Best of Branded Content Marketing: 10th Anniversary Edition by Justin Kirby

Adjust Your Set

Chivas Regal ‘MASHTUN’

Stop Trying to Make Your Ads Go Viral: Top Tips for Video Success

Russia

Somethin' Else

Terra ‘Penetras de Luxo’ Wanted Agency and ASAS da Imaginação

Unilever Dove ‘Real Beauty Sketches’ Ogilvy

Barclays ‘Your Bank’ Red Bee Media

Metro Trains Melbourne ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ McCann

Unruly

Defining Branded Content for the Digital Age: Phase One Findings Ipsos MORI & Oxford Brookes

Anton Efimov

Brazil Patrícia Weiss

Unilever Surf TOWIE ‘Summer D’Reem’

Volvo Trucks ‘The Epic Split’ Forsman & Bodenfors

Sony Xperia ‘Vs The Northern Lights’ DigitasLBi

PepsiCo Lyubimy ‘Natural Love’ Fuse Russia

the written permission of the publishers

Intel+Toshiba ‘The Beauty Inside’

(BCMA, DMC, New Media Works) and

Pereira & O’Dell

the relevant copyright owner. Please contact online@dmc.co.uk in the first

Unilever Hellmann’s ‘In Search of Real Food’

instance to request such permission. All

Ogilvy

THE FUTURE

ITV

Expert Predictions Report

Eurostar

Justin Kirby

Nick Mercer

ABOUT THE BOOK

Carphone Warehouse ‘Smarter World’

RESEARCH

Andrew Canter

Tenthwave

MARKET REPORTS

Looking Forward to the Next 10 Years

CASE STUDIES

FOREWORD INTRODUCTION

Alison Knight

Duck Tape ‘Race of Gentlemen’

CLIENT VIEW

CONTENTS

10 Years of the BCMA

Contributors Producers Feedback

FOREWORD

Alison Knight Founder, BCMA

Back in the early 2000s, I worked with a

The number of interested parties wanting

number of companies who were advising

a forum for discussion, sharing of ideas,

brands to use different ways of

setting industry standards and

communicating with their audiences,

development of best practice steadily

often substituting and in some instances

increased and the Branded Content

replacing more traditional advertising

Marketing Association or BCMA was

routes.

officially launched in October 2003.

It struck me that it seemed a good idea to

The BCMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary objective was to act

try to bring together these interested

as a catalyst in breaking the existing

parties and promote a new form of

barriers between content providers,

communication based on bringing

advertisers, agencies and platforms. It

consumers and brands together by

was formed to offer support, advice,

invitation, not interruption, in an

share ideas, to develop best practice,

entertaining and engaging way through

share learning and to promote the

branded content.

adoption of branded content as a marketing medium by communicating its strengths to the wider market.

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Over the last 10 years, the BCMA has

editing, production, distribution and

recent case studies, a report on emerging

established itself as the leading

promotion – we have pleasure in

markets, expert predictions on future

organisation for branded content. We

publishing this, our second ebook. We

trends and an in-depth analysis of the

have created a proprietary measurement

envisage this being an annual publication

first phase of the Oxford Brooke’s

tool, contentmonitor, giving us valuable

showcasing the very best of branded

University and Ipsos MORI Academic

insight into what makes branded content

content.

Study which sets out to develop a clearer

effective. We have opened dedicated BCMA chapters in the USA, Russia and most recently South America and Scandinavia.

We also publish the ‘BCMA Weekly Digest’ that brings together all branded content news and stories from around the

understanding of this key marketing concept and define branded content in the digital age.

world. Our Insight Series of events brings

We look forward to our next ten years

We were delighted with the response to

together leading experts in the field of

with great excitement and we hope you

our first ebook showcasing great

branded content to share their views on

are inspired to join us on this amazing

examples of branded content, which was

the current and future trends. And our

journey.

published in early 2013.

recently developed Leadership Series

Due to its success – and with special thanks to Tenthwave, Somethin’ Else,

showcases the latest developments affecting the industry.

Ipsos MORI, Adjust Your Set, DMC and

Contained within this ebook are all things

New Media Works for their help with

branded content, including the best BACK TO CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

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Andrew Canter  CEO  BCMA

“2013 has been an incredibly

Looking Forward to the Next 10 Years

exciting year with some amazing campaigns from major brands. We’ve seen the

We generally look back to look forward

The recent content revolution can be

growth of social media and the

and predict the emerging trends, but the

traced back to a seminal moment in 2001

explosion of social media and the rapid

when BMW decided to take its US$30

development of technology has impacted

million advertising budget and spend it

positively on branded content and given

on producing five ‘mini’ feature films

us a glimpse of what the future may hold

working with luminary directors and

for brands. 2013 was the year that

producers, such as Ang Lee, Guy Richie,

branded content marketing came of age.

John Woo, Ridley and Tony Scott. The

Internet as a real driver, and I think that brands that adopt strategies that embrace branded content to its full impact will maximise ROI.”

star-studded line-up of actors included

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Clive Owen, Madonna, Don Cheadle,

We can surmise that this influenced the

a whole new meaning to the phrase, “Red

Mickey Rourke, Gary Oldman and Forest

decision of the likes of Audi (2005) and

Bull gives you wings”.

Whitaker.

more recently Renault (2009) to launch

BMW Films’ ‘The Hire’ series season one featured ‘Ambush’, ‘Chosen’, ‘The Follow’, ‘Star’, and ‘Powder Keg’. The brand followed this up with three more films for season two: ‘Hostage’, ‘Ticker’, and ‘Beat the Devil’.

dedicated channels to showcase their brands. We have also seen Jaguar producing the 2013 film, ‘Desire’, starring Damian Lewis. It was created in collaboration with Ridley Scott Associates (RSA) and features music from Lana Del Rey.

Already ahead of the curve, BMW then created BMW Audiobooks in 2006, which were given to customers to play in their new cars, but were not deemed to be a great success. However, we often learn more from things that don’t work than from things that do, so BMW should be congratulated for their vision and foresight.

Mobile telecommunications brands have been extremely active in the branded content market in the last decade. We have seen Orange create the music show ‘Playlist’ with Initial (Endemol), broadcast on ITV in 2005. A year later T-Mobile decided to follow suit and co-produced a show with Channel 4 called

The masters of branded content, Red

‘Transmission’, and Vodafone’s music

Bull have created some incredible

show TBA ran on E4 from 2006, produced

content over the past few years,

by Endemol.

culminating in the Stratos project that saw Felix Baumgartner freefall from space. Who would have thought that a brand would be bold and confident enough to spend millions on achieving

Drinks brands have relied heavily on branded content, with great examples from Bacardi’s B-Live events in partnership with Groove Armada. A drinks brand as a record label? Also,

this? Money well spent? It certainly gives BACK TO CONTENTS

established brands such as Johnnie

areas that were at the centre of their core

Walker have created a rich vein of

consumer’s life, i.e. music, football,

content based on the history of the

nightlife and social media. With this

brand.

campaign, they recognise the legend in

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“We’ve evolved from, “If [consumers] might skip my ads then I’m going to try

Other brands like Chivas Regal have invested heavily in content creation with two films based on real friendships directed by multi-award-winning Joachim Back: ‘Here’s to Big Bear’ and ‘Here’s to Twinkle’. We also witnessed a huge change in attitude to content as brands such as Heineken reportedly increased their branded content marketing budget from under 5% to 25% over the course of 18 months. This culminated in their highly acclaimed 2011 ‘Open Your World’ campaign that was created to engage in

all of their drinkers, those who know their way around and recognise a fine beer

and hide my ads in the content they’re already consuming” to “Wait a minute, I

when they taste one. In ‘The Entrance’,

actually have stories that I can shape

the film’s hero demonstrates his

and share with my audience that are

‘legendary-ness’ by making the ultimate

worthy of their time.” That is really a

party entrance.

huge transfer of thought from a world of branded content being a tactic, to a

This was followed by their high-profile

world of strategic, story-based

involvement in the James Bond movie

marketing where all forms of

‘Skyfall’, which caused a great stir among

communication have to be put through

Bond fans as beer replaced his Martini

the filter of “What do I have to say that

and generated huge coverage for the

adds value to people’s lives and

brand. It was a notable example of how

conversations?”” Scott Donaton,

brand integration can be subtle but effective, notwithstanding the £45 million

Global Chief Content Oﬃcer,

investment. BACK TO CONTENTS

Branded content has always been at the

‘Content 2020’ vision. They believe this

stood out with a tale of possibility that

heart of Luxury brands, with great

will leverage the opportunities in the new

just had to be told. Not only did his dance

examples coming from: Dunhill’s ‘The

media landscape and transform one-way

move – the ‘Toe Tappy’ – take off, but

Voice’ campaign, featuring distinguished

storytelling into dynamic storytelling that

also he got the whole world dancing to it.

gentlemen who have achieved great

hopes to add value and significance to

things in their chosen fields; Prada with

people’s lives. Their ‘Move to the Beat’

‘The Therapy’, a short movie directed by

campaign in 2012 formed part of their

Roman Polanski, starring Helena Bonham

Olympic Games association and

Carter and Ben Kingsley; LVMH; Chanel,

achieved great results.

producing the 30-minute film ‘The Tail of a Fairy’, created by Karl Lagerfeld and featuring Vogue cover girl Freja Beha Erichsen; and Cartier with their incredibly moving ‘Painted Love’ campaign, featuring original music by French band, Air.

We have also seen them diversify into sub brands, such as Coke Zero for which ‘A Step from Zero’ was created with excellent results. The campaign consisted of launching a global social media audition to define the next global

Bears that featured during the Superbowl in 2012? Another great example of branded content from a truly visionary brand. In sport, Nike have been the most active brand creating content around specific events, such as their city-based ‘Run’ series – for example, aligning ‘Run London’ to the recent ‘My Time Is Now’ campaign.

dance move. After hundreds of original

The soft drinks sector has been

dance move submissions poured in from

dominated by Coca Cola who have fully

all parts of the world – igniting thousands

committed to branded content with their

And who can forget the Coca Cola Polar

of social media conversations – one guy

Then there are the charities that have used branded content effectively. Of note is ‘Movember’ that has helped to raise BACK TO CONTENTS

£276 million over the past 10 years with

implemented for subsequent activity to

577 funded projects for men’s health in

ensure the best possible outcome.

21 countries, focused upon prostrate and testicular cancer as well as mental health issues. There is also Cancer Research UK’s ‘Tesco Race for Life’, the UK’s biggest women-only fundraising event,

At our most recent BCMA event, BC: 2023, we asked our experts to look 10

over the past two decades.

brands using content effectively, which can be viewed on the BCMA’s YouTube channel. There are also examples of where branded content has not worked

must ensure that changes are

how much being a globally connected

views on what brands would be doing to

people enter the job market and [join] organisations that understand the value

engage with their customers. Eric Schwamberger, Partner at Tenthwave, said that brands will stop

of relevant content and being a good social brand, and that value relationships over impressions – as these people are put in charge of budgets, we are going to see more attention paid to branded content and

and try to "become what people are

content marketing. This is going to be

interested in", shifting marketing value

essential for these people to succeed,

from brand impressions and message frequency to brand engagement and experiences.

as well as planned. It is often the latter campaigns we learn most from, and we

things about marketing today is just

society has changed things. As more

"disrupting what people are interested in" There are many more great examples of

“I think one of the most interesting

years into the future and give us their

which incorporates a 5km run for the charity. It has raised almost £500 million

PLAY AUDIO

His other prediction was that, as the first

because many brands will be competing to win the hearts and minds of their consumers. The successful agencies in the next five years are going to become obsessed with delivering branded experiences that can create real bonds with their customers.”

‘Social Generation’ grows up, transparency and sharing will become

Eric Schwamberger, Partner,

Tenthwave BACK TO CONTENTS

part of a new global dynamic. The idea of

term that it tends to make any discussion

social media will move past a line item in

of it broad and fuzzy as well.” These

the marketing budget to an integrated

quotes come from the literature review of

tactic of just about everything we do.

our current academic study, ‘Defining

PLAY AUDIO

“I don’t think brands are taking enough risks in the content space. [They are] looking at what they bought from a mass media perspective and trying to replicate that in the realm of digital. I also

We have seen an unprecedented increase in the level of branded content

Branded Content for the Digital Age’ – see the Phase One results report here.

over the past year, and, although the

However, through the BCMA’s desire and

process of producing great content has

passion to drive forward creativity and

improved, there is still much debate and

establish academic understanding,

discussion about the best approach.

champion best practice and share

believe that the content produced by brands is primarily passive and linear. I don’t think it takes advantage of advanced platforms like Xbox One. I don’t think it has a high level of consumer engagement. I don’t think it is transmedia in the truest sense of delivering diﬀerent content

This was summed up in 2013 by Robin Thornton of Shaman Marketing, who

experiences, be they entertainment

said, “There is a significant amount of

or utility based. So I think there is

confusion and controversy out there

tremendous growth opportunity.”

Doug Scott, President,

learning, we truly believe that branded content will continue to be an increasingly important part of the marketing mix.

around what content is, what it does and

This will maximise the return on

how to use it.” This is backed up by

investment for those brands adopting a

Cindy Gallop of IfWeRanTheWorld who

strategy that fully embraces the power of

said, “Content is such a broad and fuzzy

content.

OgilvyEntertainment

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“The branded content segment is developing and becoming more popular among advertisers in Russia. Top TV programmes of general

“In the Age of Social Conversation, the period of interruption-based advertising is diminishing and is being replaced by engagement-based advertising in most parts of the South American region. In Brazil, 2013 has been the year of the video, due to the social visual culture evolution. Naturally, marketers are planning to increase social video ad placements, leveraging the production investments of original content to create their own experience and conversation territory with the consumer - without causing an impact on the traditional, and still predominant, investment in TV.

interest and top sport events are Because we are an emerging market, in many cases, the content created is still centred on the brand and already branded. Further growth will follow the segmentation of content delivery channels (Internet and digital TV) and technologies that analyse audience preferences. Audiences will require more and more specificinterest content that will be produced

is media-oriented, demanding stronger planning and creativity to develop more entertaining, eﬃcient, involving, storied and relevant branded content initiatives within the consumer’s context to provoke shareability and relationship. The big challenge for the Brazilian market is in maturing and expanding branded content strategies by permeating other forms of connection between the brand and the consumer. When storytelling gets incorporated in the centre of the brand strategy, it will triumph as a powerful, ‘meaning-conveyor’ marketing tool. More examples of compelling stories that manage to get the attention of a dispersive audience will be seen, informing and delivering value while entertaining. Marketers are getting serious about creating great stories that spread brand meaning and help to humanise the brands – exactly now, when the most

in partnership with advertisers.”

important universal currency is the conversation.”

Anton Efimov,

Patrícia Weiss,

Managing Director,

SVP Strategic Consultant for Branded Content, Branded Entertainment and Transmedia Storytelling,

Fuse Russia

ASAS da Imaginação

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CASE STUDY

Campaign : The Race of Gentlemen Client : ShurTech Duck Tape Agency : Tenthwave Digital

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PLAY VIDEO

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CHALLENGE First run over an Autumn weekend in 2012, the Race of

waiting to see a machine at its top speed pass before them on a

Gentlemen is an invitation-only series of races in which hand-

wide open beach,” said Mel Stultz of the Oilers Car Club and

built, modified pre-World War II cars and motorcycles roar along

founder of the Race of Gentlemen.

a 1/8-mile sandy straight on the beach at Wildwood, New Jersey.

One of the spectators at the 2012 event was Brendan Kennedy –

The Race was conceived by a group of hot-rod enthusiasts from

now a Tenthwave Creative Director. Brendan went to Tenthwave

the Oilers Car Club, which was established in the 1940s. The

in summer 2013 and pitched the idea of partnering with a brand

Race invokes the bygone era when people built cars to push

to help raise the profile of the Race.

their skills and their love of speed, using parts pulled from other cars or fabricated by hand in their backyards and home garages. “My vision was for a race much like you would have seen in 1910

The agency loved the idea, but had just three weeks to find a partner, conceive and produce a campaign that would be ready to go live at the second annual Race in October 2013.

or ’20: people dressed up, with picnic baskets and good booze,

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SOLUTIO

When looking to engage a brand with a

niche target audience required the

could seal canisters, secure cracked

cultural event, Tenthwave aims to satisfy

support of a cult brand that’s relevant to

windows, repair trucks and more. The

two important factors:

that niche and interested in building its

tape has been a staple in garages and

own profile within the same community.

toolkits across America ever since.

people care about and are already talking

One of Tenthwave’s clients, ShurTech’s

Not surprisingly, drivers in the Race of

about, but there is an opportunity to

Duck Tape®, was an obvious and natural

Gentlemen were already using Duck Tape

expand the conversation in some way.

fit.

to build and patch up their cars, make

Duck Tape was first used during World

The event should be something that

The involvement of the brand must

be relevant and authentic to the event – a

War II, when US troops needed a strong,

brand can’t stomp all over an event and

flexible, durable, waterproof tape that

pre-race modifications and running repairs – it was literally holding together vital car parts.

take it over, they have to be genuine participants with a right to be there, and they have to participate in a way that’s not only on-brand but also feels natural to the consumers involved. For their first challenge – finding a willing and suitable brand partner – the agency realised that a cult race series with a BACK TO CONTENTS

spending a lot of money. In fact, there was less than US$10,000 allocated for media. Hurricane Sandy had hit the beach the year earlier, destroying some of the historic beach huts and infrastructure. In order to support the event, Tenthwave PLAY VIDEO

would have to bring their own technical communications equipment, such as power and Internet connectivity, and get Duck Tape involved from the ground up.

So both culturally and from a product

The agency had several other

angle, Duck Tape was a perfect match for

considerations to take into account for

the Race. The brand agreed to get

the conception and production of a

involved at short notice, trusting

campaign.

Tenthwave to come up with a branded content marketing idea that would expand on Duck Tapeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existing goodwill and authenticity among race-goers.

From a creative viewpoint, the energy and passion of the historic motoring event was matched by the amazing natural beauty of the backdrop itself â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the

First, they had to do something highly

beach with its sand and sea spray, the

effective for the Race and the brand with

crazy characters, the old jalopies and the

a very short lead-time and without

heritage buildings would all enable the creation of great visual content. BACK TO CONTENTS

experiential, branded content marketing

Live photographic contest

pilot campaign, consisting of a mix of live

Spectators were encouraged to take

activities during the Race from 4-6

photos during the Race weekend and

because it was cool and fun

October 2013:

hashtag their photos with

and relevant for hotrod

Live online broadcast of races

#raceofgentlemen and #ducktape for a

enthusiasts. Whatever it is

Tenthwave decided to create an

Tenthwave created a campaign website that included live streaming of race footage from the beach, so that anyone anywhere in the world could view the races and the surrounding activity. Social

chance to win US$500. Instagram was the main social media platform for the

"This campaign worked

thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culturally relevant, we want to bring that authenticity and relevance to all the brands

photos, however photos also appeared on Duck Tapeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Facebook page where the brand has more than 5.5 million fans. The contest was promoted on the

media, including Facebook, Instagram

campaign website via a live feed of the

and Twitter, was used to help drive traffic

Instagram shots, and it was promoted

to the live feed site before and during the

live at the Race, where Duck Tape and

Race.

Tenthwave staff walked around chatting

we work with. This campaign is just one excellent example of facilitating the meeting of a brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s product with cultural and social currency."

Drew Rayman, Managing Partner, Tenthwave

with attendees and handing out cards with directions on how to enter the contest. BACK TO CONTENTS

Duck Tape giveaways ‘stand’

Archival video footage

Duck Tape gave away free branded T-

hours of footage during the Race

"What was so great about this

shirts, rolls of Duck Tape and cards

weekend, with the aim to use this

branded content campaign is

promoting the photo competition from

collection of stories and social content in

that it was just an oﬀ-the-cuﬀ

the back of a suitably modified

future Duck Tape social and digital

stationwagon on the beach.

A production crew filmed thousands of

marketing initiatives.

idea from a guy in a garage: “Hey this is going on, wouldn’t it be cool if…” Duck Tape was

p a roll y bag. I kee m in l o to rsatile king m prop-ma the most ve I' is n e e h p a w T it k f c o "Du e a ton wn and I us o I r a c ry e in ev men" is 1939 e of Gentle Club, and h r a C rs e for the Rac il ltz III, O n Riper Stu a V n o ld e M f Indian Chie

literally invited in to the event and they took a chance that it would generate some benefits for them as well as for the Race of Gentlemen. And boy did it! It’s all about finding the right idea and the right brand and bringing them together."

