Branded Content

Branded Content is a form of advertising, which gives the viewer attractive entertainment or educational content (for example, a video) and promotes the brand in the background in a non-intrusive and natural way. Therefore there is no need to impose the client with direct encouragement to buy a product or a service. At the same time, the recipient gets a concrete value, and the advertising effect is created, among other things, through his satisfaction with the content he has just seen.

If you want to effectively reach your audience, while satisfying their needs and building natural trust towards your brand – then Branded Content will be a great solution.

Types of Branded Content

Branded Content is about good content first, and attribution to a specific brand second. Thus, it can take any form:

written: articles, reports, guides, posts on other blogs or social media;
video: commercials, online or TV shows, or even miniseries;
graphic: infographics, posters, or even memes;
audio: podcasts, radio shows, interviews;
other: apps, games.

Branded content is no longer just an advertisement, but an artistic work that lives a life of its own. Such ventures are remembered for a long time.

Where can Branded Content be used?

Although this type of advertising campaign is most often carried out on the Internet, Branded Content can actually be used anywhere: in the press, on the radio, on television, in public spaces or at events.

Depending on the place, of course, the appropriate form and content of the campaign can be adjusted. At a time when there is so much advertising on the Internet, creativity and quality are what can make a brand stand out from the competition – so unconventional solutions are welcome here. Of course, we know that the choice of the form and nature of branded content largely depends on the target group and its preferences – so we do not forcefully create something that will be creative, but ineffective for your audience.

At the same time, it is worth knowing that good and effective Branded Content is often shared on social media and in private messages between Internet users. As a result, they promote the brand long after the advertisement is published.

What benefits does Branded Content bring to a brand?

Builds positive associations with the brand

When a viewer sees a lot of ads with similar offerings, the choice is determined by factors other than price or product selection. These can be positive associations, curiosity, attractiveness of the message, trust towards the brand or the story behind it. Educational, lifestyle or entertainment content builds brand image beyond the offer itself.

It is a good way to address banner blindness

Branded content helps reach those audiences who bypass and block ads. Many of them, at the mere sight of brand logos or overtly branded materials, “switch off” and stop registering the content of the ad – no matter how refined it might be. To reach these audiences, you need to look for out-of-the-box solutions.

Branded content does a great job at this.

Creates a long-term relationship between the brand and the audience

Quality content and tailored to the recipients give them satisfaction and arouses their curiosity. This makes them want to get to know the creator better. If viewers find an interesting topic on a brand’s social media profile, they will stay there longer and will regularly check the profile for updates. This way viewers get involved in brand’s life and become attached to it.

It is natural, unobtrusive and credible

The strength of Branded Content is the naturalness of the message. Its form and premise are completely unlike traditional advertising, which puts the brand at the center of the message. In Branded Content, it is the recipient and his needs that come first, while the brand appears in the background and briefly. The recipient quickly notices this and takes a natural, unforced interest in the content, and the brand gains his trust, credibility, and positive opinion.

It fulfills the recipient’s needs

This is also because Branded Content fulfills the recipient’s needs first, not sales goals – it only does this when the recipient trusts the brand and engages with it.

Recipients may have different goals: satisfying curiosity about a topic, gaining knowledge, learning something new, relaxing, wanting to experience something fun, surprising, or evoking other feelings.

It gives the viewers the feeling that they are the ones making the decision to buy

Branded Content works quite the opposite of traditional advertising: it does not contain strong and unambiguous sales messages, but only arouses the curiosity of the viewer. He or she can also turn off the video at any time, stop reading an article or listening to a podcast. This gives the recipient the feeling that it is up to him to decide whether he or she will be interested in the offer and buy the product. It is therefore a good way to reach people who are reluctant to respond to other types of advertising.

Builds context around the brand

Branded Content also builds natural product context and brand personality. It assigns them to the correct categories, emotions, image and anchors them in the recipient’s memory. A brand that has clear associations and character is recalled much faster than brands around which the recipient does not have clear associations and images built.

How does our Branded Content work?

The Branded Content we create works in such a way that the recipients do not feel like they are being presented with an advertisement. Instead, we tailor the content to their interests and the purpose for which they are reading or viewing it. In a word: we provide them with what they would like to read.

As a result, the viewers are keenly interested in the content and want to find out for themselves who the author is and to learn about you and your offer. They don’t need to be persuaded to use it or to explore the content further, because they are engaged in discovering it.

Good Branded Content doesn’t epitomize the brand name but presents the recipient with the product in the context, setting and use for which it was created. It also builds authentic emotions and a story around the product and brand.

With such a campaign, we pursue the goals of the brand’s long-term strategy. While doing so, we do not forget about the needs of the recipients and establishing a bond between them and the brand, so that after the purchase they continue to engage with the brand.

If you want your brand’s advertising campaign to look like this, contact us.

FAQ

Branded Content vs. Content Marketing

At first glance, the difference between Content Marketing and Branded Content may be barely perceptible. However, they have different goals, a different nature and flow, which is why we use these strategies in different situations and depending on what we need to achieve with them.

