The concept of a brand paying for a piece of content has been around since the 1950s. The soap opera was initially created so that detergent companies such as Procter & Gamble and Lever Brothers would have something to advertise around - and has been in existence since then. But the concept never took off in a mainstream way until recent times.
These days, brands are doing it for themselves, creating everything from TV shows to video, to online or print editorial content, to games to Facebook posts and tweets. Yet, defining branded content can become somewhat tricky if you include the many forms of different content brands can create. As well as those mentioned above, there are sponsorships, events, apps and more. Some also consider branded content to be those shows or mediums which, while not solely funded by one particular brand, are heavily subsidised by a range of different brands. A recent example being Network Ten’s MasterChef which this year has 12 sponsors and partners, and heavily features product placement.
Today’s fragmentation of media and the increasing challenge of gaining and holding a consumer’s attention has decreased the effectiveness of the traditional ad campaign, and brands are now seeking to go where the consumers are – which invariably means amongst good pieces of content or entertainment, whether that be online, on television or elsewhere.
“Over the past six months we’ve seen new avenues for branded content. A lot of start-up content providers are finding that they’ve got to start delivering revenue, and one of the ways to do that is to partner with brands who can provide revenue,” says Dan Goodswen, lead strategist at We Are Social.
This has given rise to a raft of opportunities for agencies and content providers to create this new brand funded content. And players are popping up in the space all the time. In the past year, STW Group has started up branded content company Hatch Entertainment, creative agency BMF has launched a publishing unit, FremantleMedia has brought a new arm called Spring to market and MediaCom has launched MediaCom Beyond Advertising (MBA). And these are just some of those who are taking branded content from the niche to the mainstream.
“When it was talked about in the past people seem to think it was akin to old fashioned product placement. So branded content was about having that Coke in the shot. Whereas now I think people are seeing branded content can be quite sophisticated storytelling and the brand isn’t front of mind,” explains Vanessa Stoykov, CEO and founder of Evolution media group, which does branded entertainment for the business and finance sector. “Now is the time for sophisticated content that people will want to watch because it’s good content. The fact that it’s funded by a brand almost doesn’t matter.”
Why get involved?
The proliferation of TV channels the consumer now has access to means there is more air time to fill. Also, the shift away from print to online has also provided an unlimited amount of pages for a reader to view. All this choice, has taught Joe Public to be more discerning about what he watches or clicks on, and when you add his new found freedom to skip through advertising, it becomes obvious why brands need to come up with alternative ways to get attention.
“People don’t want to be advertised to, they want to be entertained, and these days they’ve got the power to make that choice. More and more, people will only listen to your message if it’s part of something they value. I say more power to them,” says Paul Nagy, ECD of Clemenger BBDO Sydney.
Mark Lollback, CMO of McDonald’s agrees: “Consumers are communicating with brands via many different channels these days and branded content is another way to have that conversation. Also the growth of PVRs & digital downloads are making traditional advertising on television and digital platforms harder to resonate, particularly with the ability to skip and timeshift commercial messages. Branded content gives us an opportunity to entertain and inform in a less commercial and cluttered environment.”
And it is not just the networks which have increasing amount of space to fill, with brands themselves also having to keep their websites, Facebook pages, print properties and many other touchpoints filled with interesting tidbits. “A client like Commonwealth Bank have about 120 plus channels,” says BMF’s Nicholas. “They own all these channels in store, on ATMS, mailouts, net banks. They have all these little places to put content, and they need things to go there.”
The evolving media space means that, where once people balked at the idea of brand funded content, feeling it would spell the death of independent journalism and good quality content, they are now in a position where it has become a good option.
Greg Logan, co-founder of Hatch Entertainment says: “Brands are open to it, and on the other hand networks, because they’ve got more space to fill are in a funny situation. They’ve got more space to fill but less money to make content – so they’re now happy to actually have the conversation as well.”
Over the past few years there have also been some fantastic examples of branded content done well, which has led to a greater acceptance and understanding of how the relationship between brand and media owner can work.
“The Tourism Australia campaign for ‘Best job in the world’ was great,” says Georgie Sumemrhayes, CEO of brand engagement agency Stoke, citing the hugely successful branded content campaign which brought Australia worldwide attention. “That was brand entertainment. It came from a good, deep consumer insight. It was a TV program, it was an event. It was a web series of program, it was all sorts of fabulous stuff.”
Getting branded content right
For it to work, branded content has to be approached carefully. Each foray into the space needs to be able to stand as a piece of content in its own right, and if it doesn’t then the consumer has no reason to bother with it.