Kate Daggett, Executive Creative Director, Tenthwave

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iv l e h t ssed

S T L U S E R

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"My first truck , a 1969 Toyo ta Hi-lux, had made of Duck a floor entirely Tape" John Illenye and his 1928 German-buil Hindenberg t Triumph an metal werks d sidecar

ke a fan pe to ma

belt – an

a d Duck T e s u e v I' " nts!" p my pa u ld Model A o d h r o o t F lt 0 e b 193 and his in e t S id Dav ter Speeds

Founded in 2010, Tenthwave is the customer-obsessed digital, social and mobile marketing agency. Its passion is to inspire customers through insight and understanding, creating share-worthy social content for brands that resonates with – and between – people. As a more personal, full-service digital agency, its core service oﬀerings lie in strategy, research, digital design, development, branded content development, user experience, social media management, online media, analytics, promotions and online marketing. Tenthwave has about 100 employees globally, with oﬃces in New York City, Long Island, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Washington DC and London.

See more of Tenthwave's work here.

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OUTCOMES

The Duck Tape 'Race of Gentlemen' branded content marketing initiative matched

"Our goal with the Race of

the right brand with a relevant, relatively unheard-of, cool cultural event. It was the

Gentlemen is to give car buﬀs

perfect opportunity to tell a story about Duck Tape in an authentic way – a story that people could help create and share in real time from a live event via earned media.

some pure, event-driven content that stirs passion and makes them the marketing

The brand was welcomed into the event, rather than having to buy its way in, and all the Tenthwave and Duck Tape staff rolled up their sleeves to help build the event infrastructure. This translated into a feel-good, morale-boosting story that brought kudos to Duck Tape for its support of the event and the traumatised

engine. When a brand delivers content so cool that people want to share it with their

Jersey Shore, and in turn helped the live, socially activated campaign to take off

friends, there’s a credibility you

under its own steam.

can’t buy."

The Duck Tape partnership also raised the Race of Gentlemen’s profile, connecting this niche subculture with other enthusiasts who create – and break! – things.

David Rodgers, Senior Digital Marketing Manager,

Looking at the impact of the individual Duck Tape campaign activities, the stand at

ShurTech Brands

the Race was mobbed by race-goers and the free samples ran out within minutes, tens of thousands of people from around the world tuned into the live event on the campaign website, and over a million social impressions flooded the Internet over a couple of days.

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There were several useful outcomes from the photographic contest:

The photographic contest also proved

For 2014, Tenthwave plans to involve

vital to the live broadcast activity. When

additional strategically aligned brand

there were breaks between races, the

collaborators to augment the campaign

footage from the beach wasn’t constantly

activities, create more rich content to

riveting. However, the accompanying

share, and use it to build a larger cultural

When Duck Tape and Tenthwave staff

Instagram feed always featured shots

story for the Race of Gentlemen and its

walked down the beach to hand out

that captured breathtaking moments in

associated partner brands.

cards about the contest, the reaction was

time and covered stories that were going

extremely positive and they were treated

on all over the beach, such as performer

as part of the family. Duck Tape wasn’t

stunts that were pulled – a racer standing

borrowing the equity of the Race; it was

on a motorbike, the passion and energy

dedicated to helping build it – a

of the event.

difference that was apparently obvious to event attendees and social media viewers alike. As a result, Duck Tape saw its largest spike in conversation across its social media channels. Through its presence at the Race and the inherent awareness this created, the brand also appeared in vastly more attendee photographs as an integral part of the cars, motorbikes, and

r with l my floo a e s d n ts a headligh y m t u o g" "I X I'm racin rd n e h w e p del A Fo o M 1 3 Duck Ta 9 his 1 ady and r 'G O J T p r pick-u roadste

The archive film footage of the event is being curated, along with all the fan content, and it will be distributed throughout the coming year. Building on 2013’s campaign experience, Duck Tape and Tenthwave are now looking to scale up the reach and amplification of the pilot project’s

"We use Duc k Tape on the seams betwe and grill and en the hood the hood and b o d y to help cheat th Ken Schmid e wind" t and his 193 2 Ford 3-win dow Coupe

success.

general race experience.

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CASE STUDY

Campaign : Smarter World Client : Carphone Warehouse Agency : Adjust Your Set

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Carphone Warehouse appointed Adjust

CHALLENGE

Your Set as its video agency following a competitive pitch, then challenged the agency to create a campaign with two objectives: 1.

Develop an ongoing programme

In 2012, Carphone Warehouse decided to return to its roots – a new ‘back-to-

of entertaining and engaging video

basics’ approach, with a focus on becoming the specialist smartphone retailer.

content that inspires people about

With every network represented (7million+ purchase combinations), Carphone

smartphone possibilities.

Warehouse’s unique sales proposition is to oﬀer more choice than any rival retailer,

and to be the only place for truly independent expert advice.

become the number one destination for

To fulfil this aspiration the brand needed to inspire people about what smartphones

smartphone research and browsing.

can do: the mini-computer in the pocket that can make people laugh, cry, keep

The results benchmark for the

close to loved ones, educate, provide the soundtrack to a commute, help run a new

campaign was to generate 6 million

business – even spark revolutions and regime change.

aggregated views and a 5% click-

Video has an important role to play in this activity. Video consumption is becoming

Support the brand’s desire to

through rate within a year.

increasingly critical in the consumer research and purchase journey – 39% of all smartphone shoppers now use video at some point in their buying process. BACK TO CONTENTS

SOLUTIO

Adjust Your Set came up with the

Adjust Your Set has now started creating

film crew took Dilshad Corleone to

‘Smarter World’ branded video campaign,

a series of six ‘Smarter World’

Barcelona to shoot the city with its

creating a content strategy split into

documentaries focussing on different

stunning architecture and beauty, simply

three phases; awareness, engagement

inspirational stories. The first looks at an

via his smartphone and the variety of

and interaction.

amateur photographer’s rise to fame

apps now available to photographers.

For the launch of the campaign, Adjust

through smartphone photography. The

Your Set produced an introductory film to a ‘Smarter World’, unveiling ‘Cliff’ as a humorous salesman in a Carphone Warehouse store, fed up with customers not using their phones to their full potential. Cliff takes customers on a PLAY VIDEO

journey through the ‘Smarter World’ lab where dogs can communicate, a DJ can spin tunes and you can work up a sweat with a personal trainer, all from your smartphone or tablet.

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To host this content and enable it to be shared with other people, Adjust Your Set designed and built a dedicated video player system that presents both the PLAY VIDEO

professionally produced content and user-generated content integrated across multiple channels (carphonewarehouse.com, YouTube, Facebook) and devices (desktop, mobile and tablet). When people upload their own

The next documentary features the

Warehouse and Geek Squad,

smartphone content, as well as sharing

achievements of blind runner Simon

showing viewers how they can use apps

via social media the ways in which

Wheatcroft who is using his smartphone

to achieve similar style photos, videos

smartphones have affected their lives

to help him train for an ultra-marathon in

and challenges. The audience is then

they get the chance to win smartphone-

the desert.

encouraged to create and submit their

related prizes. The winning entries are

own photos and videos.

then used to populate the ‘Smarter

The documentaries are complemented by how-to content created by Carphone

World’ player to provide an immersive visual experience to the user. BACK TO CONTENTS

S T L U S E R

er t r a m ‘S e h t , 13 0 d: 2 e n v i e i d h e h ac s a h Launc gn i a p m ’ ca d l r o ws e i W v d te a g e r g ag + n o i h, l c il n m u a 1 l of • s k e e w x i s nd n i e p s with a edi m y b d e k c a b ons i s s e r mp i e g a p + 0 0 0 , • 36 d e t a r e -gen r e s u 00+ 0 , 4 • ds a o l p u t conten

Adjust Your Set™ is a full-service digital content agency.

Their approach is to fuse content strategy, creativity and technology to enable brands to become always-on publishers in a customer-centric digital world.

As the most visible and powerful content format available to brands on digital and mobile channels, and the fastest growing advertising medium ever, video is the agency’s focal point. Adjust Your Set have been pioneers and distributors of video in a multi-screen world since 2008.

Take a look at some more work from Adjust Your Set.

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OUTCOMES

The 'Smarter World' branded video "Our customers want to

campaign achieved its core aims.

connect with us in new and smarter ways, and video is the ideal content format to share

The device that generated the most

our brand stories with them. We were really impressed by the strategic thinking from Adjust

engagement, not surprisingly, was the

Your Set, and their expertise in retail video-commerce. The

smartphone. It drove 68% of the page

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Smarter Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; branded content marketing campaign combines creative and

impressions, followed by the tablet at 55%

technical innovation to deliver strong brand engagement." Gareth Jones, Head of Online Marketing, Carphone Warehouse

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CASE STUDY

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Campaign : MASHTUN Client : Chivas Regal Agency : Somethin’ Else

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CHALLENGE

SOLUTIO

MASHTUN

Working with Havas, Somethin’ Else took Chivas’ overall campaign objectives and put their proven design approach to work. Somethin’ Else could have proposed

Chivas Regal is a sophisticated, modern brand of Scotch whisky –

a perfectly suitable game where little

with over two centuries of history. Their ‘Art of Hosting’ marketing

hosts barrel back and forth. However,

campaign is sharply focused: Chivas makes the modern social gathering complete. Chivas asked their marketing partner Havas Worldwide London to

creating a game that actually makes social gatherings go well was deemed a far better plan: the game should be a tool for hosts and should bring the campaign to life.

include a smartphone app in the campaign. Havas challenged Recognising that social gatherings

content design and creation company Somethin’ Else to come up with a game that showcased the ‘Art of Hosting’, which is all about creating an environment, a novel experience, and facilitating a

are affected by personal digital technology, Somethin’ Else also decided to embrace that technology to turn the attention of party guests

good time.

towards each other. This called for a

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social game that made players look at each other rather than their devices. Those two insights framed Somethin’ Else’s mission: to reinvent the parlour game for the modern age; to make ‘realtime social games’; and ultimately to make you a better host. The starting point for developing the game was to look at the most successful parlour games from history and capture their essence. What made them popular

had to make smart, entertaining and

Scoring was an interesting challenge. The

games? What was the central mechanic

imaginative use of iPhone and iPad

aim was for scoring to be arbitrary,

that encouraged interaction?

hardware, such as the touch screen,

something to be set by the party host to

camera, gyroscope, accelerometer and

demonstrate that s/he had the qualities

microphone.

that Chivas was interested in fostering.

A shortlist was then compiled and the

The results of several user testing

resulting games were prototyped and

sessions with a target audience of

tested to see if they fit the bill.

professional people aged 25-35 were fed

The creative team tested them out (a lot) and whittled the list down to around 20 games. The next step was to test these ideas against the central premise: the games

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•

Mashseek: Hide and seek for the

modern age. One team hides their device. The other team uses their device to find it. The MASHTUN app automatically suggests the number of teams and the number of players on each team, based on the guests and smartphones or tablets in the room. Launched in April 2013, the free app was into the whole development process to

•

create the final app: MASHTUN – a suite

sections of a track in time.

of five parlour games for the modern host: •

•

Mashjam: Players ‘jam’ by playing

Mashtip: Players complete physical

challenges while keeping a tower of Mashact: Inspired by Charades, this

quick-fire acting game encourages wild team acting under pressure, with the

made available on the iTunes app store as part of the wider ‘Art of Hosting’ campaign, and promoted via YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook.

blocks balanced. •

Mashrelay: A head-to-head relay

race powered by your voice!

words selected by the opposing team. BACK TO CONTENTS

"This collaboration with Havas Worldwide London shows why

Somethin’ Else designs and creates content that millions of people watch, listen to and play with every

enlightened brands and

day on their computers, radios,

agencies are instrumental in

devices and televisions.

the future of content. Together

Awarded internationally at the

we've created a parlour game

highest level – they are 2013’s BAFTA

like never before – truly social

Production Company of the Year, for

and sophisticated, challenging

example – Somethin’ Else has an interdisciplinary team of media and

people’s perceptions of

technology experts who work with

technology and gaming."

brands, broadcasters and content publishers across four areas: digital, radio, talent, and TV and video.

Paul Bennun, Chief Creative Oﬃcer,

Their knowledge of strategy and

Somethin’ Else

their obsession with audiences and users help them to achieve diﬃcult objectives by creating content people love.

Take a look at Somethin’ Else’s showreel.

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ÂŠ Olivia Arthur/Magnum Photos

OUTCOMES

The MASHTUN app has been nominated for a number of awards (already winning "Chivas MASHTUN combines

a bronze award in the Kinsale Sharks

elements that we know modern gentlemen love: games, gadgets and, above all, being a

International Creative Festival 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

great party host. Chivas has always been about bringing

Digital category), and generated

people together, celebrating friendship and generosity. With this new venture, we wanted to

significant interest from other FMCG

change the rules of gaming technology, which can be

brands on how games can play a part in

insular, and make entertaining at home sociable, entertaining and memorable."

their content marketing. James Slack, Global Brand Director, Chivas

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CASE STUDY

Campaign : Penetras de Luxo Client : Terra Agency : Wanted ASAS da Imaginação

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PLAY VIDEO

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CHALLENGE

SOLUTIO

PENETRAS DE LUXO

Wanted Agency and ASAS da Imaginação decided to create branded content that featured Generation Y and could be viewed

Terra is a Brazilian ISP and media network that sponsors Planeta

digitally, making it possible to generate spreadability.

Terra, one of the largest music festivals in Brazil.

They came up with ‘Penetras de Luxo’ (VIP Party Crashers), a series of

The brand challenged Wanted Agency and ASAS da Imaginação to

online films that uses Planeta Terra as a backdrop to tell the story of a group

come up with a marketing campaign that had two objectives:

of friends that gatecrashes the festival’s VIP area.

extend the experience of the one-day Planeta Terra festival into

To shoot the series, the festival was turned into a set where the storyline

other territories; and connect with Generation Y to continue the

and characters were fictional but settings and surroundings were real.

conversation about the festival long after the event ends. BACK TO CONTENTS

Live incidents that occurred throughout

name, Sergio. So when a fictional kiss

the festival were used to develop the

between him and another character was

story, grabbing the attention of the public

shown on the big screens at the festival,

during and after the event.

it generated tweets and impressions on

Launched online and on digital TV after

social media instantly.

the festival, six short episodes and one short film presented the ‘Penetras de Luxo’ characters and showed how they gatecrashed the VIP area. Just like every good work of fiction, a conflict was also added: a mysterious situation occurs and they all end up at the police station. The idea of blending real life with fiction was taken a step further with a celebrity twist that started during the festival. One of the characters was played by a famous Brazilian actor and, in a PR stunt, his character’s name reflected his real

BACK TO CONTENTS

S T L U S E R e During th

l a v i t s e f rra e T a t e n a l

Wanted Agency was founded in Brazil in the age of participation, in

: weekend

sed o p x e e r ees we

the midst of a culture of convergence.

end t t a l a v i t fes 0 0 0 , 5 6 . • c ries e s e h t f o s t n e ial m c e l o e s 0 0 0 00, 6 d e v i e rec e n e c s s is • The k ns o i s s e r p ad h m i o a i i g d r e e m tS a h t e s n inte o f s o e t r m a a p c s e wa s uzz b s i b k e e h h T at t • h t e c uzz n b u e o r n o n m a ly en v e g n i t a to public cre , ’ o x u L de s a r t e n e ‘P ies r e s of e e h n t o t u e o am ab c e b y l t n que e s b u s ’ n o o x s u n L o i e t c d s du o r p l a n ‘Penetra o ati n d e h c t TV a y w a t d s n o u S m m, the r o f t a l p l TV a t i g i d s ’ Terra

The Agency believes that fan culture is the new reality in which consumers participate in the production of collective intelligence about brands and products. In order to succeed, the brand story needs to connect with the broader conversation and discussion of what is happening in today's culture.

Wanted Agency specialises in creating or developing brand culture. It uses a proprietary methodology to tell a consistent story throughout the brand experience and initiatives, connecting the brand to contemporary culture and creating tribes who actively participate in the life of the brand.

Take a look at some more work from Wanted Agency.

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OUTCOMES

The ‘Penetras de Luxo’ series of branded content films became "The key to the success of this

such a hit for Terra that it has

branded content marketing campaign was creating intriguing narrative content that seamlessly incorporated the

now evolved into a sitcom with

product (the festival) with the audience, as well as blurring the lines between fiction and reality. This created an appetite

a contract for an entire season

for people to discover more, to put themselves in the shoes of the characters and to talk to each other about the story

on web and cable TV.

unfolding before them."

Patrícia Weiss, CSO, Wanted Agency; SVP Strategic Consultant for Branded Content, Branded Entertainment & Transmedia Storytelling, ASAS da Imaginaçaõ

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CASE STUDY

PLAY VIDEO

Campaign : Real Beauty Sketches Client : Unilever Dove Agency : Ogilvy

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CHALLENGE

Real Beauty Sketches "Unilever asked us to make women feel better

From 2005, Unilever's Dove brand of personal care products has celebrated women's natural beauty in its 'Real Beauty' marketing campaigns. Market research suggested that only 4% of women describe themselves as beautiful, so the Dove Real Beauty campaign for 2013, created by Ogilvy Brazil, was tasked with raising the selfesteem of the other 96%. No short order!

about themselves. We wanted to move women, to find an idea that could actually prove to women that they're wrong about their self-image. Hats oďŹ&#x20AC; to Unilever â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they didn't approve a script, they approved a social experiment that could've gone either way." Anselmo Ramos, Creative Director, Ogilvy Brazil

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SOLUTIO Ogilvy came up with the idea to run a social experiment that turned on its head the tendency of women to be critical of

comparison, with the sketches from the

The campaign was presented on YouTube

strangers' descriptions being the more

as a branded, documentary-style film (in

accurate and flattering. The women

six-minute and three-minute versions)

reacted strongly to the sketches, some

with the tagline 'Women: You Are More

with tears, as they realised that they were

Beautiful Than You Think'.

doing themselves an injustice.

their appearance. It involved women being filmed going through a process of self-discovery, seeing themselves through their own eyes and those of strangers. For the experiment, FBI forensic artist Gil Zamora sketches women he can't see on different days â&#x20AC;&#x201C; firstly based on their own descriptions of themselves, then based on a stranger's description, without Gil ever knowing when the subject was the same person. The resulting sketches are then revealed to the subjects for BACK TO CONTENTS

RESULTS •

170 million views on YouTube

• Most-watched online branded content of 2013 • 3rd most-shared branded video of 2013

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OUTCOMES

The Dove Real Beauty Sketches branded content marketing campaign strongly reinforced Dove's ongoing Real Beauty strategy. It was successful in tapping into women's emotions and making people think again about how they judge their own appearance. The film went viral very quickly (more than 15 million views within a week of its launch) and inspired conversations, debate and articles in media as diverse as Adweek, The Telegraph, Facebook, Bloomberg, Mashable, New York Times, Forbes, Huffington Post, and Psychology Today â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as well as wider adoption of the concept, such as the 'Men: You Are Less Beautiful Than You Think' spoof video.

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CASE STUDY

PLAY VIDEO

Campaign : Your Bank Client : Barclays Agency : Red Bee Media

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CHALLENGE

SOLUTIO

Your Bank

Video content held the key to answering those particular challenges. Its power to move, amuse and persuade people was used by

After a period when high street banks haven’t been top of the general public’s Christmas card list, Barclays wanted to demonstrate a change of approach, one born of a very real desire to regain the public’s trust and preference.

Red Bee to tell real stories about the

Barclays asked Red Bee Media to produce branded content for a new marketing initiative called 'Your Bank'. This initiative invites consumers to help influence changes to everyday banking. Your Bank includes an online platform to gather and share ideas to improve Barclays products, services and overall banking experience.

Working with Barclays, Red Bee

The development of Your Bank presented as much of a challenge as an opportunity. Namely, how do you make people stick around voluntarily to explore a website dedicated to everyday banking issues – not normally a high interest category? And how could Barclays show that it was and is acting on the ideas suggested? The branded content on the Your Bank website therefore needed to both enthrall and inform.

changes Barclays had made and is still making now.

identified the stories with the most tangible and demonstrable human impact – the ones that would lend themselves best to video. Wherever possible, these stories were told from the customers' perspective, not that of the Bank. This was important for two reasons. Firstly, it placed customers and their needs at the heart of the story, demonstrating BACK TO CONTENTS

Barclays' determination to put customers

demonstrating Barclays’ commitment to

first in all of its thinking. And secondly, it

listening to and understanding its

made the stories more instantly relatable

customers. The first batch of films

to the audience.

included:

Your Bank launched with a series of

•

these stories in the format of online films,

McCausland introducing Barclays’ new

customer and a Barclays Personal

some showcasing initiatives that

audio cash machines for blind and

Banker created a new type of high

Barclays had already implemented to

partially sighted people. Chris gives us

visibility debit card for visually impaired

make everyday banking better as a result

some insight of his previous difficulties

customers.

of its customers’ feedback, others

with talking machines.

