In part two of our branded content feature we interview two experts in the field - DigForFire Founder/ Exec Producer Natalie Johns and Head of Stink Digital Mark Pytlik to see what they had to say on the matter.
REEL - Why do you think that branded content / shorts etc. are more relevant or more common now than they were 5 years ago?
MP - It's mostly because consumers now have a degree of control over how they receive their content, which has forced traditional advertising to adjust. This has levelled the playing field a bit -- it's no longer good enough to make advertising that's nice enough as far as ads go. The new benchmark is brand-led content that's every bit as entertaining as a music video, a television program, a film or a video game because it's competing with all of those things for consumers' attention.
NJ - The advancement of technology kick-started demand for content. Sophisticated platforms and dynamic delivery methods, as well as access to broadband allows you to watch what you want, when you want it and quite simply, now that we can take 5 mins out to view a clip that was recommended without waiting ages for it to stream or stop-starting, its just more accessible.
It’s not only a simple way to consume our news, information and entertainment but with so much more available these days, it’s the easiest way to get the bite sized chunks that our schedules allow. The ability to share or recommend something you liked watching propels content circulation. What you watch is another extension of taste.
With an understanding of all of this, brands realize that creation of content is a more effective way to reach a targeted demographic with measurable results via easily accessible audited viewership data.
REEL - The idea of big directors working on a piece of branded film / content would have been considered crass and no go area a few years ago. Why the change?
MP - I don't know if I agree with you! BMW Films came out in 2001, and consumers responded positively to it because the branding was subtle in relation to the spend. I think then, as now, the whole crassness issue is in direct proportion to how salesy the content is; maybe you notice a change because clients have increasingly learned how to make content that has a lighter touch.
NJ - There is a lot more freedom with content online – we are still able to push the boundaries both creatively and editorially. There is room for big ideas with content and even the big directors want to have a bit of fun with it. Its not that its not serious business, it’s just less formulaic and more expressive. There is a lot to be said for being able to truly interact and engage with your audience online. There is an open dialogue with audiences online that does not exist on other platforms/distribution channels and this dialogue is intriguing.
REEL - Do you think that directors are now more savvy and more open to the concept of branded content?
NJ - Yes, I think they are – but then everyone who makes a living with the moving image these days is. The directors who understand their audience online, the ones that are part of the culture they cater to, offer a really unique experience with branded content.
MP - Yeah -- I think this generation of artists is generally more open to subsidization from brands; I also think there's a whole subset of directors who want to work with brands but not necessarily on traditional 30 second ads.
REEL - Is it the other way? Is it that brands / clients themselves have become more savvy and open minded about how the public perceives them?
MP - Well, it's both. Cue all the cliches about brands needing to be more 'conversational', etc. There's still a disconnect between what brands say they want to achieve and what they actually achieve, but that's because we're in the middle of an idealogical changeover that's probably going to need a lot more time to resolve itself. A lot of bad messaging is just the result of tension between what the brand thinks it should be doing and what has worked for it in the past.
NJ - Certain brands always seem to be in touch and concerned with how the public perceives them, but generally, the increase in branded content online is reacting to research, statistics and a new understanding of how content is consumed online. The idea of branded programming in general is not new. What’s new is merely the change in format (from TV to web & mobile) and the increase in output to meet the demand.
REEL - Do you think that the less a brand has to do with its work, or rather the braver they are with the director, the stronger the outcome?
MP - Depends on your definition of 'stronger'; if we're talking strictly creatively, then, generally, yes. It's certainly easier for a brand to cut through with work that enjoys more freedom than your average ad, anyway; people tend to talk about things that are different.
NJ - Dig For Fire just completed a project with Coca-Cola which was a great working example of being given a task, but really being chosen as a trusted filmmaker and being left to lead on the artistic front. I believe the project was the first of its kind for Coca-Cola. The brief from Coca-Cola was to tell the story, as we viewed it, of the Corporate Social Responsibility work that the company is doing in Tanzania, set against the culture of music in the country. Dig For Fire was offered access to the various initiatives The Coca Cola Africa foundation is involved in, but completely left to choose the music, editorial and creative approach to the end product. We were also able to invite filmmaker friend Vincent Moon (of internet fame, Le Blogotheque, Take Away Shows) to participate in the project. Everything, down to the duration of the content and how it was presented online was open to discussion and we took the lead with direction throughout. Coca-Cola asked us to work with their interactive marketing agency Mediatronica to ensure the content was distributed across the platform to reach a global audience and to ensure that they would have the analytics to accurately assess the success of the concept. The content is almost void of branding, and at no point were we pushed into editorial changes. It made for a very honest and engaging series of films which we hope will be seen by more than two million people around the world.
