Hollywood actor James Stewart once said, “Never treat your audience as customers, always as partners”. He didn’t work in marketing, but his statement neatly encapsulates the basic principle of good branded content. Someone else who did work in advertising, David Ogilvy, took the opposite view, “I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form,” he once proclaimed, “but as a medium of information.”
Historically, Ogilvy has a point. Branded content in its current form is a relatively new phenomenon. Branded content as Ogilvy would have understood the term traced its roots back to the hackneyed “soap opera” serials produced by P&G or Colgate-Palmolive that filled the radio and television schedules in the early to mid-20th century. As far back as the 30s, housewives of Chicago could listen to the weekly washing powder-related exploits of “Clara, Lu and Em” courtesy of Super Suds detergent. No wonder David Ogilvy wasn’t a fan.
Branded content came of age in 2001, when widespread internet access created a new global audience that could be reached for a fraction of the cost of traditional broadcast media. BMW led the way with “The Hire”, a series of films featuring Hollywood A-list talent in short promos that used subtle branding and zero ad-copy. Online platforms and digital interactive technology have opened up new creative opportunities for brands, as they move from “interrupters” of broadcaster’s content to “creators” of their own.
Branded content should not be confused with sponsorship. BC implies creative involvement on the part of the brand, where as sponsorship effectively writes a cheque for a finished concept or product. The key to effective branded content is find that hook which engages the consumer, and invites them to buy into a brand's values - a mutually rewarding relationship for both parties.
Perhaps Jimmy Stewart should have got into advertising.
(Image courtesy of Ricardo Diaz on Flickr)