Blind stand-up comedian Chris

PLAY VIDEO

•

An animated story of how a

The experiences of Barney, a

Barclays Branch Manager, who spends PLAY VIDEO

an uncomfortable day in an “age suit” that simulates the physical restrictions and difficulties of being elderly or infirm, to research branch accessibility for older customers. •

The story of Ken Bellringer, injured

in Afghanistan, now on placement with BACK TO CONTENTS

Barclays as part of its AFTER programme

launch was supported by print, outdoor

for ex-military personnel.

and digital advertising driving consumers

•

John Dennerly, a country park

to the Your Bank website.

manager in Scotland who is deaf, introducing Barclays’ new sign video service. •

PLAY VIDEO

The story of Sam, an older

customer empowered to get online through a joint initiative between Age UK and Barclays. •

And a series of films featuring

Barclays “Ideation” workshops with customers to generate ideas for making everyday banking better. The online videos were placed within the integrated Your Bank online platform (customised and managed by Dare) and on the Barclays YouTube channel. The BACK TO CONTENTS

"The Your Bank branded video content is playing a key role in persuading the public that their ideas count and that it's worthwhile to submit them. The high level of interaction and idea submission is an indicative measure of audience engagement for Barclays, which can only help them improve customer service

Within the

RESULTS

first three

months o

f launch:

• 449,000 interactio ns • 283,000 video view s • 26,900 poll votes • 3,693 id eas subm itted by c onsumers

for the future."

Michael Reeves, Business Development Director, Red Bee Media

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OUTCOMES

Thanks to Your Bank and its branded video content, Barclays is now able to have an ongoing conversation with "The 'Your Bank'

customers – learning from them, listening

platform and its content represents a very public

to them and demonstrating the changes

commitment to listening to our customers and

it’s making for them.

showing how we are "Oﬀset saving s account to current accou when going o nt verdrawn" - e llievin89

of all savings accounts "Show the interest rate onjones12345 in online banking." - sim ucate schools to ed r fo e m m ra g lay's pro er "Create a Barc ." - Mumsnett rs e tt a m y e n t mo children abou

"Be able to withdraw diﬀerent currencies from an ATM." - Parliament Street, York branch customer

going to act on change, big and small, which can make their lives easier."

Sara Bennison, Managing Director, Marketing Communications, Barclays UK Retail Bank

"Enable Skyp e meetings w ith branch ad - Telegraph re visors." ader

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CASE STUDY

Campaign : Dumb Ways to Die

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Client : Metro Trains Melbourne Agency : McCann

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CHALLENGE

SOLUTIO

Two insights propelled McCann’s solution for the campaign: that young people hate being told what to do; and that if you get hit by a train,

Every year there are needless deaths or accidents around

you’ve probably done something

trains in Melbourne, Australia. And while rail accidents are

pretty dumb.

tragic, they are in most cases completely avoidable. This is

So the campaign strategy focussed

particularly true for young adults.

on turning a message about rail

Metro Trains Melbourne challenged McCann Melbourne with

safety that nobody wants to listen to

three primary objectives for a new marketing campaign:

into a piece of entertainment people

1. Reduce train-related accidents in key accident areas by 10% over 12 months 2. Generate a stated commitment to be safe around trains (40,000 pledges)

actively seek out and share, that tells the truth about rail accidents. McCann created ‘Dumb Ways to Die’, a branded content marketing campaign consisting of a three-

3. Generate campaign awareness of 25% among the core target audience of young adults

minute song and video featuring 21 cartoon characters dying in really BACK TO CONTENTS

dumb ways – three of them in trainrelated accidents. McCann launched the song in the usual way on iTunes, YouTube, radio and more. The agency used both traditional media (radio, TV, cinema, posters, press) and social media (Soundcloud, Tumblr, Instagram and Facebook) to drive traffic to the music video on YouTube. To extend the reach of the campaign through social media and PR, they also created dedicated forms of shareable content across multiple channels, including a karaoke version of the song, limited-edition posters of the characters, the ‘Little Book of Dumb Ways to Die’ for schools and the Dumb Ways to Die smartphone game app.

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RESULTS

"We’ve got a campaign that’s

74 million

Worldwid e#

+ video vi

1 app dow

relied on content and with the app we’re starting the move to

nloaded o

Song cha

forward … is to steer away from the advertising model

1 million+

and create content and create merchandising … We need to

pledges t

o be safe

keep creating shareable pieces

AU$60 mi

that people can seek out and

; sold ove r 100,000 c opies

around tra

ins on the campaign website

rned med

ia impress

the marketing message." John Mescall,

Most awarde

d campaign e

Executive Creative Director, McCann Melbourne

From interview in AdAge

ver in D&AD

history.

ions

Most awarded campaign at the Webby Awards 2013.

Most awarded agency in the history of the Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity.

24/6/2103

in the history of the Most awarded agency l of Creativity. Cannes Lions Festiva

lion times

countries

llion of ea

[that] have a worth beyond just

uTube

ver 35 mil

rted on iT unes in 28

merchandising. I think the way

ews on Yo

ency ional Awards Ag at rn te In n o nd Lo . of the Year 2013

3rd ranked g

wards Clio A

nked

p ra 013 to

. gency

ian A ustral

lobal agency

at One Show 2013. Selec ted am gency ong T a n 2013. a i l ED’s t stra (The o op 10 ed Au nly Au k n A a have r d s Wor d stralia been th Spr Secon n adv 3. so rec e e a rtisem ding st 201 ognis e f d A e ed.) nt eve at r to BACK TO CONTENTS

OUTCOMES

The ‘Dumb Ways To Die’ campaign became a global phenomenon and quickly demonstrated a real impact on social behaviour. Far exceeding its objectives, it’s one of Australia’s most successful public service campaigns. As well as the results listed previously, there were hundreds of cover versions and parodies viewed more than 20 million times themselves, campaign awareness among the core target audience of 46% after only one month, and most importantly a 10% reduction in near misses and accidents at level crossings and station platforms over 12 months.

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CASE STUDY

PLAY VIDEO

Campaign : Summer D'Reem Client : Unilever Media Owner : ITV

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CHALLENGE

SOLUTIO

Summer D’Reem

Today, functional differences between detergents are minimal. Personality is the extra dimension that powerfully and intimately connects brands with

In 2012, Unilever’s Surf laundry detergent found itself facing a challenge. Washing detergent is a low-interest category and Surf’s competitors were aligning themselves with the biggest event in the calendar – the 2012 Olympics. A big idea was needed for Surf to resonate in customers’ minds.

consumers. This insight led to a fitting solution: extending Surf's multi-platform sponsorship of The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE) – the show with some of the biggest and most influential personalities on TV. The entertainment show’s reach and the buzz it generates represented an excellent opportunity for Surf to get its key audience listening – and buying.

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To deepen and personify the TOWIE/Surf

‘Fresh Out Of Essex’ was an online mini-

Unilever also knew that competitions

relationship, Unilever extended its TOWIE

series of exclusive content that lived on

were key in engaging Surf’s target

licence to launch a brand new Surf

the official TOWIE website, devised to

audience, and who would say no to a

fragrance called Summer D’Reem,

feed fans’ constant demand for

free, glamorous trip to ‘Marbs’ in Spain?

featuring cast favourite Joey Essex. The

everything TOWIE. Bumpers on ITV

Certainly not TOWIE fans.

launch included:

mobile and ITV Player, plus roadblocks

•

TOWIE branding on Surf packs and

on ITV.com consolidated this activity.

across in-store design PLAY VIDEO

•

Social media-driven discussion

from TOWIE’s fiercely loyal and active fan base •

Joey Essex starring in unique viral

video content ‘Fresh Out of Essex’ •

Additional Surf digital advertising to

support the launch

BACK TO CONTENTS

RESULTS

• £1 mill ion+ gro

ss retail s

• Talkab ility 51

ales value

% (vs. 36%

• Purcha se inte

non-viewe

• 61,501 visits t

s. 51% no

n-viewers

Out of Es

sex’ video

o the Mar

summer

rs)

nt 62% (v

• 1.3 mi llion ‘Fres h

across the

bs compe

)

views acr oss the ye

tition entr • 19.9 m y page (29 illion mon 7% vs. KP t h l y total video I) views onl r e ine during quests an the camp d 18 millio aign n page

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OUTCOMES

'Summer D’Reem' was a very successful branded content marketing campaign with a massive influence on viewer response.

"Sponsoring TOWIE was a great chance to build brand awareness and demonstrate

Surf’s TOWIE sponsorship awareness grew to 77% (22% above the norm) by the end of the campaign. The campaign was viewed as

we are a fun brand with a point of diﬀerence. The new fragrance launch, aligned with TOWIE, further helped extend the sponsorship into retail,

especially effective in terms of persuasion,

leading to great business

with 62% of viewers likely to say it made them

objectives."

think differently about Surf and made them

Katy Holder,

more likely to consider that Surf’s image was

results that helped meet our

Surf Brand Manager, Unilever

more positive. BACK TO CONTENTS

CASE STUDY

PLAY VIDEO

Campaign : Live Test Series: The Epic Split Client : Volvo Trucks Agency : Forsman & Bodenfors

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CHALLENGE

SOLUTIO

Live Test Series: The Epic Split

The solution to both the targeting and budgeting challenges was to embrace the new media landscape. Forsman & Bodenfors’ idea adhered

The trucking industry is a traditional business-to-business

to Volvo Trucks’ communications

environment in which it’s quite a challenge to introduce a radically new

strategy in which innovation plays a

communication approach.

key role. The agency devised an

In addition, the target group of truck purchasers is scattered and

online marketing campaign using

diﬃcult to reach. There are many influencers around each buyer,

branded video content presented on

ranging from drivers, family and friends to trade press journalists.

Volvo Trucks’ YouTube channel.

Volvo Trucks and their Swedish independent agency partner Forsman & Bodenfors knew that the most obvious way to reach their core target group would be a ‘catch-all’ broadcast marketing approach. But ‘reaching’ doesn’t equate to ‘connecting’, plus there was no allowance for the huge media budget needed to conduct a global advertising campaign to launch their new truck models.

Called the ‘Live Test Series’, the campaign consists of a group of online films, each showcasing a different new Volvo truck feature being put through its paces in a live test.

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However, this was not going to be any ordinary product review; the live experiments had to test the chosen features in informative, astonishing and entertaining ways, designed to focus on the trucks and catch the attention of the widest possible target audience. The aim of this creative strategy was to generate viral hits and a subsequent wave of (free) media publicity, effectively driving positive word of mouth about the film content that was relevant to both trucking and non-trucking audiences. 'Pyra

mids

in the

Wild'

PLAY VIDEO

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True to this strategy, the first five online

with an electric motor fitted to the truck’s

Filmed in one astounding 76-second take

films include one in which two trucks

steering gear. The electric motor receives

after three days’ practice at a Spanish

race towards a tunnel while a woman

2,000 signals per second from the truck’s

airfield, the film was designed to work on

walks across a wire between them and

sensors, allowing for more precise

two levels: most viewers are expected to

another in which a truck takes part in a

steering and a more relaxed and

think “Wow, Jean-Claude Van Damme”,

bull run. The former film generated nine

ergonomically designed experience for

but the core target audience is expected

million views.

truck drivers.

to think “Wow, two trucks are able to be

The sixth film in the Live Test Series –

To demonstrate this stability and

‘The Epic Split’ – is an even better

precision, the creative team worked

example of the power of this strategy,

closely with film director Andreas Nilsson

with the added twist of a celebrity

to come up with the idea of a spectacular

participant whose existing fanbase

stunt: actor Jean-Claude Van Damme

helped drive word of mouth.

slowly performs a split while standing on

The starting point for ‘The Epic Split’ came from talking to Volvo’s technicians about the film’s chosen feature: Volvo Dynamic Steering. This system combines

driven in reverse like this”.

the side mirrors between two Volvo FM trucks – that are driving backwards at 15 miles/25 kms per hour as they move apart!

conventional hydraulic powered steering

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S T L U S E R

unch a l s t i f o nths

3, 1 0 2 r e b Novem

mo e e r h t t s e fir h t n i h t i W ed: v e i h rs) c u a o ’ h t i l 8 p 4 S t firs e h t n i ‘The Epic h t i illion w m 0 1 ( s view + n o i l l i m • 70 s e r a h s one + n k o e i l e l i w m n i 8 • with d l r o w e h o in t e d i v d e r be u T sha u t o s Y o n M • ver o e d a e v i t omo nc. i t ( u a V T d e n h o c wat t and n i r p n i , • Most e nlin s) o s e y r l l p a b g o n l i truck ials g r d o t n i a d e e v + i t 0 omo t u a r • 20,00 o j a all m d n a s s e r general p from s w a s r e d r t a t tha s i l on+ sh i l a l i , 3 m 1 5 0 • nd ng 2 i a d s n e i e r b T a n b ding op Te u T l c s ’ n e i , b s u e T i You gor e t a ent c l l m a e g • #6 in s a s g o r n t ac st e n e e h t g i n h o c e h e t b rate e n e g all YouTu o t tend t a h t s o e music vid illion m 6 2 1 € f lue o a v a i d e dm • Earne

"The media landscape is changing. We have diﬀerent media consumption habits today than a couple of years ago. That’s why, starting with the Live Test Series, we’re investing in this cost-eﬃcient way of reaching out to millions of people via online branded content marketing."

Anders Vilhelmsson, PR Manager, Volvo Trucks

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OUTCOMES

The Live Test Series has not used any traditional paid media – YouTube is its only media channel. The relevance and power of the branded content itself has kickstarted organic distribution, editorial coverage, wider interactions and an upsurge in awareness of the Volvo Trucks brand and product messages, both online and via the Volvo Trucks global dealer network. The Series has already won the Grand Prix award for Branded Content & Entertainment at Eurobest 2013. And, in the ultimate evidence that ‘The Epic Split’ film has entered a wider cultural consciousness, it has already inspired a raft of consumer-generated spoof versions, some of which have racked up 50 million views themselves. Volvo Trucks will continue to release more Live Test Series stunt films, paving the way for future advertising and sales campaigns in local markets. BACK TO CONTENTS

CASE STUDY

Campaign : Vs the Northern Lights

PLAY VIDEO

Client : Sony Agency : DigitasLBi

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CHALLENGE

SOLUTIO

Xperia Vs The Northern Lights

DigitasLBi developed ‘Xperia Vs…’, an online branded content programme that aimed to extend the target audience’s awareness of the

Sony is a household name when it comes to consumer electronics,

new Sony Xperia Z and to encourage

however it’s a challenger brand in the relentlessly competitive

them to find out more about the

smartphone market.

phone.

In order to be among the top three brands people consider when choosing a phone, it’s essential to spread the word online. This is where people research ahead of purchase, and where brands earn the

The initiative consists of a series of online video films in which

right to be viewed as a credible option.

ambassadors from the creative

Supporting the introduction of the new Sony Xperia Z smartphone,

industries put features of the new

DigitasLBi was tasked with creating an initiative to keep building

phone to the test in interesting ways.

product awareness post-launch – specifically online among the curious-minded, technology-loving target audience. The key challenge was to stand out from the existing plethora of online

For ‘Xperia Vs the Northern Lights’, the first group of chosen

branded content in a way that was true to Sony’s philosophy: inspiring

ambassadors – members of the

wonder and emotional response through technology. And all with

bands OK Go and Pyyramids, and the

minimal paid media support.

photographer Martien Mulder – BACK TO CONTENTS

PLAY VIDEO

travelled to northern Sweden to capture the sights and sounds of the Northern Lights

r space'

e sound of oute

and th ‘Damian Kulash

(Aurora Borealis). PLAY VIDEO

They used Sony Xperia Z smartphones and tablets to capture their inspiration, and then used the Xperia Z's one-touch connectivity

rom 'Making Of (F

Under Other

Stars)'

feature to bring their work together, resulting in a four-minute track ‘From Under Other Stars’. DigitasLBi also created a series of in-depth, making-of films demonstrating the process

tien Mulder on ic

ar 'Photographer M

and the technology involved. PLAY VIDEO

Designed to appeal to the motivations of consumers with an interest in what’s new

'Pyyr

amid

s in t

he W

ild'

and exciting, along with a love of technology and its possibilities, the full series of films from the trip was hosted on

PLAY VIDEO

Sony Mobile's YouTube channel. BACK TO CONTENTS

S T L U S E R f release:

eek o w a n i h t i W •

nd a k o o b e n Fac

oo e d i v d e r ost sha

#1 m

"The 'Xperia Vs' series is essentially

t 24 s a l n i r e t Twit

urs o h 4 2 t s in la

eo d i v e b u T d You e w e i v - UK t ' s t o n e m m 3 n # i • erta t n E ' n i o vide e b u T u o Y ular p o UK p t ' s s o e i m r o 1 g • # Cate l l A ' n i o vide e b u T u o Y ular p o p t s o • #1 m ths: n o m n e v Within se ws e i v e u q i 00+ un 0 , 0 rs 0 e 5 b i r • c s b u nel s n a h c e b ouTu Y y n o S new • 1,000

K hours - U

a product demonstration on steroids. It's a chance for us to put the device to the test in truly surprising ways, and see if it survives to tell the story. Tech always forms the backbone to these stories, and in this instance we put the Xperia in the hands of musicians and photographers and sent them to the Arctic Circle. Their mission? To create a one-ofa-kind audiovisual experience, using only the features of the phone, especially connectivity. A soundtrack to the Northern Lights was born. The result was a stunning, shareable piece of branded content and was supported by an innovation tale that spoke directly to our techcurious audience." Simon Attwater, Group Creative Director, DigitasLBi BACK TO CONTENTS

OUTCOMES

With little paid media support, the Sony Xperia Vs Northern Lights online videos spread the message of the new smartphone to a vast new audience. By understanding the audience, creating a strategy that spoke to their interests, and developing branded content that was new and innovative, DigitasLBi produced a campaign that exceeded expectations.

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CASE STUDY

Campaign : Natural Love Client : PepsiCo Lyubimy Agency : Fuse Russia

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CHALLENGE

SOLUTIO

Natural Love

Fuse Russia decided to bring ‘Natural Love’ from real life to the TV screen. The agency created a cross-media marketing campaign that used social

PepsiCo’s Lyubimy (meaning ‘beloved’) is one of the biggest fruit juice brands in Russia. Its marketing activity focuses on the message

media to invite people to tell their real-life love stories by writing in to campaign pages on two Russian

“beloved because it’s natural”, and stories about love lie at the heart of every communication.

social networks (vk.com and ok.ru) and on STS TV channel’s website.

The most popular content among the brand’s target market – women aged 25-45 with average income – are TV shows and series about love. However, these portrayals of love are perceived by the audience to be artificial, not real. PepsiCo challenged its agency partner Fuse Russia to find a way to link Lyubimy juice with unquestionably real, natural love stories.

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The 50 stories that received the most ‘likes’ online were turned into professionally shot video clips. Edited versions then appeared on STS, the biggest family TV channel in Russia, while the full versions were made available to view online. The people who submitted the best three love stories – one happy couple and two sad single people – won a romantic trip to France.

'Pyra

mids

in the

Wild'

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The ca

mpaign

RESULTS

•

2,000+

becam

e the ta

story s

ubmiss

lk of Ru

ssia:

ions • 4.6 million active the pre users o vious b n the c iggest ampaig nationa n web l Intern pages • 6.5 et cam (twice million p a ign) online views • 200 ,000+ ‘ likes’ • 3-4 times a bove m online arket a registra verage tion an conver d subs sion in equent dices f actions or

“Than

nel.”

d STS chan

l Love an ks to Natura

“Thanks Lyub

imy.”

“So cute!”

BACK TO CONTENTS

OUTCOMEs

The ‘Natural Love’ branded content marketing campaign provided cut-through of the Lyubimy brand’s key message to the target audience, and converted online love into consumer love: the number of people who stated that their most often bought juice brand is Lyubimy rose by 20% during the campaign period.

