It is an arguable point how far the effect of display advertising has diminished due to increasing consumer sophistication and resistance to traditional messaging. However, technology is certainly forcing change and I believe this explains much of the recent and ongoing interest in branded content.
First – the decline of traditional “display” advertising. Even if you think this is an overhyped phenomenon, it’s undeniable that viewers can increasingly avoid advertising. Digital environments enable easy viewer “switch off”. At the click of a button, viewers can skip ad breaks and block pop-ups. That makes old “interruptive” models less effective – it’s just harder to interrupt. Secondly, there’s a problem of diffusion – standalone display can get drowned out because there is just so much more media, on so many more platforms.
The impact of social media has also driven change. Consumers now talk to and share with each other on an ongoing basis. That makes the old “display campaign” less relevant, as this conversation is now constant. A very few years ago, brands could virtually shut up marketing shop in between campaigns. That’s not possible now – people don’t stop talking just because a media campaign concludes. Brands are no longer judged on what they say, but what they do, and they are expected to explain their behaviour and character by creating or sponsoring the appropriate content. Your brand is for “heroes”? Best sponsor the show then, or find a few, and sponsor them yourself.
And brands certainly want more from consumers. Plain old loyalty doesn’t cut it now – they want our affinity and engagement. As a result, brands are now moving their messaging towards the more trusted editorial space. This general trend explains the rise of TV sponsorship (moving the brand message one step closer to the editorial content), ad-break takeovers (making the advertising break feel more like editorial) and of course, branded content (bands simply making the editorial themselves).
All these phenomena require brands to develop a deeper relationship with channels and platforms. This is like standing next to the popular crowd at school in the hope that everyone assumes you’re one of them. Why are channels more popular than brands? Because whereas channels play our favourite shows, we all know that brands are trying to flog us stuff. That change in relationship simply means that channels are using brands as content suppliers and brands are becoming content publishers.
In this multi-platform, blurred space world, a new creative approach towards branded content is demanded – one that can deliver a joined up message across platforms. And that connection actually needs to work, both operationally and creatively, for all parties involved.
That’s easier said than done. Let’s consider some common pitfalls.
First – creative failure. This justifies an article in itself, but not to state the obvious, branded content needs to fulfil two creative functions – engage viewers (so that they actually want to watch) and communicate a brand message (or what’s the point?). Without the first, you’ve got a worthy advertorial, and without the second you’ve got a nice TV show. Second, there are few legal or commercial precedents in branded content and many deals founder on issues ranging from ownership and rights, through to talent and procurement. A third group of problems might be categorised as logistical. In many branded content projects there are usually the following stakeholders – the brand, the channel, the media agency, the PR agency, a creative agency and / or production house, and that’s before the digital, social, mobile, experiential and other elements are thrown in. Lack of co-ordination and fragmented budgets in compressed delivery schedules create confusion all too easily. Finally (perhaps this should come first), there are failures of strategy. Questions such as, “Why are we doing this?” and “How would we measure success?” seem to get lost all too often.
But here’s the good news. There are tangible, achievable reasons to make branded content. Here are five:
- To save on marketing costs
Branded content needn’t be massively expensive, and when it’s done well it can be more effective per pound spent than display messaging. It’s more shareable, to start with. And it’s more flexible than you may think. Don’t think of branded content as a 30 minute TV series on a terrestrial channel, it can be used across discipline – data acquisition, direct response, even as a sales promotion.
- To make revenue from IP syndication
Branded content can make money, or at least offset costs through syndication.
- To deliver more sustained and deeper messaging
Branded content engages consumers longer, and more immersively than traditional advertising. It allows deeper explanations of what your brand is about, over a longer timescale.
- To create diversity of message
Multi-platform branded content campaigns can lead your consumers from an interactive banner to an online hub, to a TV spot, to their mobile and back again. They can see and interact with programming across platform – just like they do with channels already.
- To enable deeper engagement with channels and media owners.
For the reasons discussed above, a closer relationship with the channels that your consumers watch is highly desirable. Making great content gives you a bargaining tool for media, money or data.
