In marketing, branded content (also known as branded entertainment) is content produced by an advertiser or content whose creation was funded by an advertiser. In contrast to content marketing (in which content is presented first and foremost as a marketing ploy for a brand) [1] and product placement (where advertisers pay to have references to their brands incorporated into outside creative works, such as films and television series), branded content is designed to build awareness for a brand by associating it with content that shares its values. The content does not necessarily need to be a promotion for the brand, although it may still include product placement.
Unlike conventional forms of editorial content, branded content is generally funded entirely by a brand or corporation rather than a studio or a group of solely artistic producers. Examples of branded content have appeared in television, film, online content, video games, events, and other installations. Modern branded marketing strategies are intended primarily to counter market trends, such as the decreasing acceptance of traditional commercials or low-quality advertorials. [2] [3]
The concept of branded content dates back to the early era of broadcasting; many early radio and television programs were controlled by their sponsors and branded with their names, including the Colgate Comedy Hour , Hallmark Hall of Fame , and Westinghouse Studio One . Typically, the sponsor coordinated the entire production of the program, with the broadcaster only providing studios and airtime. These programs featured segments that promoted the sponsor's products, typically featuring the brand's spokesperson and demonstrations of new products. Notable spokespeople often became celebrities in their own right, such as Betty Furness, a B-movie actress whose fame was elevated after becoming a spokesperson for Westinghouse appliances on Studio One (Furness would later work as a consumer affairs reporter for WNBC-TV in New York City). [4] [5]
Many melodramatic serial dramas targeting women, such as As the World Turns , were produced by the consumer goods company Procter & Gamble; about its products, this prompted the genre as a whole to be dubbed a "soap opera". [6] The Revlon cosmetics company gained significant prominence after sponsoring the quiz show The $64,000 Question —which was, for a time, the most-watched program on U.S. television. [4] In 1956, the Ford Motor Company's new marque Edsel sponsored a CBS variety special, The Edsel Show , which starred Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Hope. The special was a critical success and widely viewed, [7] [8] but its success did not transfer to Edsel itself, however, which was a high-profile commercial failure. [7] [8] By request of Crosby, the special was credited as a production of his alma mater Gonzaga University, with its revenues helping to fund the construction of a new campus library. [9] [10]
In the late 1950s, the quiz show scandals exposed that several major television game shows had been manipulated, or outright rigged under demand of their sponsors, in order to maintain viewer interest and ratings. Dotto and Twenty One were at the center of the scandal, with both shows having been accused of presenting matches with pre-determined outcomes as if they were legitimate. Testimony by a producer of The $64,000 Question revealed that Revlon founder Charles Revson had personally exerted control over the program in order to favor specific contestants. The aftermath of the scandals, as well as increasing production costs due to factors such as the rollout of color television, prompted networks to begin asserting creative control over the production and scheduling of their programming. Broadcasters also phased out of the "single sponsor" model, in favor of having sponsors purchase blocks of time during breaks in a program to run commercials instead. [11] [12] [13] [14]
Conventional product placement and cross-promotion still appeared in films and television, but it was often argued that overuse of placements can distract from the entertainment value of the work. The film Mac and Me was widely criticized for containing extensive placements of Coca-Cola and McDonald's as major plot elements (going as far as crediting the chain's mascot Ronald McDonald as appearing in the film "as himself"). [15] [16] [17] Hallmark Hall of Fame still occasionally aired on broadcast TV until 2014, when it was announced that the franchise would move to Hallmark's co-owned cable channel Hallmark Channel in the future. [18]
After releasing its hockey-themed film The Mighty Ducks , Disney established a National Hockey League expansion team known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, which was named in reference to the film. Disney subsequently produced two Mighty Ducks film sequels, and an animated series inspired by the team set and in a fictional version of Anaheim. The films and cartoon series also featured cameos by Mighty Ducks players. These works bolstered the Mighty Ducks' brand, and created synergies between the team and Disney's core entertainment business. The NHL felt that the Mighty Ducks cartoon could help to promote the game of hockey among a younger audience, and counter the stereotype of hockey being associated with Canada and the U.S. Northeast. The team's merchandise, which was sold at Disney Parks and Disney Store locations in addition to the NHL's main retail channels, was the best-selling among all teams for a period. [19] [20]
In 2001, automaker BMW began a marketing campaign entitled The Hire , in which it produced a series of short films that prominently featured its vehicles, staffed by prominent directors (such as Guy Ritchie) and talent. The films were advertised through television, print, and online marketing which directed viewers to a BMW Films website, where they could stream the films, and access ancillary information such as information about their featured vehicles. BMW also distributed the films on DVD with Vanity Fair magazine to increase their distribution among the company's target audience. By the end of the campaign in 2005, the eight-film series had amassed over 100 million views, and several of the films had received both advertising-related and short film awards. [21] [22]