"We were challenged by PepsiCo to find a new way to cut through to the Lyubimy core market on TV. We used branded co-created content to give millions of people the ultimate real-life, natural love stories they already craved."

Anton Efimov, Managing Director, Fuse Russia

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CASE STUDY

PLAY VIDEO

Campaign : The Beauty Inside Client : Intel & Toshiba Agency : Pereira & O'Dell

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CHALLENGE

SOLUTIO

Pereira & O'Dell realised that all young people go through a journey of self-discovery and use technology as a key tool for this exploration and

Following the success of the 2011 thriller 'The

expression.

Inside Experience', award-winning agency

The agency came up with the idea of

Pereira & O'Dell was asked to create a second

co-creating a film about the universal search for self-knowledge and

branded content film for Intel and Toshiba. This

acceptance, using contemporary

film needed to feature the Toshiba Ultrabook

Hollywood stars (Topher Grace, Mary

laptop and refresh the 'Intel Inside' branding, introducing both Intel and Toshiba as

Elizabeth Winstead and Matthew Gray Gubler) and social media to involve as many people in the target audience

innovative technology brands to a new

as possible.

generation of 18- to 34-year-old millennial

They devised a love story with the

consumers.

intriguing premise that the main character, Alex, wakes up every day BACK TO CONTENTS

as a different person on the outside but

Philippines, Canada and Spain. An

The final film was divided into six weekly

the same person on the inside â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and s/he

additional 50+ Alexes were featured on

episodes and presented on Facebook

has fallen in love with someone who can

the Facebook timeline.

and YouTube running over an eight-week period.

never see him/her as the same person. Alex makes a daily video diary of this PLAY VIDEO

experience on a Toshiba Ultrabook that goes everywhere with the character as a vital and natural accessory. The 45-minute film included gaps for consumer-generated content. Facebook was then used to invite people to audition to be an Alex by submitting their own video diary, putting themselves in

PLAY VIDEO

Alex's shoes to share the experience. From over 4,000 auditions on Facebook, 26 Alexes were cast in the film. They included fans from all over the world, including Japan, France, German, Italy,

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RESULTS

70 million

26 million

"Branded content is becoming an increasingly important part of Intel and Toshiba's strategy to reach out to a younger audience. They can see that people enjoy making branded content part of their lives – it draws people in naturally with a deeper

PJ Pereira, Chief Creative Oﬃcer,

ight week

social inte

ractions

97% YouT ube appro

val rating

66% and

40% bran d percept ion lift for Toshiba re Intel and spectively among Fa cebook u sers 300% sale s increase

message they can identify with on an emotional level"

views in e

ic and powerful...."

"This is beautiful, poet - Pamela V

"We are all A lex in one wa y or another, he is all of us and " - Larissa B

Pereira & O'Dell

day!" - Leah

r next Thurs "I can’t wait fo

BACK TO CONTENTS

OUTCOMES

'The Beauty Inside' was the most-shared branded video during the campaign period. It won an Emmy for Outstanding New Approach to A Daytime Series, and three Grand Prix awards â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including one for Branded Content â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at Cannes Lions 2013. The campaign inspired hundreds of thousands of fans to give and request love advice and discuss their own sense of identity, while celebrating the principle that - with humans and computers alike - it's what's inside that matters most. The campaign also started to create a relationship between the client brands and the audience that will grow over time. In fact, Pereira & O'Dell has already created the next social film instalment for Intel and Toshiba, a horror story called 'The Power Inside'.

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CLASSIC CASE STUDY

PLAY VIDEO

Campaign : In Search of Real Food Client : Hellmann’s Agency : OgilvyEntertainment

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CHALLENGE

SOLUTIO

With the insight that people wanted to say no to over-processed food yet had time, cost and taste considerations when it came to

Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise was first made for a mass market in 1913 and is now America’s favourite mayonnaise.

making meals, Ogilvy devised a pioneering marketing initiative called ‘In Search of Real Food’. Part of the project involved traditional

Hellmann’s asked their agency partner Ogilvy

print and TV advertising that used real

to develop a summer marketing initiative that

people to deliver Hellmann’s point of

would explain the product’s ingredients and

view on food made from natural, simple ingredients that are good for

range of uses in an attention-grabbing way,

you.

and reinforce Hellmann’s positioning as the

In tandem with this strand of the

epitome of simple, honest, real food.

campaign, Ogilvy created a Hellmann’s-sponsored ‘In Search of Real Food’ microsite hosted by media BACK TO CONTENTS

partner Yahoo! Food. This creative

presenting celebrity chef Dave Lieberman

platform was designed to drive consumer

on a weekly road trip through America in

conversations about real food, using

search of real people making real food –

interactive branded content, co-created

from the proprietors of a Mexican food

content and a variety of fun community

cart in SoHo, New York creating a pulled

authenticity of the production

features.

pork taco, to a bighearted lady’s regular

while maximising the potential

fundraising Friday Fish Fry in New

for the brand. This show

In order to draw people in to join the conversation and keep them coming back to the site, Ogilvy created a 12episode branded content web series

Orleans. Each episode was split into four three- to four-minute chapters for easy

"The challenge with branded content is to maintain the

oﬀered incredibly rich content, allowing multiple channels for consumer engagement. By

web consumption.

teaming with Rock Shrimp Productions and Dave Lieberman as our host, we had

PLAY VIDEO

a ready-made fan base that was looking for the 'real food' point-of-view that Hellmann's as sponsor is all about."

Doug Scott, President, OgilvyEntertainment

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"’In Search of Real Food’ was a

Beyond watching the weekly video

To promote the web series to consumers,

content, ‘In Search of Real Food’ website

Ogilvy used web banners in which

visitors could:

excerpts of the show were embedded, TV

programming concept that

•

captured the fast changes

by reading Dave’s blog (including his

taking place within the food

continue the real food conversation

recipes) and posting comments.

industry – the emphasis on

jar tops. There was also coverage on US TV news channels, inviting people to star in the show by making their own ‘real

local-grown and real foods – as

•

well as the changes within the

on the Real Food group page.

entertainment industry.

and print ads, and creative on Hellmann’s

•

share their own ideas and recipes

food’ cookery videos.

ask and/or answer questions using

Finding new ways to reach consumers using interactivity,

a Yahoo! widget embedded in the site.

this show set a new standard

•

look for real food restaurants in

for consumer engagement."

their neighbourhood using a local dining guide widget pre-programmed with real

Bobby Flay, Celebrity chef; Executive Producer,

food locations.

Rock Shrimp Productions

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"We've always been about what's simple and real. Whether it's the quality ingredients in our jar or the real experiences people have with others when they share food made with our Mayonnaise. This effort leveraged the technology available to have a conversation about that with consumers, offering recipe ideas and a point-of-view about food that kept the brand relevant to moms and built affinity to new and younger users"

Brian Orlando,

RESULTS

The ‘In Se arch of Re al Food’ initiative t apped int o c ultural conversat ion and d elivered: • 1 millio n unique visitors to the camp aign web site • 5,000 R eal Food communi ty membe rs

Senior Brand Manager, Hellmann's

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OUTCOMES

This groundbreaking project teamed branded content with traditional advertising, forged an innovative media partnership with Yahoo!, and capitalised on celebrity connections for Hellmann’s. Consumers shared and commented on the branded content via YouTube and social media networks, and even created their own real food videos. This activity resulted in the spread of the conversation about real food (and Hellmann’s’ association with it) far beyond the original campaign site. Ultimately, the integrated mix of traditional advertising and branded content enabled Ogilvy to convey positive brand messages about Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise, while provoking a dialogue with consumers about real food.

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By David Waterhouse

RESEARCH

Global Head of Content and PR at marketing technology platform Unruly

Stop trying to make your ads go viral Top tips for social video success “How do I make my ad go viral?” Of all the questions, this is the one we’re

They care about going viral with good

asked most often from brands and

reason (aside from ticking the viral video

agencies wanting to promote online

campaign box on their CVs). The number

video content via social media – aka

of video shares of branded content has

social video marketing.

rocketed over the last eight years. In

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2013, the top three ads attracted 11.6

videos and nine individual studies. The

million shares combined – almost 50

research findings are presented in the

times more than the top three ads in 2006

2013 book ‘Viral Marketing: The Science

(244,395 shares combined). There are

of Sharing’, and they support the

now more than 500,000 shares of

development of simple formulae for

branded videos online every 24 hours.

advertisers to follow when they want to

But what makes people share video content? And what steps can a brand take to improve its chances of attracting more shares?

increase their social video marketing success. Here are Unruly’s top tips: 1. Stop Chasing Viral Success – Focus

For starters, there’s a lot more than to it than featuring cute babies, talking dogs and cats that looks like Shakespeare.

on Social Video Success It became possible in the early 2000s to track views of online video clips

went on to win a Gold Lion at Cannes in 2002.

We worked extensively with

accurately using the video technology

Dr. Karen Nelson-Field,

itself. These were the days before social

Slowly more advertisers started releasing

Senior Research Associate

media when the only distribution

branded video content online in the

at the Ehrenberg-Bass

channels were email and a handful of

elusive search for consumer-driven,

Institute for Marketing

specialist humour websites. Very early

exponentially increasing views. Further

Science, on her latest

brand-created viral video hits include

boosted by the advent of social media

project. It consists of

John West’s Grizzly Bear, Budweiser’s

such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter,

original research from more than two

Whassup and XBOX’s Champagne – an

this practice is now firmly part of

years of work, five different data sets

ad that was banned on TV in the UK and

mainstream marketing.

including Unruly’s own data, around 1000 BACK TO CONTENTS

However, uploading a branded video that you think is funny, without any paid distribution, in the hope of it attracting cartloads of earned (free) media, is the strategic equivalent of shoving your hand in a haystack and expecting to pull out a needle. Just as technology and social media have evolved, so too has online video. These days, the word “viral” is simply unhelpful. It suggests something that is random, untargeted and out of control. Videos that go viral are the exception, not the rule, and that’s why seeking viral success is a terrible tactic to focus on for your brand.

What exactly is social video? According to the Internet Advertising Bureau, it’s “a non-interruptive, userinitiated video format sold on a cost-perengagement basis”. In other words, it’s

flick of their DVR remote.

keeping your fingers crossed that it will

There’s no need to force people to sit through a badly edited TV commercial for toilet cleaner before they watch the thing they really want to watch. As we’ve seen with recent campaigns by Dove and Volvo Trucks, the social video ad is the star! People choose to watch it. Viewers have total control of the viewing experience, including the ability to replay. After all, everyone likes to be the

repeatable and measurable: social video.

one holding the remote.

repeatedly and at scale”.

and choose what they watch with a fickle

social media – content plus conversation.

marketing strategy that’s predictable,

distribute highly shareable content,

a job well done. Today consumers pick

So rather than releasing a video and

comment, share, re-post, pause and

“make a viral video” with “create and

audience, and raise a glass of Scotch for

the perfect union of online video and

Instead, advertisers should focus on a

Open your company wish list and replace

the spot, blast it out to a captive

Social video is fundamentally changing the rules of advertising. Long gone are the Mad Men days when all an advertiser needed to do was buy the airtime, create

go viral, try focusing on optimising the 'shareability' of your video content and distribution strategy. 2. Make it emotional Marketers hoping to attract significant earned media should think less about creative appeal and more about emotional appeal. Videos that elicit strong emotions – positive or negative – from an audience are twice as likely to be shared as those that elicit a weak emotional response. ‘Viral Marketing: The Science of Sharing’ explains that professional video creators may be aiming to create hilarious, exhilarating and inspiring material, BACK TO CONTENTS

however the vast majority are falling

However, there are some underused

6. Exhilaration can make a lasting

short. In fact, 70% of all commercial

creative devices that are more likely to

impression

videos provoke only “low-arousal”

attract large amounts of sharing. One is

emotional reactions.

personal triumph, as used for example in

3. Be positive Video content that draws a strong,

P&G’s 'Best Job' from the 2012 Olympics. 5. Big up your brand

Eliciting a strong, positive emotional reaction will not only boost your content’s shareability, but also help your audience to remember you – often for years to come.

positive emotional response is 30% more

Using poorly branded advertising is like

likely to be shared than content that

throwing away your marketing budget.

Which positive emotion is most likely to

elicits strong negative emotions.

According to Dr. Nelson-Field’s research,

cut through the clutter and help viewers

there’s no relationship between how

recall your message?

Strong negative emotions, such as anger or shock, can prompt viewers to share your content, but you risk alienating your consumers. Focussing on positive emotions is a much safer bet.

much sharing across social media a video achieves and the level of branding it uses. Nor does overt branding reduce a video’s emotional impact.

At the individual emotion level, exhilaration is the most successful, followed by hilarity. However, exhilaration is an emotion that has been largely

So when you consider that the average

ignored as a creative hook by brands

social video has one third of the branding

over the years, as bemoaned by Dr.

It’s a myth that featuring a cute cat will

of the average TV commercial, there’s a

Nelson-Field.

make your video go viral. Such creative

huge opportunity for marketers to

devices are ineffective, unless your

promote their brands via social video

content also elicits strong emotions from

marketing.

4. Feature personal triumphs

its audience.

In 2013, that started to change. We saw more examples of brands, such as GoPro, Ford, Red Bull and Volvo Trucks, embracing exhilaration and using it as the main focus of their video campaigns.

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This highlights the importance of brands

The same goes with creating video

Find out all about Unruly and their global

making shareable content for a reason.

content. Even if you have the most

social video testing, distribution, sharing

It’s not just about racking up a huge

shareable video in the world, if you start

and analytics services.

number of views among potential

with a small viewer base, the total shares

customers. It’s about being remembered,

and views will typically be small.

favoured and bought in the process.

Investing in seeding your campaign

Throughout 2014, the trend of eliciting

across a variety of platforms will make it

top-performing emotional reactions in

easier to deliver good sharing metrics

social video content will only get stronger

over a shorter period of time.

as the world’s gaze falls upon Brazil for the FIFA World Cup. When we trained

Reach is important, but it needs to be

success in the Brazilian market, we

quality reach in order to maintain and

discovered that exhilaration was the most

increase your video views and shares.

American country – more effective than humour which is the most popular emotional sharing trigger in the US and UK. 7. Don’t under-invest in distribution and over-invest in creativity

Field discussing key findings from ‘Viral Marketing: The Science of Sharing’.

8. Quality reach is key

Unruly’s algorithmic tool to predict viral

effective emotional trigger in the Latin

Watch this video of Dr. Karen Nelson-

There’s no point in simply placing your videos on your company’s Facebook or Twitter profiles – you’re already preaching to the converted. Besides, Facebook and Twitter brand profiles are inefficient at providing vast reach to consumers. To build the market share of your brand,

It’s all very well being the best violinist in

reach out to light and medium buyers

the world, but if you’re playing in your

outside of your own social media

bathroom, no one will hear you.

channels. BACK TO CONTENTS

RESEARCH

By Bjoern Asmussen, Andrew Canter, Andrew Butler and Dr. Nicolette Michels

Towards the future of branded content ‘Defining Branded Content for the Digital Age’, Findings of the Research Project, Phase One Overview Little research has been conducted to

Conducted by Oxford Brookes University

date in the area of branded content, in

and the BCMA’s global research partner

spite of the rising use of this key

Ipsos MORI, this study has two main

marketing concept, and the estimated US

purposes:

$4bn value of the branded content market. As part of the Branded Content Marketing Association’s (BCMA’s) strategy to establish academic understanding as well as champion best practice and share learning, it has commissioned a study entitled ‘Defining Branded Content for the Digital Age’.

Identify and understand the

different conceptualisations people use when talking about branded content 2.

Develop a definition that helps to

clarify the concept for a broad range of stakeholders and therefore supports the progress of branded content marketing practice

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RESEARCH TEAM

Bjoern Asmussen, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Oxford Brookes University Business School Bjoern leads the Branded Content Research Team at Oxford Brookes University, which includes Andrew Butler and Dr. Nicolette Michels.

The first phase of the study – a literature

choice when it comes to what they want

review of practitioner and academic

to read, watch, or listen to.

publications – has resulted in the development of a new definition of branded content and the uncovering of emerging themes that will help organisations to harness the power of branded content. These initial findings are presented in this chapter.

Sarah Gale, Senior Director, Ipsos MORI, Media, Content and Technology Division

The best way for an organisation to get through to its target audience and receive positive attention in this challenging environment is therefore by creating great content. How? The study revealed four key strategies that organisations use to produce successful branded content: the

Why does branded content matter?

content is either entertaining, informative,

Organisations creating branded content

be an app that the target audience can

educational, or something that serves a function (e.g. the branded content could

is nothing new, however the “We’re delighted with the first phase of the

advancement of technology, particularly

results. One of the other elements of the

the evolution of social media, has made

study is that we’ve developed a new

the process of content creation and

methodology for brands to plan eﬀectively for branded content, using it as a core part

CEO, BCMA

end-consumers. Likewise, the consumption of branded

of their marketing strategy.” Andrew Canter,

dissemination much easier – even for

content has changed dramatically and PLAY AUDIO

continues to do so. Today, consumers have an unprecedented freedom of

“Content, in all its shapes and forms, is core to everything we do as marketers.” Econsultancy, 2013 BACK TO CONTENTS

“The future of the marketing department is half marketing and half publishing.” Joe Palazzo, Founder, Content Marketing Institute, 2012

download to make their life easier). The

developing deeper engagement and

marketing as one of their top priorities in

research also showed that these content

long-term relationships.

2013.

The BCMA and Ipsos MORI have noticed

We now live in a world in which virtually

The initial findings of the study indicate

an increasing emphasis on the use of

every digitally literate individual can

so far that organisations are using

branded content among marketers, with

become a branded content creator and

branded content mainly to meet two

many major organisations integrating it

distributor on an unprecedented scale,

objectives: to create a positive brand

now as a core element in their marketing

and this is a considerable paradigm shift,

meaning or image, and to engage with

strategies. This observation is supported

not only for marketers and their

certain stakeholders. So it’s not

by a survey conducted by Econsultancy

organisations but also for media

predominantly about a quick win with a

in which 39% of digital marketing

companies.

campaign or promotion – it’s more about

professionals nominated content

strategies can be combined.

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“The concept of branded content is fundamentally flawed.”

How are people talking about and using branded content?

“The term ‘content’ seems a bit of a broad stroke owing to its multi-dimensional nature.”

David Martin, Forbes, 2011

Amar Trivedi, Social Media Strategist, 2012

“There is a significant amount of confusion and controversy out there around what content is, what it does and how to use it.” Robin Thornton, Shaman Marketing, 2013

“‘Content’ is such a broad and fuzzy term that it tends to make any discussion of it broad and fuzzy as well.” Cindy Gallop, If We Ran The World, 2013 BACK TO CONTENTS

2) The Digital TMO Perspective

Branded content comes in numerous

communicated via traditional media

different forms, such as native

channels, such as TV, radio and print. For

advertising, branded entertainment,

example, in the 1950s and 1960s,

advertiser funded programming, viral

companies such as Procter & Gamble not

videos, and many more. It is therefore no

only sponsored soap operas, but also

surprise that the term ‘branded content’

paid for the entire production of TV

means different things to different

shows, aiming to create some positive

people, leading to misunderstandings

brand associations in the target

and confusion.

audience’s mind.

The first phase of the study has

This perspective, where the trademark

it is not in control of what happens to the

concluded so far that people talk about

owner of the brand is in control of the

content after release – for example, the

branded content in five different ways.

created content, is still used nowadays.

amount of views online, or viewer

These are categorised as:

Some organisations produce and

comments that are made about a

distribute branded content without the

branded content video and published on

help of sophisticated digital media

the YouTube website.

1) The Traditional Trademark Owner (TMO) Perspective

McDonald’s produced millions of books

developed in the pre-digital age when

in the UK to replace the toys that

branded content was usually controlled

accompanied its Happy Meals for

by the trademark owner of the brand,

children. In terms of volume, McDonald’s

who financed the production of the

has subsequently become one of the

content.