“There’s always the question – are you starting with the brand and making content around that, or are you making content first and then putting brands in it?” says BMF’s Nicholas, pointing out the crucial difference between an ad and a piece of branded content. “It’s got to be a great idea and be interesting at the heart of it. If it’s not then it doesn’t matter whether the brand’s in it or not, it’s just not watchable. The second thing is that it’s got to be true to the brand’s values and character.”
Custom publishing’s Fergus Stoddart, commercial director at Edge Custom Media, knows that treading carefully is a must: “The way we go about it is going through a detailed discovery of what our clients want, and to understand where they can have a credible conversation with the readers and where their voice is appropriate.”
Joanne Liddell, director of OMD Fuse Sydney, which does sponsorship, branded entertainment and content creation, says that the benefits are worthwhile: “If the content is delivered right, it allows brands to play the role of entertainer, enabler or educator and to start real conversations with their audiences.”
McDonald’s Lollback who recently partnered with WTFN on brand funded doco Mcdonald’s Gets Grilled says: “Good content needs to appeal to viewers. Balancing the needs for the brand and the consumer is a matter of making sure that it makes sense for a particular brand to be present in a program that consumers want to watch. Consumers are smart enough to discern a straight sell these days, and want to be entertained or informed.”
Revolver’s Michael Ritchie started up new production company Will O’Rourke in 2010 to focus on unconventional projects. He takes a strict approach to the brainstorming process around branded content and finds that this generally serves him well. “We are finding that if you get the client, the agency, the production company and the media partner in the room at the same time at the front end of a project, there is a far greater chance that there will be a cohesive and manageable approach to making something great,” he says.
Tim Hodgson, general manager of Ensemble Sydney, makes sure his content is valuable by approaching it as ‘brand inspired’ content rather than branded content. “We believe that many brands have the history, heritage, values and personality to inspire rich content,” he says. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are weaved into the content through mentions and product placement. But brand inspired content means that it is then highly relevant for the brand to be driving their core message on the fringes of the content through more traditional methods.”
Getting it wrong
Because the balance between a brand’s objectives and a consumers entertainment is not always easy to achieve, there are many examples of brands getting it wrong.
“I think the web is littered with half done projects where the last post was six months ago. There’s brands that don’t get it and end up trying to sell too much without thinking about what a customer wants to read,” says Edge Custom Media’s Stoddart.
Goodswen of We Are Social would agree, and says that due to the power of the individual voice on social media, it is more important than ever for brands to walk this line carefully. “”here it’s been addressed poorly is through paid tweets which has caused a big controversy,” he says. “It’s about declaration. If you’re tweeting for a brand you should say this is a paid message. Otherwise you are stepping over a line which could lead to you getting in trouble with advertising standards or with consumers themselves.”
Cameron Jurd, founder of Oxygen 360 has seen many examples of bad branded content over his career in production. “I used to work at Channel Nine for 15 years as director of creative services,” he says. “I was right in the thick of all of this through the first series of The Block and numerous other programs, and you see a million ideas get presented over the years that are really just blatant promotion and selling rather than that emphasis on entertainment first.”
And although the industry has becoming more educated about working in the branded content space, there are still those who see it as a marketing tool first and foremost, letting the viewer or reader’s enjoyment take a back seat.
“We are still seeing crappy shows on the digital channels particularly,” says Evolution’s Stoykov. “I think they’re always going to be torn between making revenue and creating great content.”
Selling in branded content
Unfortunately for those making branded content with integrity, the poor quality of some of the work pitched, and the fact that some brands still think they can create a half-hour long ad and call it branded content, means there is a stigma around it among TV programmers.
“We’re in regular contact with the programmers at the stations and I can tell you that when you sit down with them and sell a brand funded content idea, you’ve got to work even harder than you do normally,” says Oxygen 360’s Jurd. “I think it’s great that they’re protecting their turf like that.”
Alistair Ferrier, head of production of MBA at MediaCom says: “There are multiple stakeholders in all this – the TV channel who want ratings, the audience who want entertainment and the brand who want their product bought to life in a compelling way. Balancing the requirements of all parties is part art and part science and takes expertise.”
He also points out the importance of getting the scheduling right. “For successful TV brand funded content, its crucial it appears in the right time slot, on the right channel to be able to fulfill its objectives. If it is positioned as ‘filler’ it has already failed,” he says.
So producers of branded content are finding they are often up against it, even when they have spent the required amount of time, money and attention to detail on the finished product. “With the mainstream TV networks brand content is not part of prime time viewing and isn’t likely to be anytime soon,” says Will O’Rourke’s Ritchie. At off peak times television channels are finding accommodations for it, but there really isn’t a good example of a brand content program that has made it to a Sunday night for example. The brand content shows are not stacking up from a pure entertainment point of view.”
