Why fintech firm Bilt is funding its own original series 'Roomies'

"At the Angelika Film Center in New York earlier this month, 115 people gathered around the theater's big screen. But it wasn't to watch a Hollywood film. They came together to celebrate an original series produced by Bilt - a New York-based fintech firm that gives consumers rewards when they pay their rent. Unlike some types of sponsored content, the first season of " Roomies " doesn't explicitly market Bilt's brand. Instead, the show tells the story of a woman who moves from Ohio to New York, finds a place to stay and attempts to fit in."

"Cyrus Ferguson, Bilt's senior content director and co-creator of "Roomies," said the goal of the series was to bring more brand awareness to Bilt. By implementing a narrative approach to the show, which is made in-house, Ferguson said he hoped it would better connect with audiences and give them more positive sentiment when they encounter the Bilt brand. Although Bilt is not a central premise of the show or explicitly marketed in the series, characters have dined at restaurants that are Bilt's partners and a character paid for a bill using the Bilt app."

""This is about brand awareness and trying to reach a large audience," Ferguson said. "That's something we really thought about with modeling it in some ways like these shows of the past that reached a really wide audience and developing these characters that we think could speak to a really wide array of people. "There are so many different types of people who are or could be Bilt members.""

At the Angelika Film Center in New York, 115 people gathered to celebrate the premiere of Roomies, an original series produced in-house by Bilt, a New York-based fintech that rewards renters. The first season runs about 50 minutes and was released as 1½- to three-minute episodes on social media. The narrative follows a woman who moves from Ohio to New York, finds housing and attempts to fit in. The series uses subtle integrations—characters dining at Bilt partner restaurants and one paying a bill with the Bilt app—to build brand awareness and positive sentiment. Other companies including Google, HP, Nike and Church's Chicken have also funded films and documentaries to shape public perception.

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