UK’s leading book publishers and

content was most likely to be

branded content initiated by the trademark owner of the brand and distributed on digital channels. The trademark owning organisation behind the brand is initially in control of the digital channel and the content they choose to publish or broadcast, however

technologies. For example, in 2013

This perspective was originally

Since it was the pre-digital age, the

This second perspective refers to

distributors, while the branded content activity aims to add educational values to its brand image. BACK TO CONTENTS

One business-to-business example of

This content is usually initiated (and

this kind of digital branded content is

funded) by the brand’s trademark owner,

from Corning, a US industrial glass

however the owner’s level of control over

manufacturer. The company produced a

the content varies. If you pay for the

corporate communications video that has

production of a TV show, for example,

fired the imaginations of people from all

you can assume that you will basically be

walks of life, well outside their core target

in control of everything within it. But if

be a competitor, a pressure group, or any

audience, generating over 23 million

you send a tweet, you have hardly any

other external stakeholder.

views of the original version alone. This is

control over how people will retweet that

just one example that shows that

content – they can put a new spin on it,

branded content can be useful not only

place it in a different context and even

for business-to-consumer lifestyle

sabotage your message completely.

marketing, but also in bringing seemingly dull information to life.

4) The Stakeholder Perspective

An example of this kind of branded content is the memorial video ‘A BMW Motorcycle Story’ by Bill Costello. It tells the story of Bill painstakingly restoring his dead father’s classic motorcycle. Bill posted his video onto YouTube and it has

This new branded content perspective

generated over half a million views. BMW

that has emerged in the digital age is one

had no control over and nothing to do

According to the first stage of the study

that many marketers and organisations

with this content, but it still created

findings, the most popular perspective

have ignored so far.

positive brand associations and has

3) The Integrated TMO Perspective

when it comes to branded content among practitioners in the marketing industry appears to be the integrative use of traditional, non-digital channels with digital channels for the dissemination of branded content.

It describes branded content that is initiated (and in some cases even funded)

become a cult video among many motorcycle fans.

by someone who doesn’t work for or with

Of course, any stakeholder can also

the trademark owner of the brand – it

create content that generates negative

doesn’t have to be a consumer, it could

perceptions of a brand. Greenpeace, for example, is renowned for creating BACK TO CONTENTS

content that doesn’t portray brands in a

This loss of control over branded content

positive light.

is an aspect of social media that

Another example of consumer-generated, negative branded content is the 2009 music video and song by Dave Carroll in protest at United Airlines’ customer service. ‘United breaks guitars’ generated about 3 million views on YouTube within one week, United Airlines’ share value dipped reportedly about 10% (equating to US$180million) and there was substantial reputational damage to the brand after the story was reported across US news channels. Even experienced crisis communications professionals can do little to control negative branded content in the digital age, as BP found out. After the explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, somebody created a fake BP PR Twitter account that attracted three times as many followers as the official BP America account.

organisations have to learn to live with. It supports the need for organisations to

Forming a single, comprehensive definition of branded content

instil good practices, good customer

Phase One of the study has encapsulated

service and communications across their

the initial findings about how people talk

entire business.

about branded content, resulting in the development of a preliminary, all-

5) The All-Encompassing Perspective

encompassing definition of branded content:

The study’s literature review points to the

Branded content is any content that can be

idea that concentrating on what an

associated with a brand in the eye of the

organisation can control in terms of

beholder.

branded content is not good enough any more in the digital and social media age.

Note the intentionally subjective element of this definition. You might see a video on

The findings therefore expound a fifth

YouTube and think, “This has nothing to do

perspective on branded content that

with my brand”. But if, for instance, a few

aims to enable people to understand it in

thousand people associate it, for whatever

its entirety: the all-encompassing

reason, with your company then you have

viewpoint that combines both the TMO-

some stakeholder content affecting your

controlled traditional and TMO-initiated

organisation’s brand, positively or negatively,

digital aspects, as well as external

whether or not you realise it. Hence branded

stakeholders contributing to the creation

content is ‘any content that can be

and dissemination of branded content.

associated with a brand in the eye of the beholder’. BACK TO CONTENTS

During the next phase of the study, which

for a longer-term effect, not just for a

4. Organisations need to transform the

involves expert interviews, this holistic

short-term campaign. If you have, for

way they communicate

definition will be further examined and,

example, some product innovation

depending on the outcome, changed or

advantage, your competitors can often

refined with the aim to determine how

copy it very quickly. However, if you

branded content should be

create powerful content and meanings

conceptualised in the digital age.

that are very close to your brand, you

Additional insight into emerging branded content trends Besides the study’s findings of how people talk about branded content and the proposal of a new definition of branded content, five key insights about emerging trends in branded content have been revealed: 1. Branded content can build sustainable brand diﬀerentiation The creation of great branded content can be difficult and challenging, but it’s worthwhile because it enables organisations to differentiate themselves

There is an art to creating a sustainable brand narrative and connecting it with the right audience(s) in the right place at the right time.

have the opportunity to drive sustainable

5. Organisations need to be better

brand differentiation.

organised and coordinated

2. There are many more controllers of

To be able to implement your branded

branded content in the digital age

content strategy successfully, you need

New technologies and media have opened up widely the creation and dissemination of branded content to allcomers – consumers, competitors,

resources, processes, structures and coherence across all channels, which is particularly challenging in an international or even global context.

pressure groups, and many others – not

These insights can be used to develop

just to the trademark owner of the brand.

branded content strategies as part of a

3. Consumer power over branded content is growing Interruptive marketing with no perceived value is increasingly ignored or avoided by consumers.

methodology to harness the power of branded content. Phase Two of the study is under way and its findings will be published in late 2014. Further details of the study as it progresses can be found here.

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100

mARKET REPORT

By Anton Efimov Head of BCMA Russia and Managing Director of Fuse Russia

FUSE RUSSIA

Russia When looking at emerging trends and

owners) and one of the most cluttered in

insights into branded content marketing

Europe.

in Russia, we need to remember that advertising in Russia is relatively young. The very first TV ads, from multi-national FMCG giants, were aired in 1989. Nevertheless, during the past 25 years

This maturity and saturation helps explain why the number of people who like and trust traditional advertising has started to decline year on year, according to TNS Mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Index annual study.

the Russian advertising market has became relatively mature, very fragmented (there are hundreds of media

BACK TO CONTENTS

Meanwhile, Russia is fertile ground for new communication technologies: -

93% of Russians own a mobile

phone (30% smartphone) -

85% (52 million) have a social

network account, the 5th highest figure in the world. The top Russian social network is VKontakte, the European leader by average monthly time-spend – more than 7 hours per user -

35% of Russians are exposed to a

‘second screen’ i.e. actively use PC and/

Humour generally has a special place in

comedians before they move on to the

or smartphone while watching TV

the life and culture of Russians. 81% of

increasingly popular new stand-up

the population considers a sense of

shows.

51% of Russians prefer spending

leisure time on a PC, rather than watching TV Whereas Russians are open to new technologies, their preferred content formats are well established. These consist of both local and international material.

humour as one of the most important character traits.

The second most popular (53%) content format, talent, is led by a locally adapted

Not surprisingly then, the most popular

version of The Voice. Then comes DIY

TV content format (with a 62% rating) is

(47%), including programmes about

humour. Domestic comedy shows

cooking, house repairs and beauty/

dominate, the most popular being KVN –

grooming that are mostly adapted from

now more than 50 years old and the de

international franchises. Finally, we have

facto proving ground for budding

TV games content (40%) among which

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102

the most popular shows are local quiz

There has also been considerable public

Club Production; STS (the leading family

‘What?Where?When?’ and international

interest in sport-related content recently.

entertainment channel) by Yellow, Black

franchises ‘Who Wants to be a

In particular, feature movies and series

and White production house.

Millionaire?’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’.

about sports people (both up-and-

Notably, the Russian hosts of all these shows are strong opinion leaders and are heavily featured by advertisers in marketing initiatives.

coming and legendary) have generated great interest among Russian audiences. This could be explained by a general national sports boom, thanks to numerous world-class sporting events

While humorous content is perennially

being hosted in Russia – Universiada

popular, it’s experiencing a boom

2013, Sochi 2014 Olympic Games, FIFA

nowadays thanks to the rise of stand-up

World Cup 2018 and others.

comedy programmes and the new pseudo-reality shows – series featuring the ordinary daily lives of extraordinary people, which are shot on amateur cameras.

Another notable factor influencing Russia’s branded content marketing activity is the very close association between leading TV channels and production houses, something that’s seldom found in other countries.

This partnership between TV channels and production houses provides a very wide scope of opportunities for integrated branded content marketing initiatives, created by content professionals in a seamless and engaging way for audiences. TV programme sponsors, predominantly FMCG and mobile communications companies, are most active in exploiting these branded content marketing opportunities. For example, Syoss hair care brand provided professional stylists on ‘The Voice’ and presented extra content features, such as contestants

For example, the majority of content on

experiencing the brand’s products, to

the biggest Russian TV channel, Pervy, is

achieve deep brand integration in a

shot by Red Square production house;

recent branded content marketing

TNT channel (the major entertainment

campaign.

network for young adults) by Comedy

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103

In another instance, Russia’s leading

•

telecommunications group MTS has

football’ scoring tool within the ‘Football

selected by audience votes then became

previously aligned itself with the ‘What?

night” programme on major TV channel

discussion topics on TV and fed into the

Where?When?’ quiz show and KVN

NTV, where experts discuss the main

content creation for Baltika #3 ads online

comedy programme, as well as

football news.

and on TV.

•

This legally compliant, cross-media,

broadcasting its own programme, ‘The Game’, which was closely tied in with live MTS marketing activity as it aired. A more multifaceted example of a recent

A Baltika #3 branded ‘3 news about

Similar rubrics on top football

•

The top three news items were

websites, where fans discuss the main

integrated branded content marketing

football news with each other and with

campaign firmly associated Baltika #3

experts in chat forums.

with football and resulted in a 10%

successful Russian branded content

increase in sales, a 20% increase in loyal

marketing campaign is that of Baltika #3

customers and a 4 point increase in

beer. The brand wanted to be strongly

market share.

associated with football, gain mass coverage, yet stay within new advertising regulations under which beer is not allowed to be integrated into sports competitions, nor advertised on TV before 11pm. With the insight that beer consumption related to football also takes place away from matches, when discussing them with friends, the Baltika #3 campaign featured several strands of activation:

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104

Industry partnerships through which

both content producers and media agencies can enrich their expertise in integrated branded content marketing campaigns, and provide advertisers and TV audiences with engaging new solutions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including cross-media ones that may comprise content on TV, Internet, radio, in-store and other communication channels. 4.

Finally, the first robust research

studies analysing the efficiency of In summation, the use of branded content marketing in Russia is growing and there are several major factors contributing to this growth: 1.

A negative attitude to traditional

interruptive advertising thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worsening year on year. 2.

branded content marketing communication channels have recently been completed. Please contact Fuse Russia to request a copy of their latest branded content marketing information for the Russian market.

A fertile market for personal

communication technologies and social media.

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105

mARKET REPORT

By Patrícia Weiss Chairman & Founder BCMA South America; CSO, Wanted Agency; SVP Strategic Consultant for Branded Content, Branded Entertainment & Transmedia Storytelling Asas da Imaginação

Brazil At this point in time, Brazil is in

Never before have consumers had so

‘hypermediatic’ mode, driven by an

much on tap, combined with the will to

overabundance of information, images,

choose and consume whatever interests

platforms, excessive brand offerings, a

them, as often as they like, anywhere

huge variety of products, screens,

they want. And of course, sharing this

restaurants, music, movies and facts that

content and letting the world know

can be found anywhere in the world at

about it.

any time.

BACK TO CONTENTS

A transformation in content creation and distribution

"50 years ago, South American households had access to only two TV channels, with only one TV programme produced by a major player, so advertisers promoted their products without any problem.

Fast forward to the '80s and there were 65 TV channels, AM radio gave way to FM, the production of content remained in the hands of the major players, but there was so much content to produce that independent producers such as Endemol and Fremantle started to emerge.

Nowadays, this story is being written "Both are rare gems in Brazil: great

all over again. Since the arrival of the

quality content and companies that

digital era, entertainment content has

have mastered branding. And usually,

multiplied a thousandfold on the web,

when both of them meet, there isn't

tablets, phones and smart TV. The big

enough money on the table to get this

question is: where will the money

eﬀort in front of a massive audience."

come from to produce so much content? Advertisers."

Domênico Massareto, Chief Creative Officer,

Rodrigo Figueroa Reyes,

Agency ID/TBWA Brazil

Founder & CEO, FiRe Advertainment, Argentina BACK TO CONTENTS

107

Brazilian consumers are profoundly changing the way they relate to media

Brazil in the social era

and content. They are now co-authors and can produce their own content singlehandedly within a model of participatory culture. They are in a hurry and want to know about everything on the spot, live, interacting, and in real time. The audience in Brazil is directly involved in the circulation of content, at the same time as the reality of the broadcast system and the centralised media (distribution of content) still reigns in the country. This means that the ‘stickiness’ logic still dominates, facing the powerful rise of a ‘spreadability’ logic model. The largest share of media spending in Brazil is dedicated to traditional advertising media based on impact, especially for TV and the Internet. But on the other hand, we are living intensely in the ‘Social Conversation Era’ where the circulation

•

Population: 190.7 million

•

Internet users: 105 million

•

Internet coverage: c.20 million more domestic users were connected in the past two years, reaching a total of 76.62 million in 2013 – a 32% rise.

•

Mobile connection: 56% use Internet via smartphones and tablets; 52 million people access the web via mobile phones.

•

Brazil has 142.7million mobile phone users – c.71% of the total population.

•

Second screen: almost 7 in 10 Brazilians use TV and smartphones at the same time (Ipsos research for Google Brazil, August 2013).

•

63 million Brazilians use at least two screens daily (TV + computer); 30 million use three screens (TV + computer + smartphone). For 75% of users, the main smartphone feature used is to access social media.

•

Social media: Facebook Brazil has 76 million users. Brazilians use Facebook more often than Indians, making Brazil the second country in the world in daily access, only behind the USA.

•

Brazil has the second largest teenage population on Facebook: 12.2 million users aged 13-17 years old. But they are seeking agility and private conversations, so migrating to apps such as Whatsapp and Snapchat.

Sources: IBGE, Ibope.

of media content is also a big reality. BACK TO CONTENTS

108

New media coexist with traditional media

not necessarily also mean engagement.

heart to become a fan of both

in Brazil. In such a dispersive

This profound change is evident and

international and Brazilian series. The

environment, the audience is looking for

challenging to marketers.

number of productions is increasing by

ideas and content that’s entertaining and effective in engaging their minds. If the content is not relevant, shareable and appealing enough, it isn’t spread in nonlinear conversation.

The most viewed online ad campaign in the world in 2013, Dove ‘Real Beauty Sketches’, was created by Ogilvy Brazil. It’s fundamentally a powerful creative idea that united consumer insight with

Worldwide, we are experiencing a

the brand truth. A story was created to

fundamental transformation from an

connect with people and to be shared.

intrusion-based marketing model economy into an invitation-based model.

The importance of brand storytelling While the narratives of the contemporary world are collapsing, storytelling is becoming increasingly essential. The traditional business model of advertising in Brazil, and TV commercials that still present the brand as the protagonist or hero to push products to the consumer

So, a fact is more likely to be remembered if it’s anchored in a story. And stories should be greater than products. Anywhere.

the minute. Shows are being produced by independent national production companies that already work in advertising, on feature and short films, reality shows, documentaries, web series, etc. – for example, O2 Films, BossaNovaFilms, Zeppelin, Mixer, Conspiração, Sentimental, Hungry Man and more. These production companies are well placed to meet the demand for content coming from major advertising agencies,

Brazilian audiences are definitely hungry

including digital content agency LiveAD

for more stories. More fiction and less

(for example ‘Nike SP-Rio’ awarded in the

reality. More entertainment and less

Branded Content category at Cannes

interruption. And more reality shows and

2012 and ‘Mil Casmurros’ for Globo TV),

live programmes that enable their full

as well as specialist branded content

participation and interactivity. (Yes, Event

agencies such as New Content (‘Battle of

TV is a trend, too).

the DJs’ Skyy vodka’), Mutato/JWT and

(except the ones that do entertain), will

A country with a tradition and passion for

suffer a collapse, because impact does

soap operas has enough space in its

others.

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The development of Brazil’s branded content market

"Latin America has a huge potential for branded content. First and foremost it has to do with vocation. Latinos are social and have always loved to share with others. In the last few decades, there has been significant economic development that is still in progress. This has enabled people to have computers and mobile phones, which has driven lots of content development, sharing and co-creation. Latinos are early adopters in technology – they are always mirroring the United States as their model. It is not by chance that the most developed country in

"Only a few companies in Brazil understand

"Branded content will only become a

terms of social media is Brazil. People in the region are

how much content can be positive for their

protagonist in Brazil when the market

very active in creating stories and talking to each other.

brands in order to make their relationships

realises that TV, web and mobile devices

Brands that best understand this behavior will profit

stronger with the consumer. Providing

talk to and complement each other, and

more from the conversations that are already happening

information like recipes or tips for mums is

that the diﬀerence between them comes

in various channels.

not enough. It does not build a

down to the screen size. Strengthening the

diﬀerentiated conversation with the

value of a brand through content produced

consumer. Companies need to find other

by it – not about it – is one of the most

ways to talk with their clients, maybe

eﬃcient strategies for eﬀective

through documentaries, video games, etc.

communication with consumers."

Thus, there is a lot of work to do."

Daniel Bacchieri,

André Pedroso,

Head of Content Development,

Creative Director,

Zeppelin Films

The biggest challenge in LatAm in general is developing the infrastructure to enable people to connect and share. Once this issue is fixed, there will be an exponential growth in stories and as a result a lot of great content." Claudia Colaferro, President, Latin America, Dentsu Aegis Network

Publicis Red Lion

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110

Brazil has arrived at an intersection of its

buying traditional media remains focused

contribute to the development of the

marketing, entertainment and advertising

on impact, rather than on creating

culture of the Brazilian entertainment

industries, and is currently experiencing

conversations and relationships with

industry.

something exciting: a revolution that’s

consumers based around brand stories.

breaking the traditional mindset and

However, branded content is slowly

heading towards the inevitable

breaking the barriers of TV and taking

convergence of the advertising and

over the Internet, which naturally enables

entertainment industries, regardless of

its distribution.

formats and platforms. Increasingly, organisations are recognising the predominance of branded content and storytelling, and placing it at the heart of their brand strategies.

and then Facebook and Twitter –

experience for planning holistic branded

triggered a greater focus of the

content marketing initiatives.

advertising market on developing social

In some cases, it’s growing intuitively, but

consumers, provoking the sharing of

mostly, it’s growing because of the

content.

on higher rates of likes, views and volume, showing that we are still in a transitional stage where the mindset of

bringing together content strategy and development of better capabilities and

video production to involve and engage

expectations of marketers who still focus

They express a greater concern about

conversation – caused by Vine, Instagram

production of content is growing in Brazil.

YouTube. This represents the antiquated

measurement tools and engagement.

content marketing, resulting in the

strategies that include images and mainly

consumers in social networks and on

demanding more metrics, results

The strong trend to embrace visual

In tandem with this migration, the

demand for videos aiming to reach

And finally, marketers in Brazil are

For example, the publishing group Abril has created a platform dedicated to content marketing for two magazines, Exame and Info, and it’s already producing, with successful results, native

The production of entertainment content

advertising projects for brands such as

for cable TV has also grown considerably

Dell, GE and IBM.

in Brazil since Audiovisual Law 12.485 came into force in 2011. This law requires more hours of independent and national content to be exhibited in the TV channels’ prime time periods, which will BACK TO CONTENTS

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CASE STUDY

Challenge

Results

Exame was asked to associate HSBC

This 2013 project generated a 2014

Commercial Banking with relevant

renewal with a larger investment. Many

content about international trade aimed

other advertisers are now interested in

at a select audience of executives. HSBC

using the index footer space.

asked for a special ad format within the magazine index (very unusual for a Brazilian magazine).

Solution A bespoke advertorial page with premium content about the global economy and

Exame + HSBC Commercial Banking

Advertorial recall research among readers achieved: - 80% stimulated recall rate - 69% of readers consider the HSBC advertising easy to understand

international business was created and

- The information is interesting for 64% of

appeared fortnightly in the printed

them

magazine. An exclusive space for HSBC was also created in the index footer.

- 82% agree "content matches the magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x153; - 77% agree "It is an advertisement that provides useful informationâ&#x20AC;&#x153; - 60% agree it "generates more sympathy for the brand that is advertising"

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112

CASE STUDY

Challenge

Results

Info was asked to show consumers how

- 1.3 million page views of ‘Mundo

the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor is

Mobile’ from March to August 2013

important for mobile device performance.