In 2010, Procter & Gamble and Walmart began to fund a series of made for TV films, distributed through the former's Procter & Gamble Productions division, such as The Jensen Project and Secrets of the Mountain . They were all targeted towards family viewing, aired primarily on NBC as time-buys, and featured product placement for P&G brands and Walmart's store brand Great Value. In turn, Walmart erected promotional displays of P&G products related to each film, and sold the films on DVD immediately after their broadcast. Both companies used exclusive advertising time during the films to promote their products. P&G reported that the favorability of the products featured in Secrets of the Mountain increased by 26% among mothers who saw the film. Advertising Age felt that despite lukewarm reception and viewership, "as case studies for successful branded entertainment, they've become the holy grail of how networks and marketers can use entertainment to achieve scalable audiences, measurable product sales and active fan communities." [23] [24] [25]
The Canadian beer brand Kokanee (owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev) partnered with its agency Grip and Alliance Films to produce The Movie Out Here , a feature-length comedy film set in the brand's home province of British Columbia. The film was released in April 2013, after being featured at the 2012 Whistler Film Festival. Kokanee beer, along with characters from its past advertising campaigns, make appearances in the film, and an accompanying campaign allowed bars in Western Canada to compete to be a filming location, and users to vote on the film's soundtrack and have a chance to be listed as a "fan" in the credits. Grip's creative director Randy Stein stated that viewers had become more accepting of branded content, and that there would be a larger focus on the emotional aspects of Kokanee as a brand as opposed to the number of placements. [26] [27] [28] In 2018, Pepsi similarly backed the comedy film Uncle Drew —a feature comedy adapted from a character from a Pepsi Max ad campaign. [29]
The energy drink company Red Bull has relied heavily on branded content as part of its marketing strategies. The company operates several Media House studios, which coordinate the production and distribution of original content targeted towards the interests of young adults—particularly music and extreme sports. Alongside digital media content such as online video (via platforms such as Red Bull TV), and print media such as The Red Bulletin , Red Bull has also organized events and sports competitions which carry its name, such as the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, Crashed Ice, and Flugtag competitions, music festivals and events, and a skydive from the Earth's stratosphere by Felix Baumgartner. These ventures are consistent with the company's image, bolster Red Bull as being a lifestyle brand in these categories, and build awareness of Red Bull without necessarily promoting the product itself. An executive for Red Bull Media House North America remarked that the growth of digital media platforms had made it easier for brands to produce and distribute their own content, and stressed that branded content was most effective when it is "authentic" and high-quality. [30] [31] [32]
In 2019, the housing rentals service Airbnb premiered a self-produced documentary— Gay Chorus Deep South —at the Tribeca Film Festival, which documented a 2017 tour of the Southeastern United States by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. The company's head of creative James Goode stated that the film was consistent with the company's values of "telling stories of belonging and acceptance", and its involvement and support in the LGBT community. Goode did not consider the film to be branded content, stating that it was an effort to "support the chorus and make the highest-quality piece of content we could." [33] [34]
Some branded content efforts have not been as successful. The association football (soccer) sanctioning body FIFA budgeted the 2014 film United Passions, a dramatization of the organization's history. The film was released to negative reviews, focusing primarily on its poor writing and self-serving nature, and with many considering it one of the worst films of all time. [35] [36] [37] The film's North American release also coincided with the indictment of FIFA officials by U.S. federal prosecutors under charges of corruption, leading critics to point out the irony in its depiction of FIFA president Sepp Blatter. [35] [36] [37] The film only took in $918 in the U.S. box office, making it the worst-grossing film of all-time. [38]
In 2003, the Branded Content Marketing Association was formed in order to promote branded content to a wider, international audience. In January 2008, the BCMA conducted a study intending to analyze the efficacy of branded content compared to traditional advertising. Reportedly, over one-third of people were skeptical about traditional ads, and only one-tenth trusted the companies producing such adverts. The study concluded that "in the overwhelming majority of cases consumers preferred the more innovative approach compared with traditional advertising". [39] Over 95% of the time, web sites that feature branded content were more successful than web sites featuring typical advertisements, and are 24% more effective at increasing the purchase intent of viewers. Branded content is most effective in the 18-34 age group, who tend to react with more positive opinions and being overall more responsive to branded sites. Online Publishers Association’s President Pam Horan concluded, “In nearly every category measured, ad effectiveness scores on branded content sites were numerically higher than on the web in general, on portals or on ad networks. [40]
These positive results, however, having come from an organization which endeavors to promote the marketing practice, are subject to criticisms of bias.
Webby and Lovie awards among other had recognized Branded Content as a category in prior instances, but most awards within the advertising community officially began to grow to include branded content in 2012, when "Branded Content/Entertainment" became a category at EuroBest, Dubai Lynx Spikes Asia and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of this is done by loaning products, especially when expensive items, such as vehicles, are involved. In 2021, the agreements between brand owners and films and television programs were worth more than US$20 billion.
Old Spice is an American brand of male grooming products encompassing aftershaves, deodorants and antiperspirants, shampoos, body washes, shaving cream, and soaps. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble.
Advertising in video games is the integration of advertising into video games to promote products, organizations, or viewpoints.
Pampers is an American brand for babies and toddlers products marketed by Procter & Gamble. This includes diapers, wipes and etc.
Kokanee is a North American lager-style beer produced at the Columbia Brewery in Creston, British Columbia. Columbia Brewery began brewing Kokanee lager in 1959 and was purchased by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1974.
