Branded content strategies - how to & examples

Branded content is an effective solution to combat the distrust of traditional advertising. It’s a way for brands to connect with their audience, impact them in creative ways and convey the values they represent. In this guide, we’ll cover the benefits of branded content, branded content strategy, and examples of who’s done it well.

What is branded content?

It should entertain

So, what is branded content marketing? Put simply, is the opposite to that of a traditional advertisement. Branded content sets out to impact the audience and spark conversation around the brand in a way that traditional advertising cannot. Incorporating an entertainment factor, or appealing to emotions will grab the attention of the consumer and drive real engagement. This is often achieved through creating content that generates added value to the user, rather than irrelevant content that is forced upon their screens.

It should reveal the brand

Branded content seeks to tell a representative story of the brand to the consumer through storytelling. Businesses can no longer afford to be faceless entities and must show why they exist and why this matters.

It has multiple formats

Branded content doesn’t have to be housed online, it can be presented through multiple formats, such as branded content films, podcasts, articles, events, interactive formats or a combination.

How branded content can benefit businesses

People are bombarded with ads on a daily basis, whether it be on their Facebook feeds, streaming accounts, web browser banner ads or billboards outdoors. With so much on offer, people have become accustomed to skipping ads or ignoring them completely. On the other hand, people look for content to either solve a problem or to be entertained, so branded content advertising is a prime opportunity to connectwith your audience while marketing your brand.

Source: MAGNA and IPG Media Lab.

It increases brand engagement

The best branded content seeks to be consumed passively, and often gets better results compared to traditional advertising because of this. When a consumer watches branded content, their brand recall is up to 59% higher than with display ads, and viewers are 14% more likely to seek out information about the brand in the future. The research also found that branded content was 2X more memorable than display ads.

A study by IPG Media Labs and Forbes Magazine found that branded content was more effective at driving recall compared with display ads. Source: IPG Media Labs and Forbes Magazine

Branded content goes hand-in-hand with entertainment, resulting in more attention and stronger brand recognition. This is because it feels more consumer-focused rather than sales-based, which creates trust between both parties.

It Improves brand positioning

Unlike traditional ads, branded content films offer businesses the opportunity to tell a story that represents the values they want to associate with the brand. It’s a way of bringing emotion and humanity to your brand and ultimately, forging connections with your audience. Brand storytelling weaves together the facts and emotions that your brand encapsulates. By offering an insight into your values and why you exist, it gives you a chance to connect with new customers and strengthen relationships with existing ones. No other brand can copy your story, so being authentic and honest will make you stand out among the crowd.

It Creates brand trust

Consumers have more choice than ever, and because of this, have become extremely receptive to what brands can offer them. One study from MarketingSherpa found that the most broadly cited experience among dissatisfied customers was the company not putting their needs and wants above its own business goals.Branded content gives you the opportunity to show your customers that you’re willing to put them first, so rather than wholly focusing on sales and profits, you’re able to develop a stronger sense of trust.

Branded Content Strategies

Branded content strategies should always aim to put the audience first. The best brand content strategies ensure that there is a way for the brand to build connections with the community, offer an entertaining and valuable experience while still delivering results. Here, we explain some of the strategies that you can incorporate into your branded content.

Tell your story

Branded content is all about telling your brand story in a way that captures the attention of your target audience. The content should interact with them directly, articulating your purpose and why it matters.

Red Bull - Red Bull Gives You Wings

There’s no doubt that content is Red Bull’s forte. Their treasure-trove of films successfully entertains vast audiences by aligning itself with extreme sports. Red Bull’s messaging strategy revolves around their tagline, “Red Bull gives you wings.”, and links to their purpose which is "to give wings to people and ideas,". The tagline fuels their content, which varies from big wave surfers to interviews with stunt pilots. Despite their array of content, one concept remains the same throughout; creating content and experiences that people are interested in without having to be attracted to their energy drink first. Their ability to sell is not through pushing their product, but through selling the Red Bull brand. Red Bull does very little product marketing on its social media profiles - you might see their iconic can pop up in a few videos, but you’ll never see a post explicitly selling it. Powered by its media house, their compelling and inspirational storytelling has been able to blur the boundaries between entertainment and marketing and onboard an army of supporters along the way.

