When the final season of Yellowstone debuts Nov. 10 on Paramount Network, Paramount+ and CBS, don’t be surprised if viewers spot a member of the Dutton family hopping in their Ram pickup to grab some Coors Banquet and Fritos from the store.
The Taylor Sheridan drama, among the most-watched shows on TV and streaming, has become an in-demand place for major brands and sponsors seeking in-show integrations, custom content around the program and its characters, and merchandising, giving them the ability to leverage the IP on their own packaging.
The final season will take those integrations up a notch, with Paramount advertising president John Halley calling Yellowstone a “canvas for brand integrations” during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
For the upcoming final season, Paramount has lined up a number of brand partners, including Ram, which has been a sponsor since season one, with members of the Dutton family driving Ram pickup trucks.
“Our Ram trucks have played a supporting role in Paramount’s Yellowstone since the series’ first season,” said Raj Register, CMO for Stellantis North America. “Through this partnership, we’ve had the ability to build unique and authentic creative around our award-winning trucks, both across television and through social and digital media elements that help drive customers to the brand.”
Other sponsors include Coors, which will incorporate its Coors Banquet brand into the show, as well as develop special packaging for six-packs featuring Yellowstone branding; and Fritos, which will be integrated into the season premiere and sell Yellowstone Edition Ranch Flavored Fritos at stored nation-wide.
“Our objectives always are to get that brand-IP connection activated outside of the show as well, because it brings a lot of equity to the partnership,” Halley says.
“Since 1932, Fritos has been feeding the cowboy spirit with simple ingredients and a quality product, making Yellowstone the perfect partner to help us connect with our fans,” says Kristin Kroepfl, VP of marketing for PepsiCo, which produces the snack. “By offering limited edition Yellowstone Fritos, integrating in the show’s upcoming season, and airing our original “Cowboy Spirit” TV commercial, we are delighting our fans and extending our successful multi-year partnership with Yellowstone and 6666 studios team.”
For both brand integrations and custom content, the company is somewhat picky about who it works with, especially given the long lead time to integrate into the show itself. Custom content can be done on a shorter timeframe, but still needs to feel natural to the show.
“The ones that work the best are the ones that are most authentic, and often it’s the brand itself that will come and understand how specifically unique that opportunity is,” Halley says. “Someone like Duluth, you don’t see Duluth advertising in a lot of places.”
Duluth, the workwear and accessories retailer, is sponsoring featurettes looking at Jefferson White’s journey as Jimmy in the series.
“At Duluth Trading Co, we’re all about grit, resilience, and a good ol’ fashioned work ethic – just like the folks over at Yellowstone. That’s why we are proud to be back as a partner with season five,” says Garth Weber, senior VP of brand and marketing for Duluth. “We’ve been riding along with the Duttons since season two and remain inspired by their relentless can-do spirit. Our shared values and the creative collaboration with Paramount drew us to the opportunity and keeps us coming back for more.”
Yellowstone, of course, will live on beyond this season, with multiple spinoff series and plans for other shows featuring characters in the universe that Sheridan has created. But the company is nonetheless looking to benefit from the peak of the final season hype cycle, given the enormous advertiser demand for the drama.
“Every single show is going to have opportunities that are unique to that show. And that’s both a challenge in terms of finding those opportunities, and it’s the payoff, because when it works, it is an enormous driver of brand equity,” Halley says. “Ram has been such an excellent example of that. And you can look at the trajectory of the product over the course last six years, the fact that it’s embedded in the biggest show on television has really mattered to them, and they’ve been a great partner for us. Those ones, when they fit so nicely, are mutually beneficial, because the brand brings something to the show, and the show brings something to the brand.”