Solution

saw the infographics revealed:

A custom channel called ‘Mundo Mobile’

- 73% will pay more attention to the

was created and placed on the INFO

brand of the processor when buying a

website. Its content consisted of editorial

new smartphone

news about smartphones and technology, as well as infographics and advertorials highlighting the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor quality. The

Info + Qualcomm Snapdragon

Research among magazine readers who

infographics were also published inside

- The infographic ad format contributed to the positive perception of this branded content (85% found it to be more attractive than an ordinary report)

INFO’s printed magazine in July 2013 to explain how the processor works in a simple, graphic way.

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The future of branded content marketing in Brazil

"What I have been predicting for years in the field of branded content is happening today: brands have started investing in producing their own content and are already part of the

I believe that 2014 will be the turning point

And the outlook is also quite optimistic in

year for the Brazilian market, driving forward

leveraging business for the second screen to

the evolution of the use of branded content

meet the potential of the market.

by organisations as an essential strategic tool, instead of simply a campaign tactic to captivate, involve and engage consumers that, as humans, are eager for stories. Anything and everything can happen in the year of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Brands will increase their investments, primarily in media and social initiatives, maximising the capitalisation of this moment and their sponsorships.

We will experience the increase of social campaigns involving many kinds of public participation via social media and with a strong engagement angle. The discussion about a less intrusive, more consumer-relevant marketing approach is growing in Brazil. This will result in marketing communications with less impact but greater

entertainment industry. This activity goes far beyond being in the plot of a story; it's about a million-dollar business that will open the door to a brand's assets: proprietary products, licenses, property rights â&#x20AC;&#x201C;to make money with its own advertising. In short, the paradigm shift in this business is that advertising is no longer an expenditure, but an investment."Â

audience involvement and conversation, where the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s message flows within, not

Rodrigo Figueroa Reyes,

just around, the content, and brands aim to

Founder & CEO,

become accomplished storytellers.

FiRe Advertainment, Argentina

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114

Expert Predictions Report

The Future of Branded Content Marketing by Justin Kirby VP, Strategic Content Marketing

Tenthwave

Plus Ça Change, Plus C'est La Même Chose The more things change, the more they remain the same

Last year, I asked a number of experts to

analyst, author and founder of Altimeter

help me with some crystal ball gazing

Group, Charlene Li, who’d pointed out

that resulted in the Expert Predictions

that despite the many different sites,

chapter of the first edition of the Best of

technologies and business models we

Branded Content Marketing ebook.

have today, “the fundamentals of

This year I asked a far broader group of marketing practitioners from around the

marketing have remained the same as have the challenges.”

world what they expect to see change in

The question brought a seven-fold

the next five years, and what they expect

increase in response with a mixture of

will remain the same. The question was

description, prescription and prediction.

prompted by comments made by the

Because the term ‘content’ straddles so BACK TO CONTENTS

many marketing and other disciplines,

‘Whom’, ‘Where’ and ‘When’. There’s also

answers yet, but we also hope the

the responses highlighted the need for a

the important question of ‘How’ any

responses and points raised will also

shared lexicon which we hope the

success might be measured.

provide a frame of reference for

industry can move towards. The recently BCMA commissioned research undertaken by Oxford Brookes University,

We hope what follows, and the case studies, will start to address some of

marketers to better navigate a path through the many challenges ahead.

these issues. No-one has all of the

in partnership with Ipsos MORI, which has resulting in the following overarching definition of branded content:

"Branded content is any content associated with a brand in the eye of the beholder” This is helpful first step by describing what branded content is generically, but it doesn’t explain the ‘Why’ (in what is the marketing problem it attempts to solve?), nor ‘What’ the branded content specifics might be for the different variations of BACK TO CONTENTS

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REPORT INDEX AND SUMMARY

THE YIN YANG OF BRANDED CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS

WHAT WILL CHANGE Branded Content At The Heart Of Every Marketing Strategy

WHAT WONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T CHANGE ABOUT THE REPORT

New (Open And Collaborative) Agency Models Will Emerge But New Skill Sets Will Be Required The Rise And Rise Of Storytelling More Platforms, Devices And Personalisation Measurement, Analytics And The Rise Of Empathetic/Emotional Marketing

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PLAY AUDIO

SECTION 1 “Talking about branded content and content marketing, I think it’s all about one word that connects both, and that’s the

The Yin Yang of Branded Content Marketing

word content.”

Jan Godsk  Chairman   BCMA Scandinavia

Jan Godsk of ideatakeway and Chairman, BCMA Scandinavia, believes that branded content and content marketing may be two different categories. He uses the term ‘branded content marketing’ as we have done with the title of this ebook to point out that it has brand on one side, marketing on the other, and content in the middle.

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Content Marketing On the marketing side, Jan proposes we think about this as being based around the product/service USP, with the content being more rational and informative. Content marketing campaigns are often conducted downstream in what McKinsey & Company call the customer decision journey, with ROI more focused on lead-generation and sales. Looking at content marketing in this way helps explain why some prefer the term ‘brand

Branded Content On the brand side, Jan suggests we think of this as being more irrational and focused around our impressions, such as whether we like a brand or share their values. Branded content campaigns are more likely to be conducted upstream as part of an engagement approach rather than to just drive awareness in the traditional AIDA funnel. The term is often

associated with longer-form video-based output from more creative advertising disciplines where audiences are engaged with entertainment-type content that

publishing’, why it is often used within a B2B context, its close connection to Search Engine Optimisation, and the formats most commonly used:

resonates emotionally. This helps shift

• Blogs

brand preferences and consumer

• E-newsletters

behaviours. In theory, the less USPfocused you become, the more your branded content will emotionally involve people.

• Case studies • Press releases • ebooks • White papers • Infographics • Webinars • Podcasts BACK TO CONTENTS

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And Branded Entertainment? The term ‘branded entertainment’ is used by some to describe branded content marketing campaigns where the product is more integrated into the content. That’s why the term is often used in connection

creating exclusive, engaging and entertaining content.

Branded Content And Content Marketing: Two Sides Of The Same Content Coin

“In the future, I’m sure, as

with formats such as advertiser funded

The Yin Yang image is a simple way of

within most disciplines,

programming (AFP) that use more

illustrating that the two approaches are

branded content marketing will

traditional media like TV, radio and even

two sides of the same coin, but

film and often overlap with product

seemingly based on different intent that

placement and sponsorship.

shapes the output, engagement and

This type of approach is evolving as we

distribution approaches.

begin to fracture and divide into more specialist areas. New platforms and ways of engaging will drive the process

have showcased with the Summer

As Mark Welland explains, it also shows

D’Reem case study where Unilever’s Surf

how other disciplines can be

brand borrowed the attributes from ITV’s

accommodated as part of the mix.

on the back of services that users wish to be a part of. This

‘The only way is Essex’ (TOWIE) TV show

will need new language to

to extend their association with it by

describe the areas and will hopefully lead to better ways of describing the broader discipline.” Mark Welland  Founder  New Media Works

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SECTION 2 “I often hear the cry “We need a social media strategy” when

Strategic Considerations

what is really needed first is a customer engagement strategy based on content.” Dave Chaﬀey CEO

Smart Insights

Some of the response from experts focused less on the future, and more on the strategic considerations that brands need to be thinking about with regard to branded content marketing. We’ve grouped these in themes to provide a context for the predictions in the following sections.

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The 3 Circles of Branded Content Marketing diagram on the right is a helpful prompt to start thinking about

DISTRIBUTION

practice more holistically. The diagram

MEASUREMENT

was inspired by the Three Pillars of Connected Marketing model developed by Idil Cakim, the analyst and author of Implementing Word of Mouth Marketing.

CONTENT (CO)CREATION

As Dave Chaffey at Smart Insights explains, content and social media

ENGAGEMENT MANAGEMENT

marketing have become the de facto way of explaining customer engagement approaches and so it’s “unfortunate” that these are too often considered separately. He says what is needed is a

THREE CIRCLES OF BRANDED CONTENT MARKETING

“customer engagement strategy based on content”. Idil’s model shows how these can be unified.

• What kind of branded content is created (or co-created) by ‘Who’ and for ‘Whom’?

I’ve adapted Idil’s model to provide a prompt for thinking through the following questions as part of developing a branded content marketing strategy:

• How is engagement managed? • How is content distributed? (i.e.

and ‘When’ in the customer decision journey?) • How is the success of the different parts and their sum measured? These are also useful questions for

‘Where’ in the converged landscape

analysing the predictions in the following

of earned, owned and paid media,

sections, as are these strategic considerations raised by contributors: BACK TO CONTENTS

122

We are media Chris Gorell Barnes at Adjust Your Set

so get yourself invited, don’t just buy your way in

and ensure that your branded content marketing strategies are truly consumer-centric

suggests that we’re also moving from a

Blended Republic’s Chris Sice thinks that

world where mass media ruled to one

right now, “too many brands follow an

Chris Gorell Barnes predicts that “the

where the masses themselves are the

outdated ‘push’ content model. They

brands that will thrive in this new world

media: “People not only decide what,

create content and look to ‘buy’

will be those that put the needs of the

when and where they want to consume

audiences.” Chris Gorell Barnes adds

consumer at the heart of what they do.”

media, but also whether or not the

that “if a brand wants to be a part of this

Max Garner at Aegis Media adds that

message is passed on.”

world they must be invited in – you can’t

“authentic and constant consumer-

buy your way in.”

centric behaviour from a brand will

Your brand is a social construct that you no longer control That’s why Bjoern Asmussen at Oxford

or just try and catch the next   big wave

always be the best way to aid success in our rapidly changing convergent media world.” For Patricia Weiss of the BCMA’s

Brooks University thinks that marketers

Branded content is also “no longer about

South American Chapter this means

will increasingly realise that brands “are

client strategies or wanting to be in on

creating branded content in all formats

best understood as socially constructed

the next big wave” according to

and platforms that are personally relevant

organisms”. They will consist of “all kinds

Vodafone’s Melissa Hopkins. She says it

for consumers, so that brands move from

of brand meanings, brand manifestations

is now “simply a news provider, a

a media-centric approach to one based

and brand stakeholders, such as

conversation piece, a portal for

on human context where the “consumer

consumers, employees, competitors,

stimulation, with a brand discreetly

is the protagonist and hero of every

suppliers, pressure groups and the

behind it.” Melissa believes only the

story.”

media.”

brave brands understand this.

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and that your branding is aligned with your branded content marketing strategy

PERSONAL RELEVANCE

Veteran advertiser turned brand

WHERE SOCIAL SHOULD LIVE

consultant Robert Bean explained that what were once walls that companies could control have now become windows as a result of the digital explosion, and anyone can see into an organisation from any number of vantage points. As such it

DRIVING PURPOSE

CULTURAL CONTEXT

“behoves brands or companies generally to sharpen up their act and decide who they are and what they’re about and be true to themselves in a way that they’ve

THREE TENETS OF NARRATIVE BRANDS

never really had to before.” This means branding needs to start from the inside out, so that the people within the

or you’ll get found out!

business are aligned around what they

Put another way, Robert thinks digital is a

are trying to do and create a culture that

great way of exposing organisations that

produces a commensurate product that

are “disorganisations” for want of a

when managed properly results in a

better term. Brands can no longer get

commensurate reputation.

away with trying to project an image that attempts to engineer a reputation. In summary, brands cannot “fake” another five years, believes Jan Godsk.

Welcome to the rise of the narrative brands Robert Bean’s inside-out branding approach is based on the alignment of a brand’s culture, product or service, and reputation around what he calls the ‘Single Organising Principle’. This provides a clear sense of purpose of what a brand does. BACK TO CONTENTS

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Purposeful content and alignment are

Cultural Context

Personal Relevance

themes that are raised in the following

A cultural context ensures that the brand

As Patricia Weiss explains, if your

section, as is the importance of

is culturally relevant. Gretchen believes

branded content is interesting for your

storytelling.

that in practice this means capturing

audience, “they will be interested in it.”

macro and micro cultural trends. A

Being personally relevant is behind the

branded content marketing strategy must

‘passion’ in the fractured passion centres

be developed with these cultural factors

that Barney talks about. Gretchen

in mind. Another way of looking at

Ramsey believes personal relevance is at

cultural context was highlighted in a

a “nascent stage” but a feed customised

comment made by the dotcom pioneer

for the individual user could include

Joe Kraus of Excite fame in a BBC

helpful personal visualised data (think

interview last year: “If the 20th century

loyalty programming and smart CRM),

was about dozens of markets of millions

geo-context as well as social graph

Driving Purpose

of consumers, then the 21st century is

integration. (see more on this theme in

As Tenthwave’s Gretchen Ramsey

about millions of markets of dozens of

the More Platforms, Devices &

explains, a purpose is simply a tangible

consumers.” Unruly’s Barney Worfolk-

Personalisation section.)

reason for being a brand (why the brand

Smith talks about interacting with people

exists): “It's that flag in the ground, that

through “fractured passion centres.” The

rally cry that everything ladders to and

Duck Tape ‘Race of Gentlemen’

that is visible and visceral throughout the

campaign is a good example of how a

entire consumer experience.” For

brand got itself invited to a very culturally

example, Red Bull's purpose in simple

relevant ‘fractured passion centre’.

My colleagues at Tenthwave produced the diagram above that is helpful for thinking about how branding can be aligned with a branded content marketing strategy. It’s based around the idea that the strongest social brands are described as ‘narrative brands’, i.e. brand storytelling that combines the following:

terms is ‘adventure’.

We hope that you find this introduction to the following predictions both interesting and useful. The ideas presented here provide a backdrop to our contributors’ thoughts on what they expect to see change in the next five years and what they expect will remain the same.

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image © BBP Media / Giuseppe

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“We definitely feel the future of branded content is very

SECTION 3

What Will Change

exciting. And if 2013 was anything to go by we’re going to see a rapid increase

Branded content at the heart of every marketing strategy

in the number of brands using branded content as

As the CIPR’s Stephen Waddington explains, “Content is the drum beat of

the core of their marketing.”

engagement between a brand and its publics”. But the ability of content

Andrew Canter  CEO  BCMA

“to draw people in naturally through entertaining, emotionally engaging messaging” is why Pereira & O’Dell’s creative chief PJ Pereira believes that “branded content will continue to feature in more and more client strategies” helping to “develop deeper relationships with audiences”. Publicis Slovenija’s Uroš Goričan also thinks we can expect brands to put “more emphasis on branded content in their marketing strategy.”

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Driven by digital and social The BCMA’s Andrew Canter predicts that, by 2019, branded content will be at the heart of every campaign, driven by the growth of digital technologies and social media.

and stand-out examples Romelle Swire’s Chris Smith predicts that the stand-out branded content campaigns we’ve seen during 2013 will both increase industry awareness for the approach and drive more examples. Chris specifically mentioned work by Amazon, Chipotle and Heineken, but other examples cited by experts include Red Bull ‘Stratos Mission to the Edge of Space’, Coca-Cola’s ‘Small World Machines’, and Banco Popular de Puerto Rico’s ‘The Most Popular Song’ (also see

will always be those stand-out du jour

more traditional marketing has been set.

examples, but it’s “more standardised

However, he thinks brands will learn to

procedures” that will encourage the

plan branded content alongside other

adoption of entertaining branded content

disciplines in order to get the maximum

marketing approaches.

effect, so that it can lead to or become

Moving across the spectrum, to become less isolated and more integrated

the “central articulation of a brand or communication idea.”

MEC’s Chantal Rickards sees the next

Becoming the communication norm across the organisation

five years as an exciting time with

Stephen Waddington believes the shift

content moving “across the spectrum”.

will go further so that what he describes

Sky MEDIA’s Jason Hughes thinks we’ll

as “content development” will move

see a greater joining of the dots over the

beyond marketing communications to

next five years between the linear and

“become the communication norm for all

non-linear world to a point where

operational areas of an organisation.”

“branded content campaigns transcend TV, online, social, POS with the overall activation far greater than the sum of its parts.”

but more risks still need to be taken Jason Hughes expects “a tipping point where the penny will drop around the real

Jan Godsk and John McDermott).

and not just an afterthought

and more standardised procedures

Red Bee Media’s Michael Reeves thinks

delivers way beyond traditional media

we’re still at the point where branded

valuation”, so that it “becomes the norm

content is being commissioned in

centrepiece of every campaign.”

Branded Entertainment Online’s (BEO) Sandra Freisinger-Heinl thinks that there

value and power branded content

isolation as an afterthought once the BACK TO CONTENTS

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NEW (OPEN AND COLLABORATIVE) AGENCY MODELS WILL EMERGE The social media strategist Jadis Tillery predicts that “collaboration will be the name of the game” in the brave new world of branded content. Compelling stories can be created that evolve “dynamically thanks to the consumer shaping the story itself.” Somethin’ Else’s Steve Ackerman thinks we’ll also see “content strategists and content creators coming together to form new agencies.” Here are some other predictions along similar lines:

Publishers as agencies Patricia Weiss who heads up the BCMA’s South American Chapter thinks native advertising looks set to “become the starlet in the blurred lines between ads and content”. She sees publishers becoming more agency-like, working directly with brands through the creation of in-house “branded content divisions,

paid media operations, brand strategy units and digital production services.”

Agency-facilitated brand alliances with publishers Forrester’s Ryan Skinner sees brands regularly building “quasi-official alliances

“Native Advertising will become the

with each other and publishers, usually

starlet in the blurred lines between

facilitated by an agency, to collectively

ads and content, by reinventing the

produce a compelling digital experience.”

business of publishing and snatching

More and diﬀerent kinds of celebrity partnerships

the emerging markets. A growing

Sean ‘Diddy’ Coombes’ recent JV with

own branded content divisions, paid

Diageo suggests that celebrity talent partnerships will continue to play a key role in branded content. For Jadis Tillery

number of publishers will create their

media operations, brand strategy units and digital production services,

this is not just about “the loyal and

in-house. More often, they will be

sizeable fan base they can mobilise for a

hiring publishers to create content on

brand, but as dynamic content creators

their behalf.”

and media owners in their own right.” That said, United Agent’s Joanna Scarratt thinks that a social media following is becoming an increasingly important

Patricia Weiss  Chairman and Founder  BCMA South America

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128

New (open source) business

human connections will increasingly use

models

the multiplying and diverse channels in more and more interesting ways - blurring

“A platform (YouTube, for

Crispin Reed at UK Fusion Learning

the lines until there are no lines

thinks we’ll see “more and more

anymore.”

interesting collaborations between marketing.” He cites Google’s acquisition

BUT NEW SKILLSETS WILL BE REQUIRED

that were prepared to open

of smart thermostat brand Nest as a way

As the online revolution outstrips

their assets to the general

they can enter the “home through a

marketing knowledge, Joanna Scarratt at

public and see what people did

different door.” The convergent home is

United Agents thinks that no-one quite

with them. This would give

not a new idea, but for Crispin it’s an

yet knows how to exploit branded

creators license to rethink the

indication of a more “imaginative coming

content properly. She thinks that this is

brand's meaning and create a

together of brands to deliver branded

because the “speed of the online

content”. BCMA’s Chairman Morgan Holt

revolution, and development of platforms,

thinks that the combining of

has outstripped marketing knowledge.”

example) could host brands

whole new presence for the brand itself.”

Morgan Holt  Chairman  BCMA

brands when it comes to content

micropayments and user content channel technology platforms would be

new skill sets required

interesting.

Mike Arauz at Undercurrent recently

so that lines will continue to be blurred until there are none left

wrote about The New Digital Strategist’s Skill Set that’s moved from the T-shape of having to know a little about a lot and a

The strategist Sarah Farrugia predicts

lot about a little to the square-shape of

that “those who really understand social

now having to know a lot about a lot.

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129

to understand culture better Gretchen Ramsey

at Tenthwave mentions

how dramatically and quickly specialised areas shift in digital, which is why she thinks we have “a duty to understand “Agencies need to hire

culture on a new level, as it’s intimately

behavioural economists and

tied with our ability to plan relevance.”

creative technologists as well as individuals that truly understand social interaction. This goes well beyond the "social media specialist" who claims to understand how to evoke more tweets out of a

knowledge across various marketing disciplines, but crucially possessing both left-brain and right-brain abilities”. As Ashley goes on to explain, it’s about being analytical and data-driven on one hand, but also “understanding brands, storytelling and experiential marketing.”

and social behaviour OgilvyEntertainment’s Doug Scott thinks that “agencies need to hire behavioural economists and creative technologists as well as individuals that truly understand social interaction.” For him this goes “well beyond the social media specialist.”

REAL TIME AND AGILE Unruly’s COO Sarah Wood sees new tools emerging that will help support the macro-trend of real-time content marketing and allow marketers to become more ‘agile’. This is where brands become “newsrooms for their

post.”

