Publisher(s): Crackle
"Rescue Me has such a passionate fan base that we felt it was essential to find the right forum for members of the firefighting community and the public to be able to share their own stories. Crackle has been an invaluable partner to the entire Sony Pictures Television Marketing team in helping to create what we feel is a very organic promotional opportunity," said Robert Oswaks, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Sony Pictures Television.
Members of the firefighting community and the public are encouraged to upload their own videos to share their own experiences on "Firehouse: Sponsored by Rescue Me, where the content will tap into the pulse of what firefighters experience on a daily basis. Whether it's the firefighters recounting their experiences during their first fire or discussing the challenges they faced post-9/11; everyday citizens recounting their own encounters with firefighters; or the hilarity of the pranks senior firefighters play on probies, audiences will get true insight into the intense, yet rewarding profession. While other sites rank and highlight videos according to easily manipulated user hits, Crackle's bespoke formula of editorial and community ranking ensures that featured videos represent the most talented and diverse creators and most provocative content on the Internet.
-- Sony Pictures Television and Crackle
It's one thing for the Denis Leary show to (some might say) capitalize on the image of NYC firefighters post 9/11, but something else altogether when the show is giving back in this way. It's a place for real firefighters to upload their videos and share. Some of them are well-done documentary shorts covering topics like women in the firehouse. Another is a simple tour of a firetruck given by a firefighter for his two daughters. The majority of the videos right now come from the branded channel's in-house production, which are probably also the same people who work on "Rescue Me," but other good finds are there, like a user named "filmlou," whose profile reads, "Lou Angeli has been involved in filmmaking, television production and firefighting most of his life."
Sony, owner of Crackle (formerly Grouper), has the deep pockets and the idea here to give Google/YouTube a run for its money and leave the other contenders wondering what happened. A quick search of the other channels within Crackle offer way more talent, as far as I can tell, than Acceptable.TV or the not-often-funny and limited in scope FunnyorDie.com. Granted, it's a Sony subsidiary, so the talent pool is pretty vast and deep, but with the notion that your uploaded video might get featured alongside some real solid film and animation work, the users are hopefully going to create decent pieces that others might want to view. So far, that seems to be the case.
-- Dave Wilkie, creative director, Dexterity Media and advertising blogger at Where's My Jetpack?
Typically, before life can show up on TV, writers, producers and directors have to add drama, a character arc or two and a dash of excitement. After that, everything gets packaged for an audience in an advertiser-friendly way. In the case of "Rescue Me" though, the true life stories of the NYFD come pretty close to being just as enthralling and engaging as the TV translation. This execution on Crackle.com (the new Grouper) capitalizes on the interest of the audience and does a great job growing the impact and the world of the show. The video content feeds off the reality of the show and serves to both entertain and market "Rescue Me" simultaneously and, best of all, it's serial. By having multiple episodes, Crackle entices users to come back on a regularly basis, which increases their exposure time and awareness of the show. Hot damn, what a great example of how branded and related video content can engage viewers!
-- Bradley Werner, director of marketing, The Fifth Network