In Content Marketing, a brand creates content to generate interest around it and build an image as an expert in the industry. All activities are overt, and the brand is directly identified as the initiator and author of the content. Content marketing, as a rule, does not go beyond the brand’s own media: the website, the company blog, the brand’s YouTube channel and other places that belong to the brand.

Branded content works a little differently – first, it does not aim to build an expert image (although such an effect is not excluded), but to present the brand or product in its natural environment and context. It is supposed to do this in such a way as to arouse the interest of the recipient. Branded Content is also published outside the brand’s own media, and the brand is marked in this type of content much more subtly and unobtrusively than in content marketing.

If you think content marketing will be a better solution for your brand – look at our offer to create content marketing campaigns. If you are not sure – write to us and we will find the best solution for your needs!

Usually, the brand is mentioned in the content. The whole art, however, is to do it unobtrusively and in such a way that it “blends in” with the ad and is a natural part of it, without demolishing its narrative.

A brand can be branded in a campaign in several ways:

Product placement

Placement is when a product or brand name appears in the content, but in a natural context and use. For example, it can illustrate a certain issue or simply be shown in the background, without going into the main storyline. This way it will not be overexposed but will still be remembered.

Affiliate program

Under an affiliate program, a brand’s content is published in the media of a brand from the same or similar industry. Counter-intuitively, this is mutually beneficial: the brand providing the content gains an image of being open to cooperation and can receive material gratification (e.g. a commission on purchases generated from redirected customers, or simply a fixed fee for providing content). The ideal situation is when affiliate content is published on the sites of brands whose offerings do not compete with each other but complement each other.

Originated Content

This is completely original content, and the brand is presented as its creator. For this reason, this variant gives a very high degree of freedom when it comes to advertising content, as there is no longer a need for product placement or redirection to the brand’s website. However, there is no rule – a brand’s product can appear in the originated content, and the material can be placed in another brand’s media on a partnership basis. We determine all these elements during the creation of the campaign.

Branded Content strategy

The Branded Content campaigns we create, like other marketing activities, will implement the planned strategy – that is, the brand’s communication and business objective.

Audience education

These are, for example, tutorial content about the products on offer, from which customers will learn how to get the most out of the product and what can be done with it.

Broadening the target audience

Branded content is a good solution when you want to get a bunch of new people potentially interested in a brand or its offerings, but you don’t want to do it in the most obvious way. Using this form of advertising among people interested in a particular topic makes it easier to create the feeling that they have discovered our brand on their own.

Changing or improving the brand image

If you want to change a brand’s image partially or completely, then with Branded Content we can help you do it in a natural and smooth way – and the resulting content will build positive associations with its new look. It is also a good way to rebuild or improve brand associations after an image crisis.

Communicate the launch of a new product

With the help of Branded Content, we will help you subtly inform the brand’s current or potential customers about the arrival of a new product in its offer. This will help you avoid doing it with obvious, intrusive, and imposing advertising or loud and ostentatious promotional campaigns.

Increase brand awareness in the target group

Do you feel that your brand’s target audience is only vaguely familiar with your brand, and conversions could be higher? We will compose a campaign to activate this part of the audience and engage them with the brand.

Selling the product

Branded content, like other marketing content, contributes to sales. However, it can do so in a more open way and encourage purchases in the content itself – still with a sense of taste and without pushiness, of course, giving the customer the feeling that he or she is the one making the purchase decision.

Increase traffic to the website, store or social media profile

If a brand’s website, store, or social media profiles are seeing a high flow of people, but not translating into engagement with the brand – with the help of branded content we can change that. Content that is high quality and addresses the audience directly, or addresses a topic that is important to them, can generate lively discussion on the profile and encourage people to respond to and comment on posts.

Advertising video

The videos can have any content – but it’s important to meet the basic condition of the Branded Content strategy, that is, not to create a story about the brand, but to ensure that the viewer’s needs are met. They also can’t be overt advertising – this is the art of advertising without talking directly about what it advertises. Branded content videos can be created with viral marketing on the Internet in mind – they then have a chance to get many shares on social media.

Podcast – an interview with an expert or influencer from your industry

One form of Branded Content can be to interview a brand representative in a podcast that is well-known for your industry. This is a great opportunity to present the brand in a “human” way and talk about it or clarify doubts that may arise in the audience.

Article in the press

Despite appearances, the printed press is doing well all the time, and if the brand’s target audience reads it, it can be a good idea to publish an article in it. It can be either an interview, an expert statement, or an article on an issue that will be illustrated with an example product – your brand, of course.

App or game

If your brand’s target audience often uses smartphones or tablets, it may be a good idea to write an app with your product as the protagonist. In this way, Branded Content will provide your audience with entertainment while exposing them to your product in a natural and enjoyable way.

Collaboration with influencers

We can also create Branded Content of a brand in the form of collaboration with an influencer from the same industry. Much depends on both the nature of the brand and product, as well as the target audience and the content published by the influencer himself. We can work with influencers from many industries and with different audience sizes. So, if this form is the best solution for the brand, we will arrange a collaboration with the perfect influencer for the brand.