Doug Scott  President  OgilvyEntertianment

having a “wide breadth of skills and

The dawn of the pi-shaped data

niche” and invest to support “content

storytellers?

discovery, content curation and content

In a recent interview by Renegade’s CEO Drew Neisser with Econsultancy's CEO

creation” to compete for consumers’ mind share on social platforms.

Ashley Friedlein on PSFK, the pi-shaped

or something more additive?

data storytelling marketer was discussed.

Digiday’s John McDermott hopes that

For Ashley the pi-shaped skillset isn’t

“brands will move away from their real-

about expecting people to know about

time marketing obsession and create

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130

something more substantive and lasting.”

honcho Chris Clarke, what is more

He cites the “mesmerising” Volvo Trucks

important than anything else is “creative

‘Epic Split’ campaign with Jean-Claude

excellence, a fluid relationship with talent

Van Damme as well as the “legitimately

and a willingness to experiment.” He

helpful” Lowe’s ‘Fix in Six Vines’.

adds that brands can become “part of

“I hope — that brands will move away from their real-time marketing obsession and

Evolving beyond real-time opportunism Tenthwave’s Gretchen Ramsey points to

culture rather than in the (ad) breaks between culture”.

THE RISE AND RISE OF STORYTELLING

create something more

an “evolution from real-time opportunism

substantive and lasting. The

to the storytelling model”, but asks “how

It's not really a prediction, but the

Volvo Trucks/Jean Claude Van

many digital agencies are set up to

importance of storytelling was the most

manage a meaningful narrative duty?”

consistent theme to emerge from expert

She suggests what’s needed is a “new

responses. As Mumbrella’s Sean

and the Lowe’s Fix in Six Vines

model of strategic creative where teams

McKeown points out, “brands are already

are legitimately helpful. Seems

of (visual) storytellers lead brand tales,

seeing the value gained from this format

not just ideas ‘with legs’.”

and will continue to invest more of their

Damme video is mesmerising

a lot more additive than tweeting nonsense during the Super Bowl.”

and being more creative, experimental and iterative Being more agile doesn’t necessitate

John McDermott Staff Writer Digiday

marketing budgets in its development.”

More authentic, entertaining and engaging

working in real-time, or the setting-up of

Advertisers must find better ways to build

newsrooms with staff and enabling

trust, as raised by Paul Bay at Citizenbay

technology, it can simply mean being

in last year’s ebook. Paul pointed out that

iterative. For DigitasLBi’s creative head

the gap between promise and delivery is BACK TO CONTENTS

131

still wide, and that’s why advertisers are

real-time, it's also about emotions. She

world, and that this is becoming “more

still less trusted than politicians. ISBA’s

predicted that the brands that succeed in

visual and involving, and less intrusive

Mario Yiannacou thinks that one way of

the future will be the ones creating

and interruptive”.

building trust is to ensure that messages

content that elicits a powerful emotional

are completely clear whatever format

response from their audience.

they’re in. Stan Joseph of Ochre Moving

original content funded and distributed by brands

In longer and more digital formats

Stan Joseph sees brands becoming

MEC’s Chantal Rickards sees more

significant funders and distributors of

traditional formats like advertiser funded

original content over the next five years,

programing (AFP) being on the wane, at

taking “their place at the table alongside

least in the UK. But she thinks “digital

and purposeful content

broadcasters, distributors and IP

continues to offer myriad opportunities,

owners.” Joanna Scarratt also thinks the

For Tony Chow at What's your Story Inc

especially where the content can travel

landscape will change dramatically. She

in Singapore it’s all about the creation of

across many platforms and engage

sees brands becoming both

purposeful content, and he sees more

viewers in clever, dynamic and engaging

broadcasters and content makers. She

and more brands using story-based

ways.” She also thinks we’ll see more

cites other platforms like Netflix’s funding

branded content as a key engagement

brands becoming more adventurous and

of ‘House of Cards’, as well as film

tool.

funding longer-form content like movies

competition initiatives like Grolsch's ‘Film

and feature documentaries.

Works’, or Bombay Sapphire's’

Pictures suggests the creation of more authentic and entertaining story-based content “will continue to be the hallmark of great branded content.”

that resonates emotionally In last year’s ebook, Sarah Wood explained that testing what works and optimising the performance of branded content isn't just about using data to make decisions and refine campaigns in

and more involving, less interruptive

‘Imagination Series’.

Patricia Weiss believes that audiences will become even more intelligent and sophisticated as their lives become increasingly social in a “hypermediatic” BACK TO CONTENTS

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Making good stories more important than ever to cut through the content clutter

even the ports in our heads for faster

Doug Scott thinks, “Great stories are

will “enable brands to connect with

“Brands are going to have to

becoming critical. Right now I would say

customers via content in an even more

change their processes and do

that from an economic standpoint there

exciting and creative way.”

PLAY AUDIO

something marketers don’t like to

is an oversupply of content.”

upload/download that Doug Kessler predicts. Uroš Goričan thinks that these

It will become more personalised

But storytelling changes everything about how brands go to market

Leo Burnett’s James Kirkham predicts

In my recent interview with UM’s Chief

engage with will become more relevant

people they hire. They have to

Content officer Scott Donaton, he

and tailored. He thinks that it won’t be

change the time frames they work

explains how he thinks that brand

recognised as traditional advertising, but

storytelling is a strategic, disciplined

“more as opt-in personalised content.”

do and don’t do easily. They have to change the skill sets of the

on. They have to change the way

approach to marketing that actually

they allocate and think about

changes everything about how brands go

budgets. They have to change

to market.

their definition of creativity.” Scott Donaton  Chief Content Officer  UM

MORE PLATFORMS, DEVICES AND PERSONALISATION

that in five years the content people

Pulled not pushed, and more contextual Doug Scott sees content being “pulled by consumers based on their unique preferences and habits.” ISBA’s Mario

Experts discussed a whole host of new

Yiannacou also thinks targeting will make

platforms and devices that are either

a step change that will benefit brand

already being used, or on the horizon,

owners but also consumers by giving

including Google Glass with augmented

them messages they want to receive.

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133

Doug suggests that the tailored content

Patricia Weiss believes the endless

will be “contextually related to a brand's

willingness of audiences to participate

key product and/or core message”. For

live in networked culture will “expand the

Max Garner at Aegis, context is also key,

non-linear conversation around the

and the linking of “the right content for

content”, and drive SocialTV, second

the right device juxtaposed with the right

screen and real-time marketing initiatives.

type of brand to consumer interaction at

This will in turn increase the production

the right time.”

of ‘event TV’ programmes, especially

But as DigitasLBI’s Chris Clarke points out, “more than anything, just as it is now, brands will need to recognise that a set of marketing messages plays very poorly alongside the latest box set.”

Content shifts triggered by mobile, shared by the second screen, and expanded through smart displays For Doug Scott these shifts will be triggered by mobile (which he believes is now the first screen), and then shared on the living room screen, as well as being expanded through public out-of-home advertising (OOH) smart displays.

PLAY AUDIO

“I think one of the most important changes in the next

reality shows where “the audience fully participates and feels like the true winner.” Samantha Glynne at Publicis

five years is going to come with the maturation of the millennial

Entertainment also thinks “TV will have a resurgence and new forms of live and

adult who is going to quickly

social events will become popular.” become the most powerful

Eventually moving oﬀ screen to become part of our branded life

consumer, literally ever.”

James Kirkham sees branded content moving off screen to become things “like making a branded gesture mnemonic to

Eric Schwamberger Partner Tenthwave

access the brand”, e.g. “tracing out the Heineken star when you walk into a bar to access content or order a beer.” For James this is about thinking of the future less in terms of branded content and BACK TO CONTENTS

134

more about “your branded life.” This may

thinking will be at the heart of their

what he calls “fractured passion centres”

be more relevant to some generations

strategy. He adds that brands need to

that is discussed in the Strategic

than others, particularly with the

learn to act like media owners to attain

Considerations section. Barney’s idea

maturation of the millennial adult,

the desired ROI. Samantha Glynne at

provides the basis for more opportunities

according to Tenthwave’s Eric

Publicis Entertainment adds that as

of co-creation between brands and their

Schwamberger.

“confidence grows in the qualitative role

fans. It will also potentially blur the lines

of branded entertainment, brands will be

between earned and owned media if

braver in trying all platforms and media.”

brands start to curate their fan content in

Optimisation will become the norm Katy Howell at immediate future explains

the way that Unruly’s Sarah Wood

that “social will increase the volume, but

and developing their own media

also reduce the size: as audiences (and

Mumbrella’s Sean McKeown thinks that

mobile) demands bite-sized, digestible

although “social media will continue as

This very much tallies with the content

and continuous content.” As such,

an important distribution platform,

ideas around cultural brands that Daniel

“optimisation of content will be the norm,

brands will need to invest in platforms of

Bô at QualiQuanti discusses, and informs

as brands look to justify content

their own that provide greater connection

the thinking behind Tenthwave’s ‘Race of

investment.”

with audiences.” Jadis Tillery agrees we’ll

Gentlemen’ campaign.

see brands “fully embrace the multimodal

With customer stories becoming more important than brand ones

Putting distribution at the heart of any strategy

nature of the social web” while also becoming “owners in their own right.”

Blended Republic’s Chris Sice thinks

mentions.

In last year’s ebook, Citzenbay’s Paul Bay

Blurring the lines between earned and owned media with the rise of “fractured passion centres” and content curation

discussed how the democratisation of

YouTube. He thinks this presents huge

Barney Worfolk-Smith of Unruly sees

about pushing content and more about

opportunities and so in future distribution

brands interacting with people through

listening to your customers’ stories and

brands place too much emphasis on creating content, but are often ignorant of distribution and the “boundary-less nature” of platforms like Facebook and

content would change the media content model. Paul predicted that branded content marketing would become less

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135

amplifying these. He pointed out that

Welcome to the world of the ‘Internet of

storytelling implies that brands or their

things’, and the possibility of hyper-geo-

agencies are still the authors of the

located targeting. For example, Sarah

narrative. He thought this downplayed

predicts “sausage ads as you open your

the increasingly important role that the

fridge, replaced by porridge oats ads if

customer narrative plays.

your cholesterol reading is high, or an ad

and the need for earned media planning MRY’s David Berkowitz highlights how earned media planning might need to

for sunscreen displayed on your smartwatch if the UV rays are high when you open your front door. Relevance and utility will be key to success.”

“Adapted, evolved content tailored and personal to you just like we are recognised through cookies - will instead be

value-added alternatives to investing in

via mobile to an increasingly screen-less world

you the user recognised through

fully technology-enabled newsrooms.

As Mumbrella’s Sean McKeown points

talent talking to you, directly to

consider the most cost-effective and

Learn to make the most of wearable tech When it comes to next-gen advertising, Unruly’s COO Sarah Wood thinks brands will need to navigate the opportunities and challenges presented by not only wearable technology, but also smartappliances.

and navigate through the Internet of things and hyper geo-location

out, mobile will play an integral part in the transition to “location-based marketing and content distribution.” But Leo

you as part of a pre-orchestrated pre-determined image.”

Burnett’s James Kirkham predicts “an increasingly screen-less world, less about desktop computers and more about an Internet of things.” James

James Kirkham Global Head:   Social & Mobile Leo Burnett

thinks we need to be thinking “more about how content will be engaged with or interacted with wherever we are whenever we want to.” BACK TO CONTENTS

136

to interact with a brand construct James Kirkham predicts a future where

and requiring a whole lot more computational power

the personalisation and tailoring of

Charlene Li points out that in five years’

content includes live conversation with a

time “we'll have the computational power

brand construct.

of IBM's Watson in a form factor that will

Becoming more programmatic and marketing as service orientated

fit in our pocket - and we'll need it given

“9 out of 10 people listen,

the explosion of data.”

engage and interact with radio,

to get back to where we started from

and do so across an ever-

marketing “will engage consumers in an

Meanwhile, older media such as radio

platforms. So branded audio

ongoing dialogue with brands, providing

and book publishing have been going

content of the future needs to

richer stories and greater insights -

through their own digital revolutions.

Doug Scott sees the evolving approach to programmatic (and more algorithmic)

ultimately leading to smarter data and fuelling big emotional experiences.”

growing selection of digital

engage with audiences across a

Folded Wing’s Karen Pearson highlights

wide variety of diﬀerent

“nine out of 10 people listen, engage and

platforms, including DAB,

Drew Neisser at Renegade thinks “these

interact with radio, and do so across an

are the best of times for CMOs who

ever-growing selection of digital

approach marketing as a service

platforms.” This provides a whole host of

opportunity rather than a messaging

opportunities, especially as now

one.” This customer-centric approach

“listeners want to 'see' radio as much as

“only gets better with the advent of big

hear it,” which Karen points out offers

data and programmatic media,” since it is

“additional exclusive visual content that

so much easier to provide personalised

people can share with their friends”.

mobile, tablets, podcasts and online platforms.” Karen Pearson CEO and Founder Folded Wing

and relevant content in real-time. BACK TO CONTENTS

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Brands have been slow to embrace the

develop industry standards for social

your investment is to measure outcomes,

ebooks publishing revolution, and

media measurement.

“Everything else is a proxy at best, but

leverage distribution channels like Amazon, iBookstore, or aggregators like Smashwords, and social reading sites. Enhanced media ebooks, like this one, provide great opportunities to tailor relevant branded content for platforms like tablets in a format that can engage people for longer periods.

MEASUREMENT, ANALYTICS AND THE RISE OF EMPATHETIC/ EMOTIONAL MARKETING There’s no shortage of industry measurement standard initiatives

We have also seen the emergence of innovative new ways to measure branded content, with the BCMA's proprietary measurement tool, contentmonitor run by Ipsos MORI, which demonstrates the effectiveness of branded content.

bringing rigour, but often driven by measurement tools Kami Watson Huyse thinks these initiatives, while bringing more rigour to social media measurement, “will most likely be driven instead (in the near term) by the tools developed to do the

The changing media landscape doesn’t just have an impact on the way that

measurement.” This might put the cart before the horse.

brands need to rethink the way they they measure it, not least because of the

and so there’s a danger of measuring data for the sake of it

growing number of datapoints that are

The CIPR’s Stephen Waddington thinks it

now available and being used. The

is easy to fall into the trap of measuring

challenges this poses are highlighted by

things for the sake of it. For Stephen the

the growing number of initiatives trying to

only real way of determining the value of

conduct their marketing, but also how

there are organisations, such as AMEC with its Social Media Valid Framework and Google with its Zero Moment of Truth, that are doing some good work in this area and helping us to grow up.”

rather than look at how the whole is greater than the sum of the parts As Ian Wright at Tapestry Research points out, “the fragmented media landscape means that we’re faced with this dual challenge of really understanding at a micro-level how individual channels or touchpoints are working, but also at a holistic level, how they all fit together.” This is a tough challenge, but Ian believes “we’re getting smarter at meeting it through a combination of small-scale qualitative insight, big data observation and surveybased interpretation.”

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More accountability and analysis required

right set of tools to measure efficacy. And

Former Ipsos MORI Research Director

Improved semantic analysis

Stewart Thomson and others see a growing demand “for rigorous measurement of the impact of branded content campaign elements on the goals of the overall campaign. Essentially, brand owners will demand to know if the

here are some examples:

Minter Dial sees both listening tools and skills getting more sophisticated, particularly with regard to semantic

PLAY AUDIO

“One of the biggest diﬀerences that we’re going to see is as we

analysis. get into more predictive fields

Predictive modeling for a better sense of who wants what

right. Brands and agencies trying

David Berkowitz sees brands employing

to predict what content people

Katy Howell also thinks we will see a

more sophisticated predictive models “to

are going to respond to and how

significant increase in the level of

determine what people want when they

analysis that will be expected,

want it.”

branded content pulled its weight and justified their investment.”

particularly analysis “often in real-time that identifies the content that travels on trend, attracts attention and gets shared.”

and understanding the value of what they share But more importantly, David thinks

they’re going to respond. And even predict which ways that they’re going to want to respond in turn.”

“brands will have a much better

with new tools and skills getting more sophisticated

understanding of the kinds of value of

According to Uroš Goričan, we’re likely to

of what their audience wants and likes.

what they share” as well as better sense

David Berkowitz CMO MRY

see more effort put into developing the

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139

and the better targeting of ‘material’ Minter Dial predicts “better targeting of the ‘material’ as marketers come to understand better their audience and the

and devices, and mapped not just to a particular demographic on a network, but also to the available psychographic and ultimately behavioural data.

and tracking through to purchase

real influencers, and on which platforms and devices they are congregating.”

“The more that media can be

Max Garner thinks “convergence means

delivered on an individual basis

that content and the point of transaction

and therefore become

and more creative scope for crafting messages

are also moving closer than ever, so not

Mario Yiannacou thinks that deeper data

entertain and delight with their content

will also “make it easier to ‘dial in’ to

but they also have to ensure that where

challenged. It will become much

consumers’ frequencies, allowing more

relevant a journey to purchase is easy,

more about what people do than

creative scope for crafting messages.”

smooth and importantly unforced should

what audience group they are in.

with emotional data becoming ubiquitous

only do brands have to still inform,

the consumer so desire it.”

disaggregated, then that whole way of thinking is going to be

This changes everything in terms of

without requiring the capture of lead data

how media works and who should

emotional data has already started to be

Ryan Skinner predicts that “businesses

evaluate it.”

measured through facial recognition

will abandon the practice of capturing

software to understand emotions,

lead data as enough non-personal

reactions, heart rate, gestures, etc, but

identifying data can be captured without

we have a long way to go. As

it.”

As Sander Saar at AOL explains,

be on the team to deliver and

Tim Foley MD pointlogic

technologies advance, response could be tracked live across different platforms BACK TO CONTENTS

140

and valuing individuals based on purchase probabilities

In the meantime, longer-term view may be required

Tim Foley at pointlogic thinks that market

The BCMA’s Andrew Canter accepts that

research will get turned on its head by

measuring the ROI for branded content

the explosion of more data. He predicts

can be a challenge right now, but argues

we won’t be aggregating audiences

that brands should take a longer-term

around their demographics, but will instead be “valuing individuals based on purchase probabilities”; and as he points out “this changes everything in terms of how media works and who should be on the team to deliver and evaluate it.”

Brands will demand more bespoke metrics

view and rethink what is being measured

“Marketers can show the value of branded content by keeping

and why. He sees branded content

tabs on how brand perceptions

marketing as an investment, that will

shift among those exposed to

often pay back in the mid-long term rather than having an immediate impact.

but you can start with a simple tracker survey

such content. A simple tracker survey can provide this insight. The key is to be disciplined about asking consumer feedback

More brands will want and be able to

The analyst and author Idil Cakim

develop bespoke metrics that are linked

explains that “marketers can show the

and be ready to shift gears

to their specific brand challenges. This

value of branded content by keeping tabs

depending on how such content

will lead the industry into more

on how brand perceptions shift among

resonates with audiences.”

meaningful discussion than those

those exposed to such content.” She

surrounding ‘working’ and ‘non-working’

points out that a “simple tracker survey

dollars, and possibly away from the

can provide this insight.” The key she

preoccupation with reach-type metrics

says is “to be disciplined about asking

that were designed for traditional mass

consumer feedback and be ready to shift

communications.

gears depending on how such content

Idil Cakim Analyst + author Implementing Word of Mouth Marketing

resonates with audiences.” BACK TO CONTENTS

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SECTION 4 “We can’t be blinded by the light of bright shiny

What Won't Change

objects to ever, ever forget that relationships are paramount.”

Charlene Li  Founder  Altimeter Group

Somewhat tellingly, experts have

customers and clients will be built one

significantly less to say about what they

person at a time.” We shouldn’t get

think will remain the same in five years

“blinded by the light of bright shiny

than what they think will change. Here’s

objects to ever, ever forget that

the round-up of the responses:

relationships are paramount.”

It’ll still be all about relationships

Strategy starts with the data

Despite the brave new world of branded

The BCMA’s Andrew Canter thinks that

content marketing that we’ve already

what will still be of the utmost importance

seen predicted, Altimeter Group’s

is that “the strategy for any branded

Charlene Li still thinks “marketing

content campaign is based on deep and

fundamentals will remain the same,

meaningful consumer insight strategies”,

namely that the relationship with

and that means starting with the data.

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“Being customer-obsessed and digging deeper allows brands to out-innovate their competitors by oﬀering more authentic, relevant and personal experiences.”