Showcase your product effectively

Branded content is all about combating the distrust of conventional advertising. While you want to avoid coming off too sales-driven, your content should find a way to show people what’s great about what you offer without shoving it in their face. In this way, the job of branded content is not to simply get you talking to your audience, but is to get consumers talking about you.

This is My YouTube - Don’t Panic & YouTube

YouTube came to us to help them solve a growing problem with marketing directors and media agencies who had begun to take YouTube for granted. We wanted to show the story of YouTube’s vast treasure trove of content that audiences access in different ways i.e from specific search to going on a journey of discovery. To show rather than tell this story, we created a format inspired by Desert Island Discs, showcasing the benefits in a way that was entertaining in itself; adopting a more consumer-style approach to a business audience. Special celebrity guests from an array of industries were interviewed at live events to take us on a journey through their creative lives, with reference to content on YouTube and how it helped them with discovery, development or inspiration. Here, we were able to demonstrate what’s brilliant about using YouTube without directly selling the service. Not only were we able to speak to consumers (50% average view rate and 37% video completion rate), but we got consumers talking about YouTube - the film achieved a 7.21% increase in positive sentiment.

Connect with the audience

Branded content puts the consumer first, and seeks to connect with the audience on a deeper level and generate an emotional connection with the brand. The best branded content is capable of weaving together the facts and emotions that your brand evokes. Don’t forget to tell the bigger story: what makes you human? How do you touch people’s lives? How do you put a positive dent in society? The emotion evoked will be associated with your brand and will increase the chances of long-term customer engagement.

A St. Patrick’s Day Message From Guinness

Guinness has long championed its Irish heritage and represents itself as a brand of community, culture and celebration. With the COVID-19 pandemic making the St Patrick’s Day celebrations a little different to usual, Guinness sent a message to its consumers with an uplifting piece of content outlining their top tips to celebrate safely. In connecting with Guinness drinkers at a difficult time, the beer brand was able to stay top of mind while showcasing their values.

Learn your audiences digital habits

The placement of your branded content is the key to its success, so it’s important to avoid marketing which interrupts a consumer’s experience; for example, 35% of UK internet users used an ad blocker in 2020. If you’re branded content feels natural to the placement and format, your audience will be more likely to engage. Below are our top tips for driving engagement:

Mobile-first

55% of branded content is now viewed on mobile devices, so ensuring your content is optimised for mobile is essential.

Use social media to drive engagement

Social media is one of the most popular ways for consumers to engage with a brand’s content, driving engagement including shares and conversation among friends and followers. Almost a quarter (24%) of people said they engage with a favoured brand’s content via Facebook every day, with 15% doing so via Instagram and 10% via Twitter.

Built for Platform

If the content is going to sit on multiple platforms, the content must be adapted for each. For example, Facebook and YouTube are better equipped for long-form in-depth content that drives an emotional connection, whereas the likes of Instagram Stories is better suited to compact messaging. Using Red Bull as an example, their YouTube accounts are home to mini-series, short documentaries, long-form video and live-streamed events. On Instagram, they share similar content but find creative ways to repurpose it in a much shorter format.

Talk to us about your branded content plans

Branded content has the potential to engage audiences and trust in your product and purpose over time. In turning your owned channels into entertainment platforms, you’ll not only earn attention, but convert eyeballs into action.

LONDON CREATIVE AGENCY

Take a look at our recent projects to see how we’re using branded content right now. If you want to find out more, don’t hesitate to get in touch – email us at newbusiness@dontpaniclondon.com and we’ll show you what we can do.