Headed into Turner’s upfront presentations on Wednesday, one show on TBS has been doing yeoman’s work when it comes to brand integrations: Conan.

“Conan was a trailblazer in terms of creating a multiplatform, multi-screen entertainment brand that engages fans everywhere,” says Dan Riess, executive VP of integrated marketing and branded content for Turner Broadcasting’s Ad Sales division.

Conan O’Brien and his production team at Team Coco had started dabbling in brand integrations while they were still at NBC, but it was really upon moving to TBS in 2010 that things started to take off.

“I think the Turner guys are very forward thinking and aggressive,” says Jeff Ross, Conan’s executive producer. “They saw the changes to the landscape coming. The days of picking up the phone and saying ‘Hi, we’re Turner, how many spots do you guys want?’ those days are over. We know the brands and agencies want some integration and they want a digital play. They want it all and they should get it.”

In the past, convincing creatives to work with brands has been considered a challenge, with creatives resisting anything that interfered with their ideas. With the TV firmament rapidly shifting, so is the notion that content and advertising need to live separately. For Conan, Ross and Team Coco, all of it is an opportunity to create funny, compelling, shareable content.

“We did have to change our attitudes,” says Ross. “The linear side of television is not what it was. If you want to be in this business, you have to play ball.”

That said, integrating brands into content requires flexibility from the brands as well.

“If brands don’t have a sense of humor about it, if they’re too controlling, it won’t work. But 99 percent of the time, we figure out a way,” says Ross.

Some of Conan‘s most-watched videos on YouTube are brand integrations. For example, when Taco Bell wanted to do a sales integration with Conan, Team Coco already had an idea lined up.

One of their own, IT Manager Chris Hayes, was obsessed with Taco Bell, eating it for lunch at his desk almost every day.

“I wanted to do a nice thing for you because I’m the TV host that makes people’s dreams come true,” Conan tells Hayes in the video. Not unfunny himself, Hayes responds: “I know you and that’s most likely Ellen that does that.”

From there, Conan and Hayes take the Taco Bell Superfan tour, providing Taco Bell with the integration the company sought, but in a completely Conan way.

So far, the video has been viewed nearly 3 million times on Conan’s YouTube channel.

The below segment was a product of Team Coco working with Universal Pictures to promote its movie, Ride Along, starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart. The movie is barely promoted, but viewers got to see how funny Ice Cube and Kevin Hart were together. The app, Lyft, also got into the action, with Conan calling Lyft for a ride.

“We need to go to the weed spot,” Ice Cube says to get the ride along started and things get increasingly hilarious from there. Good thing for Team Coco that the Lyft driver was an extremely good sport. ​

This video has been viewed nearly 18 million times since it was first posted in December 2013.

Conan also has partnered with Lowe’s on integrations, sponsoring spots featuring Andy Richter as “Handy Andy.” “He is actually handy,” notes Ross, although Richter has his “body double” do much of the heavy lifting.

With Turner a big broadcast partner for the NCAA’s March Madness, it’s made sense to pair Conan with the popular basketball tournament. Last April, Conan worked with Coke Zero to sponsor a music festival during March Madness, with Hart co-hosting.

The show also has worked closely with AT&T on several occasions, including a promotion last April in which Conan shot a week of episodes in Dallas during the March Madness finals. Visitors to Conan’s website could watch the show via unique 360 views, provided by AT&T technology.

Looking ahead, Conan is headed to San Diego in July, where he’ll shoot a week’s worth of shows from Comic-Con. Brand integrations for those shows haven’t been set yet, but there are sure to be a couple.

Hear Riess talk more about how branded content turns into ROI at PromaxBDA: The Conference 2015, June 9-11 at the JW Marriott at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles. And find out whether Team Coco brings home an armful of PromaxBDA 2015 North America Awards since many of Conan‘s campaigns are finalists this year.

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