But go beyond the desk to find real insight and opportunities

Oxford Brookes University, it also has to

The advances in analytics and listening

needs, interests and/or passions.” As

platforms that have been predicted

Kemplewood’s Mark Wood points out, for

suggest that it will still be the few that go

any form of branded content to work “it

beyond desktop and dashboard. This

has to be relevant, useful or entertaining.

remains a missed opportunity for those

Preferably all of those things.”

that don’t, because analytics might tell

Brands will still be struggling to join all the dots

you the ‘What’ and ‘Where’, but they don’t tell you the ‘Why’. As Gretchen Ramsey, VP, Strategy at Tenthwave, points out, marketers must also give people “what they don’t know they need”

Drew Rayman  Managing Partner  Tenthwave

and no amount of big data can deduce that. What is needed is more ethnographic-based, face-to-face research to help foster empathy and which leads to a deeper understand of the customer.

and to help create content that resonates Cutting through will always require content to be distinctive, but as mentioned by Bjoern Asmussen at

“resonate with the targeted stakeholders’

Uroš Goričan at Publicis Slovenija mentions the continuing problem of “developing strategies that are truly aligned with the essence of the brand” and maintain a common thread that runs across all media. Perhaps, as Somethin’ Else’s Steve Ackerman predicts, the brands who’ll succeed will be those that are best able to define their personalities as opposed to their marketing objectives.

People will still be sharing content, and caring more about themselves than brands MRY’s David Berkowitz thinks the sharing of content will continue, with branded BACK TO CONTENTS

143

content being a “relatively small but a

This is a driver for the prediction from

to bore/titillate people in ever more inane

relatively important part of the mix”

Patricia Weiss of the BCMA’s South

ways.”

because “people care more about

American Chapter that branded video

themselves than they do brands.”

content will continue as the main form of

Where consumers go, brands will continue to follow

branded content to reach audiences on social media.

and we’re about to be deluged by more crap In the digital domain, Forrester’s Ryan Skinner still sees marketers obsessing

But old media habits will continue to die hard

over Google and that the vast majority of

people who buy their products and

Patricia Weiss also thinks traditional

That’s more delicate than his former boss

services. At the same time, David

advertising will still get the biggest share

Doug Kessler at Velocity Partners who

Berkowitz points out that people won’t

of marketing budgets. She does,

warns that as “every B2B brand turns to

stop “shifting to new media properties

however, think that advertising is likely to

content marketing, we're about to be hit

and platforms”, as we have seen with the

become more entertaining and story-

by a deluge of... “crap”.”

take up of Snapchat and Whatsapp.

based, even if it will still be used for the

One thing that isn’t going to change is the need for brands to connect with

particularly with video-based branded content

most part to push products in the more traditional way.

content marketing won’t be very good.

Experts will continue to disagree about what the future holds Interestingly, the BCMA’s Chairman

Leo Liang at Youku Tudou Inc in China

Pereira & O'Dell's chief creative officer PJ

Morgan Holt doesn’t imagine any

thinks that people will still enjoy more

Pereira reminds us that what also won't

dramatic reinvention of the branded

user-generated content (UGC) and semi-

change is “consumers' rejection of

content business model. He thinks “the

UGC content, but there will be more

irrelevant interruptive advertising.” But as

players know who they are, the value

possibilities for them “to watch, share

the strategist Sarah Farrugia points out,

they get from it, and how to work

and even shoot videos at any time and

this sadly won’t stop those who continue

together.” He also sees the model as

any place”.

“to blast branded content into the world

being “an extension of advertising”. BACK TO CONTENTS

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particularly whether we’ll figure out the secret of branded content success

“essential need for branded content to

Sandra Freisinger-Heinl from Branded

tale.” Tony Chow at What’s Your Story Inc

Entertainment Online (BEO) thinks we’re

in Singapore, adds that what will also

“Within the next five years the

currently living in a world of “branded

remain “constant is the customer will

world of content marketing will

entertainment cocktails” with “a dash of

always be the hero of the story.”

be turned upside down, even if

content, a splash of social media, a shot of digital, laced with a pinch of music.” However, Sandra predicts that on the horizon is a basic formula available “to the tastes of every single target group”. This is similar to Joanna Scarratt’s prediction about how the “art of branded content will be as rigorously understood in terms of effective consumer engagement as TV commercials are now.”

tell a gripping story, irrespective of the gadgets and devices used to tell the

So it looks like we’ll still have a lot of figuring out to do In this book’s introduction, Doug Scott

businesses are still practicing it (and to a greater degree than today). Only 10-15% will regularly

talks about the branded content industry

practice content marketing really

being in an adolescent phase. But it

well. And people still won’t be

might be worth thinking about the

really satisfied with the word

prediction by Frank PR’s Graham

‘content’ or the expression

Goodkind about a time not too far in the

‘content marketing’.”

future “where consumers get so savvy, aware and cute, that the only way to

That seems unlikely if, as Doug Scott at

interact is via more and more

OgilvyEntertainment predicts, “everything

discontinuous thinking and disruptive

we know today about branded content will

techniques.” Whatever the future holds, I

change; the only thing that will remain

predict that there’s still going to be a lot

constant is the desire for good stories.”

of figuring out to do.

Ryan Skinner  Senior Analyst –   Content Marketing,   Forrester Research

It’s a view supported by Michael Reeves at Red Bee Media, who says there will be an BACK TO CONTENTS

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ABOUT THE REPORT

SECTION 5

About The Report This report into the future of branded content marketing will also be published as a standalone paper. It is part of an ongoing project that Justin Kirby started in 2002 when he set up an international discussion forum where hundreds of marketing practitioners and academics shared their knowledge, opinions and experiences of contemporary and emerging marketing and media trends over several years. The forum activity led to the creation of the 2005 book 'Connected Marketing: The Viral, Buzz and Word of Mouth Marketing Revolution’, and it informed Justin’s ongoing investigation into the future of branded content marketing in collaboration with industry experts, which he curates annually in partnership with the BCMA. The first annual report was published in 2013 in the pilot edition of the ‘Best of Branded Content Marketing’ with the full contributions curated at Afluxstate.com. Over 60 industry experts around the globe participated in the outreach from which this year’s report was compiled. You can read their full contributions and keep up with the ongoing report series at Afluxstate.com. To participate in this series or send us your feedback about the predictions, please email Justin.

BACK TO CONTENTS

CLIENT VIEW

“Eurostar feels that branded content will increasingly be at the heart of communication   as the world digitalises.” by Nick Mercer  Commercial Director  Eurostar

The role of branded content is to build much stronger customer engagement and to do this it has to be built on two key platforms. The first is that it has to be useful, i.e. it is based on the right insights about things that really matter to customers. The second is that it has to be entertaining, as in a world of so many communication messages we need to grab attention in a way that is fun and stimulating.

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We have really taken this approach to

staff can interact together. We then

We now have a visual record in one piece

heart. Our current brand campaign is

facilitate our customers sharing the

of art of the collective stories and desires

based on the insight that ‘stories begin

outputs through social media channels

of hundreds of customers. Each

here’, which started on TV, cinema and

with their friends and family. As an

individual story in the bigger picture has

YouTube with commercials based on

example, at Christmas we used a

the customer’s name. The piece has been

bringing the power of our destinations

professional artist to create a piece of art

photographed and shared on Instagram

alive through telling stories about them.

at St Pancras International that he drew

and Facebook thousands of times and is

This moved into its second phase where

by asking customers who had checked-in

a record of a fun journey and experience

customers are sharing their stories in

for their personal desires for Christmas.

with Eurostar.

pictures and videos so that we have added to the richness of the content. The third phase which we are now embarking on involves us creating a new set of advertisements and videos that use content provided to us by our customers, so we are communicating their stories for the benefit of new users. A service business’s content also needs to involve staff and their interactions with customers, as this is how true engagement occurs. We take events such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year to have real fun events in our terminals where customers and BACK TO CONTENTS

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Customer photo from Eurostar's 'Stories begin hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; campaign (London)

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CONTRIBUTORS

We’re very grateful to the following people for

Benjamin Zeidler, Director, Research & Analytics,

Barclays ‘Your Bank’:

their contributions to this ebook’s content:

Tenthwave

Sara Bennison, Managing Director, Marketing Communications, Barclays UK Retail Bank

Alison Knight, Founder, BCMA

INTRODUCTION

Carphone Warehouse ‘Smarter World’:

Michael Reeves, Business Development Director,

Chris Gorell Barnes, CEO, Adjust Your Set™

Red Bee Media

Claire Hunter, PR & Marketing Manager, Adjust Your Set

Unilever Dove ‘Real Beauty Sketches’:

Gareth Jones, Head of Online Marketing,

Anton Efimov, Managing Director, Fuse Russia

Suellen Barreto, Comunicação Corporativa,

Carphone Warehouse

Eric Schwamberger, Partner, Tenthwave

Ogilvy Brasil

Christopher Lockwood, Editorial & Publishing

Doug Scott, President, OgilvyEntertainment

Kimberly Bernhardt, Senior Vice President,

Director, Adjust Your Set

Edelman

Patrícia Weiss, SVP Strategic Consultant for

Ianthe McLeod, Executive Assistant to CEO,

Ricardo Honegger, Account Director, Ogilvy

Branded Content, Branded Entertainment and

Adjust Your Set

Brasil

Scott Donaton, Global Chief Content Oﬃcer, UM

Transmedia Storytelling at ASAS da Imaginação

CASE STUDIES Duck Tape ‘Race of Gentlemen’: Kate Daggett, Executive Creative Director, Tenthwave Jaime Hoerbelt, Social Media Director,

Stephane Orhan, Global Managing Partner,

Chivas Regal ‘MASHTUN’:

Ogilvy & Mather

Steve Ackerman, Managing Director, Somethin’

Anselmo Ramos, Creative Director, Ogilvy Brasil

Else

Leo Ryan, Group Head of Social@Ogilvy, London

Paul Bennun, Chief Creative Oﬃcer, Somethin’ Else

Intel+Toshiba ‘The Beauty Inside’:

Jez Nelson, CEO, Somethin’ Else

Molly Parsley, Director of Marketing and

James Slack, Global Brand Director, Chivas

Communications, Pereira & O'Dell

Tenthwave Oilers Car Club members Drew Rayman, Managing Partner, Tenthwave David Rodgers, Senior Digital Marketing Manager, ShurTech Brands Mel Stultz, Oilers Car Club and founder of the Race of Gentlemen

PJ Pereira, Chief Creative Oﬃcer, Pereira &

Terra ‘Penetras de Luxo’:

O'Dell

Patrícia Weiss, Chief Strategy Oﬃcer, Wanted Agency and SVP Strategic Consultant for

Metro Trains Melbourne ‘Dumb Ways to

Branded Content, Branded Entertainment and

Die’:

Transmedia Storytelling at ASAS da Imaginaçaõ

Lucy Holdsworth, Executive Assistant, McCann Melbourne BACK TO CONTENTS

John Mescall, Executive Creative Director,

PepsiCo Lyubimy ‘Natural Love’:

Louise Tullin, Marketing and Communications

McCann Melbourne

Anton Efimov, Managing Director, Fuse Russia

Director, EMEA, Unruly

Adrian Mills, Group Account Director, Clemenger

Ilya Rozhkov, Client Service Director, Fuse

David Waterhouse, Global Head of Content and

BBDO Melbourne

Russia

PR, Unruly

Unilever Hellmann’s ‘In Search of Real

‘Defining Branded Content for the Digital

Food’:

Age: Phase One Findings’:

Bobby Flay, celebrity chef; Executive Producer,

Bjoern Asmussen, Senior Lecturer in Marketing,

Rock Shrimp Productions

Oxford Brookes University Business School

Sarah Kostecki, OgilvyEntertainment

Andrew Butler, Oxford Brookes University

Brian Orlando, Senior Brand Manager,

Sarah Gale, Senior Director, Ipsos MORI, Media,

Hellmann's

Content and Technology Division

Lauren Rubinfeld, Manager, Group Marketing

Dr Nicolette Michels, Oxford Brookes University

Lachlan Wittick, Account Executive, McCann Melbourne

Unilever Surf TOWIE ‘Summer D’Reem’: Claire Heys, Director, Commercial Brand Partnerships, Brand Extension Team, ITV plc Adam Mitchell, Senior Sponsorship Activation Manager, Commercial and Online, ITV plc Katy Holder, Surf Brand Manager, Unilever

Sony Xperia ‘Vs The Northern Lights’:

and Communications, OgilvyEntertainment Lindsay Stransman, Communication Designer,

Simon Attwater, Group Creative Director,

OgilvyEntertainment

DigitasLBi

Doug Scott, President, OgilvyEntertainment

Mike Clear, Head of Branded Content, DigitasLBi Julia Conroy, PR & Marketing Director, UK, DigitasLBi

Volvo Trucks ‘The Epic Split’: Britta Malmberg, Account Manager, Forsman & Bodenfors

MARKET REPORTS Russia: Anton Efimov, Head of BCMA Russia; Managing

RESEARCH

Director, Fuse Russia

‘Stop Trying to Make Your Ads Go Viral:

Russia

Ilya Rozhkov, Client Service Director, Fuse

Top Tips for Video Success’: Dr. Karen Nelson-Field, Senior Research

Brazil:

Associate, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing

Daniel Bacchieri, Head of Content Development,

Cilla Pegelow, Account Manager, Forsman &

Science

Zeppelin Films

Bodenfors

Cat Jones, Director of Product and Innovation,

Claudia Colaferro, President, Latin America,

Anders Vilhelmsson, PR Manager, Volvo Trucks

Unruly

Dentsu Aegis Network Viviane Palladino Donnamaria, Abril BACK TO CONTENTS

151

Domênico Massareto, Chief Creative Oﬃcer,

Idil Cakim, analyst and author of Implementing

Morgan Holt, Chairman at the BCMA (UK)

Agency ID/TBWA Brazil

Word of Mouth (USA)

Melissa Hopkins, Global Head of Brand

André Pedroso, Creative Director, Publicis Red

Andrew Canter, CEO, BCMA (UK)

MarComms at Vodafone (UK)

Lion

Dave Chaﬀey, CEO, Smart Insights (UK)

Katy Howell, CEO, immediate future (UK)

Rodrigo Figueroa Reyes, Founder & CEO, FiRe

Tony Chow, Media Consultant and Chief

Jason Hughes, Head of Branded Content &

Advertainment

Storyteller at What’s your Story Inc (Singapore)

Product Placement, Sky MEDIA (UK)

Patrícia Weiss, Chairman & Founder, BCMA

Chris Clarke, Chief Creative Oﬃcer, at DigitasLBi

Stan Joseph, CEO, Ochre Moving Pictures

South America; Chief Strategy Oﬃcer, Wanted

(UK)

(South Africa)

Agency; and SVP Strategic Consultant for

Minter Dial, Professional Speaker, Consultant &

Doug Kessler, Founder, Velocity Partners (UK)

Branded Content, Branded Entertainment and

Coach and Brand & Digital Marketing Strategist

Transmedia Storytelling at ASAS da Imaginaçaõ

James Kirkham, Global Head: Social & Mobile at

(France/UK)

Leo Burnett (UK)

Scott Donaton, Chief Content Oﬃcer, UM (USA)

Charlene Li, co-author of the bestseller

Sarah Farrugia, Thinker, Strategist, Progressive

Groundswell, author of the New York Times

at Sarah Farrugia & Company (UK)

bestseller Open Leadership, and Founder of

Tim Foley, MD, pointlogic (UK)

Altimeter Group (USA)

Sandra Freisinger-Heinl, Journalist at Branded

Leo Liang, Senior Director of National Business

Entertainment Online (BEO) and Managing

Development, Youku Tudou Inc (China)

Director at MA Media Agency (Germany)

John McDermott, Author, Digiday (USA)

Max Garner, Managing Partner at Aegis Media

Sean McKeown, Commercial Director, Mumbrella

(UK)

Asia (Singapore)

Samantha Glynne, Managing Partner at Publicis

Doug Neisser, Founder & CEO at Renegade

Entertainment (UK)

(USA)

Jan Godsk, Founder Ideatakeaway and

Karen Pearson, CEO and Founder of Folded

Chairman, BCMA Scandinavia (Denmark)

Wing (UK)

Graham Goodkind, Founder, Frank PR (UK)

PJ Pereira, Chief Creative Oﬃcer, Pereira &

Chris Gorell Barnes, CEO, Adjust Your Set™

O'Dell (USA)

(UK)

Gretchen Ramsey, VP, Strategy at Tenthwave

Uroš Goričan, Creative director at Publicis

(USA)

EXPERT PREDICTIONS REPORT The Future of Branded Content Marketing Steve Ackerman, Managing Director, Somethin' Else (UK) Bjoern Asmussen, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Oxford Brookes University (UK) Paul Bay, Founder, Citizenbay Robert Bean, Founder, Robert Bean Branding (UK) David Berkowitz, Chief Marketing Oﬃcer, MRY (USA) Daniel Bô, CEO and founder of QualiQuanti, and author of Brand Content, and Brand Culture (France)

Slovenija (Slovenia) BACK TO CONTENTS

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Drew Rayman, Managing Parter, Tenthwave

Patricia Weiss, CSO, Wanted Agency; SVP

(USA)

Strategic Consultant for Branded Content,

Crispin Reed, Managing Director, Fusion

Branded Entertainment and Transmedia

Learning ((UK))

Storytelling at ASAS da Imaginaçaõ (BRAZIL)

Michael Reeves, Business Development Director,

Mark Welland, Founder at New Media Works (UK)

Red Bee Media (UK)

Mark Wood, Partner at Krempelwood (UK)

Chantel Rickards, Head of Programming/

Sarah Wood, COO, Unruly (UK)

Branded Content EMEA at MEC (UK)

Barney Worfolk-Smith, Head of Creative

Sander Saar, Product Manager, AOL (UK)

Solutions, Unruly (UK)

Joanna Scarratt, Head of Brand Partnership at

Ian Wright, Managing Director at Tapestry

United Agents (UK)

Research (UK)

Eric Schwamberger, Strategy Partner, Tenthwave

Mario Yiannacou, Media & Advertising Manager

(USA)

at ISBA (UK)

Doug Scott, President, OgilvyEntertainment (USA) Chris Sice, Managing Director at Blended Republic (UK)

Client View Nick Mercer, Commercial Director at Eurostar (UK)

Ryan Skinner, Senior Analyst - Content Marketing, Forrester Research (UK) Chris Smith, Business development director at Romelle Swire (UK) Stewart Thomson, ex-Research Director at Ipsos MORI, Media CT Division (UK) Jadis Tillery, Social Media Strategist and Speaker (UK) Stephen Waddington, CIPR President Elect, Director of Ketchum Europe and author of Brand Anarchy and #BrandVandals (UK) Kami Watson Huyse, CEO, Zoetica (USA)

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153

PRODUCERS

The BCMA

Digital Media Communications Ltd (DMC)

New Media Works

Launched in 2003, the Branded Content

Founded in 1994, when the Internet was

Former AKQA creative head and co-

Marketing Association (BCMA) is the

just emerging into the mainstream, DMC

founder Mark Welland established New

global trade body for branded content,

is a highly experienced digital marketing

Media Works in 1998. He has over 20

with members throughout Europe,

communications consultancy that

years of interactive design experience,

Australia, Asia/Pacific, Scandinavia,

specialises in using collaborative and

including the creation of ebooks and

South America, Russia and North

social marketing approaches. Co-

apps for local and global brands and e-

America.

founders Justin Kirby and Greta

learning organisations. Mark is

MacFarlane are responsible for the

responsible for the creative development,

strategic planning, project management,

design and production of this series of

editing, publishing and promotion of this

ebooks.

It brings together and benefits a broad spectrum of content creators and owners, including organisations from the advertising, brand development,

series of ebooks.

sponsorship, media, broadcasting, digital, social media, programming and entertainment industries. The BCMA strives to promote best practice, shared learning and grow the branded content market to a wider audience.

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FEEDBACK

Send Us Your Feedback We’re keen to learn what you think about the ideas and projects presented in this book, in particular your views about the future of branded content marketing: •

Where did the Expert Predictions Report hit the mark?

•

What goes against your own experience?

•

Have you spotted any other trends?

Please let us know what you think by emailing justin@afluxtstate.com. Your feedback will help inform our thinking and shape the next edition of the ‘Best of Branded Content Marketing’. If you'd like to submit your own case study to the BCMA for possible use in future editions of this ebook series, please email the BCMA's CEO, Andrew Canter.

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