Value-creating

LOVE AT FIRST THRILL

What’s come out of this is much greater than anything we could have achieved on our own.

Tandem bungee jumping instead of a visit to the theater. Paragliding rather than a walk in the park: The SAT.1 format “Liebe auf den ersten Kick (Love at First Thrill)” – The LOVOO and Jochen Schweizer Extreme Dating Show” breaks with traditional getting-to-know-you rituals as singles meet their dating app matches for the first time on action-packed adventure dates, where they quickly find out with whom they team up best. The LOVOO online dating app and experience provider Jochen Schweizer are cooperation partners. Both of these brands are part of the ProSiebenSat.1 portfolio and have been integrated into the show via special forms of advertising, thus demonstrating how the three segments Entertainment, Dating & Video and Commerce & Ventures can come together in a joint project. A success story involving creativity, cooperation and communication. Or, why it’s not only in matters of the heart that we say: We’re better together.

Janine can just make out a shadowy figure behind the rough pixels. The man appears to have dark hair, with a soft voice. Once the ice is broken with a shared laugh, it’s clear that Janine’s gut feeling was right. They are on the same wavelength. Ekrem is one of the five candidates Janine is in contact with on the LOVOO app via its pixelated blind date feature. She will take only three of them with her into the next round. A deep breath later, the decision is made and Janine chooses her favorites in the app: Two hearts appear on the screens of the chosen ones – among them Ekrem – moving toward each other. Finally a soft ping proclaims the good news: "It’s a date!”.

“Our blind date feature is evidence that the days when online dating was merely superficial are long gone,” says Anna Maria Wanninger, Managing Director of the LOVOO dating app, which is part of ParshipMeet Group. She was the first at the Dresden-based company to learn of the idea for the show and the offer from Unterföhring: an opportunity to collaborate on a TV show together with experience provider Jochen Schweizer, part of ProSiebenSat.1’s Commerce & Ventures segment. The idea is to use ad specials to integrate the two brands into this innovative concept. “For us, this presents a unique opportunity to connect our live community from the app with television,” says Wanninger. “And to unite two different universes while creating value.” The team at Jochen Schweizer already has experience with television content: “We have already been involved in ProSieben shows such as ‘Germany’s Next Topmodel’ and ‘Der Traumjob (Dream Job).’ My marketing colleagues and I were looking for additional content that fit our brand,” explains Timo Weber, Chief Marketing Officer of the Jochen Schweizer mydays Group. It was immediately clear to him that the target audiences of LOVOO and Jochen Schweizer were also a perfect match for each other: Both are adventurous, spontaneous and open-minded.

For us, the project has shown that we can connect our live community with the world of television in a way that creates value for both sides. This is live community entertainment at its best!

Anna Maria Wanninger Managing Director LOVOO

For Janine, it’s just the beginning of her story. On “Liebe auf den ersten Kick”, she hopes to finally achieve what she was denied in “Hochzeit auf den ersten Blick”: finding her life partner. In round two, she meets Ekrem in person for the first time on an action date – paragliding. Ekrem is struggling with a fear of heights. Janine offers him encouragement: “Come on, you’ve got this!” Ekrem trusts her, lets himself fall, and they glide off into the valley. In the end, both of them are back on the ground, but the feeling of elation remains. They are not just high on adrenaline but on the realization that, in the normal dating world, it would have taken much longer to find out what they now know: This person is someone I can count on.

“The concept of the show also convinced us immediately because it reflects our philosophy: Experiences are vital for each and every one of us. Especially in a dating scenario, shared experiences help people get to know each other faster and more deeply,” says Weber. Nordmann calls it the show’s “authentic core”: “Viewers get to observe moments that aren’t just ‘made for TV’ but are real and genuine. Like in a real relationship.” The team also wants to retain this authenticity in its advertising content by incorporating both brands into the show organically. “Finding the right balance here can be challenging,” explains Simon Walter, Junior Producer at SAT.1 and part of the editorial team. “Working with Seven.One AdFactory, we have found good solutions that guarantee brand visibility while moving the story along.” As for LOVOO, it’s not only present through the app. Dating coach Julia Mattes also brings her expertise to the show. And Jochen Schweizer himself appears on the show as an experience expert, coach and motivator.

The title of the show quickly made it obvious who would be a good match: LOVOO brings love to the table, and Jochen Schweizer supplies the element of thrill. So we presented the idea for the show in-house, and our partners were instantly delighted. The rest, as they say, is history!

Benedikt Nordmann Executive Producer Redseven Entertainment

“Other than product placement, title sponsorship is certainly the most eye-catching type of advertising,” says Jochen Schweizer’s CMO. “We have tried to incorporate the format into our marketing in a very natural way.” Not only that, but Jochen Schweizer gifts the couples an additional adventure experience at the end of each show. LOVOO also employs creative methods to extend the TV content to its own platform – before, during and after the broadcast. “The editorial team found some of the candidates by placing a callout in our app. This is definitely a unique selling proposition. I mean, on what other app can you not only fall in love, but also appear on television and work with us to find the right partner?” says LOVOO’s Managing Director. So, from the app to TV. And back to the app: While the show is being broadcast, LOVOO holds live watch parties with Julia Mattes that are attended by up to 3,000 users. There is also a dating show where app users can meet unmatched candidates via livestream. The principle is simple, as Simon Walter explains: “Whenever one of the candidate’s time on the show comes to an end, we referred to the app through so-called advertising cut-ins.”

Thus, it’s cross-media campaigns across genres and brands that show how cooperation, communication and creativity can unleash enormous potential and energy, culminating in the product itself: “The outcome of our collaboration with LOVOO, SAT.1, Redseven and Seven.One AdFactory is much greater than anything we could have achieved on our own,” concludes Weber. Wanninger adds: “For us, the project has shown that we can connect our live community with the world of television in a way that creates value for both sides. This is live community entertainment at its best!”

Janine was among those whose experience on “Liebe auf den ersten Kick” was a success. She takes Ekrem with her into the third and final round of dating in which a joint rafting trip becomes a true “whitewater ride” of emotions. Side by side, they successfully navigate strong currents along with rocks and boulders. It comes as no surprise that Janine ultimately decides in favor of Ekrem. To begin another adventure with him – the leap into the thrill of love. Only this time, away from the cameras.

Commerce & Ventures

Bundling all growth businesses under one roof

“Find your beauty. Every day,” “Very easy, Verivox” and “Erlebe, was in dir steckt.” (Discover what you’re made of). Slogans that are almost as much a part of our language as proverbs. These all too familiar advertising catchphrases are testimony to how well-known consumer brands in the ProSiebenSat.1 portfolio are – and simultaneously proof positive that our strategy is working: raising brand profiles through advertising on all of the Group’s channels and platforms.

With this strategy, ProSiebenSat.1 supports, for instance, consumer-centric technology platforms such as Wellster, Grover, Ottonova, Tink and online fashion player ABOUT YOU through minority interests. Previously, the Group also used media deals to help put brands like Zalando and Lieferando on track to success. By the same token, ProSiebenSat.1 builds companies, including consumer advice platform Verivox, experience provider Jochen Schweizer mydays as well as beauty and lifestyle companies such as Flaconi, into market leaders by acquiring a majority stake in them.

All of these activities fall under the umbrella of the Commerce & Ventures segment: As of January 2021, ProSiebenSat.1 Group has bundled its growth businesses and full portfolio of digital consumer brand investment activities in this segment.