partnerships Work

Entertainment partnerships have stood the test of time—for one simple reason: they deliver results. While some aspects of impact can be hard to quantify, brands consistently report meaningful lifts in key performance metrics like brand awareness, affinity, click-through rates, website traffic, and overall ROI. So why do they work so well? Here are the top 4 reasons:

1)      Built-In Fan Base

Every show comes with its own passionate fan base, and by partnering with its intellectual property (IP), you grab the attention of that fan base with your ads. It pays to partner with popular shows. Even when there’s a niche thematic overlap with a show, broader awareness often trumps it. For example, while a cycling brand may be naturally aligned with The Least Expected Day (a docuseries about the Movistar cycling team), a partnership with a more popular show like Survivor or The Amazing Race would likely deliver more impact simply due to their massive reach and brand equity.

Even if a connection between a brand and a show seems odd on the surface, a clever campaign angle can almost always be made. Consider the unexpected but memorable 2025 Super Bowl commercial featuring Häagen-Dazs and Vin Diesel from Fast & Furious. On the surface, it seems strange that an upscale ice cream brand would partner with a high-octane outlaw from an action franchise full of stunts, heists, and street-racing, but the producers found a clever connection and the commercial was a success.

2)      Creative Differentiation

Consumers are inundated with ads on a daily basis and it’s tough to get noticed. But by integrating the characters, scenes, and brand elements of popular shows into your creative, you stand out. Especially within the critical first 3 seconds.

This kind of cut-through is especially powerful because most brands still don’t realize they have access to this kind of licensing, especially outside of the traditional (and expensive) agency model. MutualMarkets democratizes access to entertainment partnerships, allowing even smaller brands to tap into high-impact creative without Hollywood-sized budgets.

3)      The Halo Effect

Audiences associate their favorite shows with quality: A-list actors, high production values, compelling story arcs. When your brand is featured alongside that level of content, it benefits from a “halo effect”—borrowing credibility and prestige.

This effect is especially pronounced for smaller or emerging brands. Before MutualMarkets, I led marketing for a relatively small but fast-growing AI-powered endurance training platform. I used MutualMarkets to partner with The Amazing Race and was blown away that my little brand could partner with such a recognizable and long-running show. The halo effect of the show made my little brand seem big.

4)      Emotional Connection

Perhaps the most powerful advantage of entertainment IP is the emotional bond audiences have with it. People don’t just watch shows—they feel them. Characters become companions. Catchphrases become inside jokes. Themes and settings evoke nostalgia, motivation, or even comfort. This emotional connection creates a psychological bridge between the audience and the brands aligned with that IP.

Research in consumer psychology shows that emotional advertising significantly outperforms rational messaging, especially in long-term brand building (Harvard Business Review). When a brand connects itself to the emotional landscape of a beloved show, it not only grabs attention—it earns affection. And that’s what drives real loyalty.

 

Interested in exploring Entertainment Partnerships for your brand?

Schedule a meeting with a MutualMarkets Co-Marketing Specialist to learn more.