A case study by GPM Ads and Etagi: How to increase sales with a licensing collaboration

Specialists created a promotional campaign inspired by the Russian TV series “SashaTanya”

In early 2024, GPM Ads, part of Gazprom-Media Holding, and the real estate company Etazhi launched a licensed cross-media campaign inspired by the TNT TV series called “SashaTanya.” In two months, the team increased spontaneous awareness to 23.2%, while transactions grew by 19.6%. Representatives from GPM Ads shared with Sostav how they achieved these results.

Goal

The agency’s task was to strengthen Etazhi’s leadership position in the real estate market. To achieve this goal, the company invested into brand growth.

About the Series and Collaboration

“SashaTanya” is a comedy sitcom on the TNT channel, part of Gazprom-Media Holding. The story of this family duo is known to millions of viewers across the country. Their relatable humor, care for each other, and management of their shared budget create a positive pattern typical of an average Russian family. Despite finding themselves in some absurd situations and dealing with common day-to-day challenges, Sasha and Tanya stay together, love each other, and support each other in every endeavor. The OTS (opportunities to see) for the series reached 1 billion views in 2023¹, signaling true popularity.

The project team noted that the characters resonated with the core target audience of the real estate company Etagi due to their alignment with the family values of average Russian couples. The strong background of the series in terms of audience recognition and affection, as well as the overlap of key consumers for both brands, made it possible to predict an increase in viewer loyalty and create a safe emotional connection between potential customers and the company.

Promo Concept

The creative concept was centered around the characters Sasha and Tanya, who both became ambassadors for Etazhi. In short videos (shorts), the characters conveyed the company’s key unique selling points (USPs). Their task was to create positive associations and demonstrate the convenience and reliability of transactions with the real estate agency Etagi. The video ads were broadcast as sponsorship bumpers during various shows on TNT, allowing viewers across all regions of the country to see the collaboration.

The TV integration was complemented by licensed media products featuring the SashaTanya brand. With the help of outdoor and digital banner advertising, the visual branding of the agency’s social media accounts, printed materials, and dedicated radio segments, the association between Etagi and both the TV channel and the series was strengthened. The advertising campaign was conducted at a national level, covering all major Russian cities.

Results

The 360° licensed promo helped the agency achieve its key goals: generating attention for its services through emotional communication with the consumer and increasing brand awareness and brand loyalty. Most importantly, the success of the integration was reflected in the number of transactions.

The advertising campaign ran from March to May 2024. During this period, the campaign reached 5.1 million people², and spontaneous brand awareness increased by 1.9%³across Russia. In addition, the number of branded searches and website visits increased by 9.8%. Thanks to the collaboration with the “SashaTanya” series, top-of-mind awareness grew by 2.2%. According to the real estate company, Etagi became the only brand in the top 3 in terms of awareness with recorded growth.

Vyacheslav Aleksandrov

Brand Director of the real estate company Etagi

The use of licensing has allowed us to increase the effectiveness of our marketing investments and address a wide range of tasks set within the advertising campaign. The characters and storyline effectively immersed the audience in the context of the service and demonstrated the benefits of working as a real estate agent. As a result of the campaign, we recorded a significant increase in brand knowledge and strengthened the brand’s leading position in the top-of-mind category, along with substantial growth in business metrics.

Eduard Ayrapetyan

Managing Director of Licensing, GPM Ads

The media ecosystem of GPM Ads opens up a range of opportunities to promote any brand using popular TV content. Licensing enables comprehensive communication with the consumer by engaging at the most critical moment: the moment the consumer makes a purchase decision or chooses a brand, product, or service. The case of Etagi and “SashaTanya” demonstrates the high effectiveness of integrated 360° advertising campaigns that ensure maximum target audience reach and create an emotional connection with the buyer through collaborations with their favorite shows and series.

¹Mediascope, OTS for 2023 (cumulative number of opportunities to see for all seasons with repetitions), all 4+, Russia 100+

²Mediascope, TNT, Russia 100+, all 14–44, March–April 2024.

³Data based on internal research by Etagi, March 2024 vs May 2024.