Food Network: Comfort Nation – “Traditional Gullah Oyster Roast”

What is your selection process like when choosing destinations and partners to work with? Are you involved in the development of the video itself?

CS: The benefit of having multiple publishing platforms is that we have a ton of data to choose from. We mine that for information on where our audiences live and what destinations they are excited about. When we combine that data with our keen editorial eyes, we can often come up with a winning formula. As much as possible, we want to choose partners to work with who are local to where we want to produce. Not only does that save us on production costs, but there’s something to be said for adding another layer of local knowledge to the production process.

If you are involved in the development, how do you find and decide on the stories you tell in your content?

CS: We are intimately involved in the development process and the keyword here is ‘data.’ Once we have a data-driven framework for finding our stories, we will often rely on a production partner to help us fill in the blanks.

How do you measure and track the success of a video?

CS: This is a nuanced question. At the start of every video project I define a few things for my producers: why are we doing this video, what platform is the main priority, and what are our goals. The answers to those questions will largely define success.

What were the KPIs and results of this campaign?

CS: This was one of the very first shows we produced to run primarily on Facebook Watch and we were very happy with the results. This episode has over 2.4 million views on Facebook alone and, more importantly, it really got our audience talking in comments. But some of the other episodes did even better. We wanted to stoke the conversation here and it was a great success.

How are consumers interacting with your brand?

CS: As the Food Network, there are so many ways for consumers to interact with us. They cook our recipes, watch our linear television network, and chat with our digital talent. We want to be a daily part of their lives and meet them from the breakfast to the dinner table.

What role does video content play in your overall marketing and brand strategy?

CS: Ultimately, our digital shows reintroduce the Food Network brand to younger audiences who are consuming a variety of content online, so the success of the show itself helps feed the positive brand perception among audiences that are key for us. Everyone eats every day, so our job with video content, whether it is through mid-form digital original shows, companion series to linear tv, or through short-form recipe videos, is to meet people where they are and keep the Food Network brand top-of-mind when people are thinking about food.