America's Best Chew is an American brand of chewing tobacco introduced in 1904.
Advertiser-funded programming (AFP) is a recent term applied to a break away from the modern model of television funding in place since the early 1960s. Since that time, programmes have normally been funded by a broadcaster and they re-couped the money through selling advertising space around the content. This has worked fine for decades, but new technological advances have forced broadcasters and advertisers to re-think their relationship.
Ipana was a toothpaste manufactured by Bristol-Myers Company. The wintergreen-flavored toothpaste, with active ingredient 0.243% sodium fluoride, reached its peak market penetration during the 1950s in North America. Marketing of Ipana used a Disney-created mascot named Bucky Beaver in the 1950s.
Advertainment is a term used to reflect the intertwining relationships between advertising and entertainment. Typically it refers to media that combines various forms of entertainment with elements of advertising to promote products or brands. An example would be product placement in a film. The word is a portmanteau of advertising and entertainment.
Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing involving endorsements and product placement from influencers, people and organizations who have a purported expert level of knowledge or social influence in their field. Influencers are someone with the power to affect the buying habits or quantifiable actions of others by uploading some form of original—often sponsored—content to social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok or other online channels. Influencer marketing is when a brand enrolls influencers who have an established credibility and audience on social media platforms to discuss or mention the brand in a social media post. Influencer content may be framed as testimonial advertising.
Content marketing is a form of marketing focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience online. It is often used in order to achieve the following business goals: attract attention and generate leads, expand their customer base, generate or increase online sales, increase brand awareness or credibility, and engage an online community of users. Content marketing attracts new customers by creating and sharing valuable free content as well as by helping companies create sustainable brand loyalty, providing valuable information to consumers, and creating a willingness to purchase products from the company in the future.
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer health, personal care and hygiene products; these products are organized into several segments including beauty; grooming; health care; fabric and home care; and baby, feminine, and family care. Before the sale of Pringles and Duracell to Kellogg's and Berkshire Hathaway, respectively, its product portfolio also included food, snacks, beverages, and batteries. P&G is incorporated in Ohio.
Smell Like a Man, Man is a television advertising campaign in the United States created by ad agency Wieden+Kennedy for the Old Spice brand of male grooming products, owned by Procter & Gamble. The campaign is commonly referred to as The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, the title of the campaign's initial 30-second commercial. The campaign was launched to market Old Spice's Red Zone After Hours Body Wash, but was subsequently expanded to include other products, following its success. The campaign targets female viewers, despite the product's intended market being male, as the company determined that women frequently make purchasing decisions for hygiene products even for male household members.
John Barker is an American entrepreneur and advertising executive based in New York City, NY. He is the founder of 3 companies: integrated advertising and interactive agency Barker/DZP; branded entertainment firm The ACME Brand Content Company, and multi-platform digital content production company Digital Zen Productions.
The Jensen Project is the second in the Family Movie Night TV movies series produced by Procter & Gamble and Walmart aimed at families.
Secrets of the Mountain is the first TV film in Family Movie Night, a series of commercial made-for-TV movies produced by Procter & Gamble and Walmart aimed at families. Movies in the series feature embedded marketing of the producers' products. P&G Productions supposedly budgeted $4.5 million to make the TV film.
The United States food and beverage industry has increased the amount of advertising that intensively and aggressively targets children through multiple channels. Food marketers know that the youth consumers have equal if not more spending power than adults, they hold purchasing influence, and have the potential to be lifelong consumers. The advertisements for products predominantly high in sugar and fat have increased and have had an effect on the major health epidemic in the US of Childhood obesity, and as such are inconsistent with national dietary recommendations. Food advertisements have moved from the television into the classroom. Marketing companies are exploring new creative techniques to reach their target audience, young children, through promotions, contests, and incentive programs. As a result, the US has progressively been placing regulations on how much advertising is allowed during children's programming.
Native advertising, also called sponsored content, partner content, and branded journalism, is a type of paid advertising that appears in the style and format of the content near the advertisement's placement. It manifests as a post, image, video, article or editorial piece of content. In some cases, it functions like an advertorial. The word native refers to the coherence of the content with the other media that appear on the platform.
The Movie Out Here is a Canadian buddy comedy film. Premiering at the 2012 Whistler Film Festival, it began a limited run at theatres in Western Canada on March 1, 2013. The film was produced by Alliance Films and funded by Kokanee, a British Columbia-based brewery owned by the Labatt Brewing Company. The concept for the film was conceived by the staff of Grip Limited, an advertising agency who had worked on various campaigns for Kokanee in the past, and served as the first foray into branded content for both Grip and Labatt. Alongside traditional product placement, the film features appearances by popular characters from Kokanee's past advertising campaigns, and was the culmination of a multi-platform marketing campaign that was intended to encourage user engagement and crowdsourcing to help promote the film.
Family Movie Night was an umbrella series of made for TV films owned and sponsored by Procter & Gamble and Walmart. The companies were inserting product placements within the films. Flyover Studios, P&G Productions and Telenext Media Inc. were also involved producing the films. The films were aired via time buys and developed as back door pilots but none had gone to series.