This resistance around branded television content doesn’t seem to translate into the print or online space where people are much happier to receive brand funded messages. “People don’t object as much to custom publishing because ultimately you are providing something of value for free,” says Edge’s Stoddart. “They get a good car mag from BMW, and it save them the $6 they would have spent on Wheels. So they have this tangible product of value and they’re not paying for it.”
Daryl Talbot, managing director of WTFN Entertainment -perhaps the biggest producer of branded content in Australia, feels that there are those working in the space today, who are giving the rest of the industry a bad name, and that while most are doing a good job it is the lazy few who are ruining things for everyone else. “I’m quite critical of companies, as I call them the smash and grabbers, that come in and convince a broadcaster that it’s a good idea, get a sponsor to invest and then ultimately put most of the money in their back pocket. They produce a load of shit, to be honest.”
Payment models and measurement
There is a lack of understanding in the space about the costs involved in creating branded content, and how that content will then translate into sales for the brands. While some brands consider the whole process too lengthy and costly to embark upon, others think it should be done at rock bottom prices and go in expecting too much.
“Brands can have a cheap solution but if you want to stand out from the crowd an get some cut through in a crowded space then you need to invest, money and time,” says Edge’s Stoddart.
“I think people who don’t really understand the concept say that it takes too long and that it’s expensive,” says Evolution’s Stoykov. “But we’re getting levels of engagement with content, we’re keeping people on internet sites for 19 minutes to watch things. That’s unheard of in normal advertising land.”
Brands do need to figure out how to make their endeavours in this field pay, but they also need to be open-minded and understand that the project may not directly impact on sales. “One of the mistakes that some clients make is they try to put traditional agency or advertising metrics against brand funded content and that’s probably, in my view, a mistake,” says Oxygen 360’s Jurd. “I think ultimately, it’s a long haul play, it’s not like a piece of TV advertising media where you’re going to put a commercial to air for four or six or eight weeks and see an increased result.”
And WTFN’s Talbot feels that with the right advertising around the content brands can improve their chances of high impact results. “Some of the best results for sponsors is a shandy of integration programming, backed up by traditional advertising. Working together, branded content and 30 second ads actually complement each other, they’re not mortal enemies,” he says.
Overseas and overseeing
The branded content space has played out differently in other world markets with different regulations meaning different evolution of content. “In many overseas markets, such as the UK, there has been far stricter regulation regarding the integration of brands into content on TV,” says Ensemble’s Hodgson. “That means that we have seen more brand integrated content in Australia so far, however it also means that international markets have found more innovative online solutions to brand integration. You could say they are more sophisticated in this space in some overseas markets.”
But MBA’s Ferrier feels that we shouldn’t necessarily assume we are behind the times in Australia. “There is good and bad work everywhere globally, but only the very good work from overseas generally appears on our radar so its easy to think that those projects define that marketplace and have a skewed viewed of where Australia is placed,” he says.
Another important conversation to be had is whether Australia in fact needs more regulation in the branded content arena, and perhaps even an official body overseeing the market. “I don’t know if the space needs a separate association but I think the lines get blurred between editorial and paid-for content, and there should be some clear protocols around that,” says BMF’s Nicholas, adding: “All the bodies need to have a shared view, so that’s The Comms Council and the AANA and all of them.”
Oxygen 360’s Jurd feels that “the television stations on the whole have done a pretty good job in combating themselves without any regulation around that” and Hatch’s Logan agrees saying: “I think the body is actually the consumers. They’re actually deciding whether it works or not and if they turn it off, it’s not going to work but it may get to a stage where it does.”
Branded content coming up
So what’s the future for branded content? Will the buzz die down again and then rev back up in another couple of years? The general consensus seems to be that it won’t. With the mediums people are tuning into lending themselves to greater amounts of branded content and the quality of the productions going up and up, it’s star it set to rise ever further.
“I think what we’ll see over time though is less money given over to traditional ads and more to branded content,” says BMF’s Nicholas. Ensemble’s Hodgson adds: “The quality of the content will remain the number one concern, and the funding of the majority of the content the biggest question mark. That is where the smart brands can have a powerful role in instigating and co-funding content that is inspired by their personality and values, whilst retaining editorial integrity.”
And with all the new players in the space, who is set to win? “You’ve got a lot of different players stepping into the space. Media agencies, PR agencies, social agencies, video production people. So it’ll be an interesting battlefield,” says Edge’s Stoddart.
The journey toward brand becoming publishers and competing with the media owners has begun. As Will O’Rourke’s Ritchie puts it: “Treat a commercial as entertainment and branded content as entertainment and we might get somewhere.”
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