This social season’s most swoon-worthy pairing? My dear reader, it simply must be Bridgerton and its roster of brand collaborations.

Late last month, the hit Netflix and Shondaland-produced show dropped the second half of Season 4’s episodes, finishing the tale of Benedict Bridgerton’s journey to finding love with housemaid-turned-Cinderella Sophie Baek. On Jan. 29, the first batch of episodes premiered to great fanfare, debuting in the top slot in Netflix's Global Top 10 with 39.7 million views, according to the company. In between Part I and Part II, the streamer released its full slate of brand partnerships and product collaborations, which were meant to help fans “delight in the Regency-era world of the ton” as they awaited the final episodes, per a press release.

Those collabs have included apparel, beauty, and food and beverage brands, and involve firsts like a Polly Pocket compact of Bridgerton House, a fragrance collection with COTY, and a rental clothing collection with Nuuly. In all, Netflix rolled out collaborations with 52 partners across product and brand campaigns in various markets, all with the goal of putting fans first, according to Magno Herran, VP of global partnerships at Netflix.

Each season, Bridgerton seems to have more brand collaborations than the last. Season 3, for example, had a little over a dozen partners. While Netflix has shown an increasing appetite for collaborations and product placement—take, Netflix’s rollout of the Stranger Things final season—a Regency-era show doesn’t seem like it would allow for many modern in-world integrations.

Nonetheless, the British high-society tale continues to court brands—and brands are flirting right back.

“The gift that Bridgerton has given us is this whole Regency world, taking it from what you used to consider period pieces—and that was it—into the modern world, and that’s through the music, through the castings, or the story’s themes,” Herran told Marketing Brew. “There’s just a lot of flexibility and we found that fans just want to play in that space.”

Continue reading here.—JN

It’s no secret that Sam Adams is proudly a Boston-based brewer—but a little reminder never hurts.

The brand’s latest campaign, “Our City. Our Beer,” is targeted to the Boston sports crowd, complete with ads set to run during major New England games for the next year, an out-of-home campaign that will run throughout the city, and a limited-edition pack of beers created in partnership with Boston sports icons.

The yearlong push is meant to “bring people back into the brand” and boost its relevance and relatability, according to John McElhenny, Sam Adams’s senior brand manager. While Sam Adams is sold around the country, the effort is particularly focused on the Boston area, where sports fans tend to be a little more passionate than average.

“Sam Adams consumers overindex an insane amount with being avid or committed sports fans, and not just in Boston, so it does feel really authentic for us to lean into sports,” McElhenny said. “People outside of New England, when they see Sam Adams, they think, ‘Boston.’ I think people know that Bostonians are a little crazy [about] sports.”

Read more here.—AM

Each week, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Andrea Bendzick is the CEO of the digital marketing agency Wpromote, which acquired Giant Spoon in December. She has also held senior roles at Astreya and NTT Data Americas, both IT services and consulting firms.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? Procter & Gamble’s “Like a Girl” campaign is one of those rare pieces of work that just gets it right. It shows what happens when you lead with a core belief instead of trying to manufacture relevance. Simple, human, and empowering in a really genuine way. That campaign also really stood out to me because I’ve had my own “like a girl” moments. Early in my career, I’d get introduced as a “female executive” and it would catch me off guard every time—not because I wasn’t proud to be a woman in leadership, but because I’d never thought of my work through that lens. I was just focused on solving the problems in front of me, building something that mattered, and showing up prepared. That’s the power of work like “Like a Girl.” It reminds us that the best way forward is to stop qualifying people and just let the work speak.

Continue reading here.

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Mergers and acquisitions, company partnerships, and more.

• OpenAI reportedly engaged in “early talks” with The Trade Desk about selling ChatGPT ads, according to The Information.
• Netflix acquired InterPositive, Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking business.
• Ford made its return to F1 for the first time in more than two decades, partnering with Oracle Red Bull Racing for a “micro-docuseries.”
• Domino’s teamed up with athletes including gymnast Jordan Chiles and college basketball stars Cameron and Cayden Boozer, JT Toppin, and Olivia Miles as part of its March Madness campaign.