REEL - Do Directors now have to have more skills to work on a branded content piece?
NJ - Directors have more access to information. In my opinion, its more about being a filter for that information, building a reputation and becoming a trusted source. Asking a director who creates commercials to create a piece for the internet is just creating a long advert. You can smell it a mile off.
REEL - Is the director as the auteur affected by this process? i.e. A branded short will obviously have input from the brand in a way that a standard short or feature would not – as brands are more protective over their interests than a standard financier.
NJ - Well, the truth is, a financier would have some say over the script and the cast – it really varies. But it comes down to reputation and trust with a director. There will always be some compromise from both the director and the brand, but with experience, respect and a willingness to understand each others perspective, a happy medium can normally be reached.
REEL - Do you think this is a trend that will continue? Do you think commercial television / moving image will lean more towards branded content in the future?
NJ - Yes, definitely. Audiences or “consumers” have not depleted, they have just changed their habits. Brands understand that mass marketing is no longer effective, and the consumers that they are trying to reach now belong to communities and networks. Branded content is a way to tailor communication to reach niche audiences.
MP - Oh hell yes. There's no doubt.
REEL - Why do you think that branded content / shorts etc. are more relevant or more common now than they were 5 years ago?
MP - It's mostly because consumers now have a degree of control over how they receive their content, which has forced traditional advertising to adjust. This has levelled the playing field a bit -- it's no longer good enough to make advertising that's nice enough as far as ads go. The new benchmark is brand-led content that's every bit as entertaining as a music video, a television program, a film or a video game because it's competing with all of those things for consumers' attention.
NJ - The advancement of technology kick-started demand for content. Sophisticated platforms and dynamic delivery methods, as well as access to broadband allows you to watch what you want, when you want it and quite simply, now that we can take 5 mins out to view a clip that was recommended without waiting ages for it to stream or stop-starting, its just more accessible.
It’s not only a simple way to consume our news, information and entertainment but with so much more available these days, it’s the easiest way to get the bite sized chunks that our schedules allow. The ability to share or recommend something you liked watching propels content circulation. What you watch is another extension of taste.
With an understanding of all of this, brands realize that creation of content is a more effective way to reach a targeted demographic with measurable results via easily accessible audited viewership data.
REEL - The idea of big directors working on a piece of branded film / content would have been considered crass and no go area a few years ago. Why the change?
MP - I don't know if I agree with you! BMW Films came out in 2001, and consumers responded positively to it because the branding was subtle in relation to the spend. I think then, as now, the whole crassness issue is in direct proportion to how salesy the content is; maybe you notice a change because clients have increasingly learned how to make content that has a lighter touch.
NJ - There is a lot more freedom with content online – we are still able to push the boundaries both creatively and editorially. There is room for big ideas with content and even the big directors want to have a bit of fun with it. Its not that its not serious business, it’s just less formulaic and more expressive. There is a lot to be said for being able to truly interact and engage with your audience online. There is an open dialogue with audiences online that does not exist on other platforms/distribution channels and this dialogue is intriguing.
REEL - Do you think that directors are now more savvy and more open to the concept of branded content?
NJ - Yes, I think they are – but then everyone who makes a living with the moving image these days is. The directors who understand their audience online, the ones that are part of the culture they cater to, offer a really unique experience with branded content.
MP - Yeah -- I think this generation of artists is generally more open to subsidization from brands; I also think there's a whole subset of directors who want to work with brands but not necessarily on traditional 30 second ads.
REEL - Is it the other way? Is it that brands / clients themselves have become more savvy and open minded about how the public perceives them?
MP - Well, it's both. Cue all the cliches about brands needing to be more 'conversational', etc. There's still a disconnect between what brands say they want to achieve and what they actually achieve, but that's because we're in the middle of an idealogical changeover that's probably going to need a lot more time to resolve itself. A lot of bad messaging is just the result of tension between what the brand thinks it should be doing and what has worked for it in the past.
NJ - Certain brands always seem to be in touch and concerned with how the public perceives them, but generally, the increase in branded content online is reacting to research, statistics and a new understanding of how content is consumed online. The idea of branded programming in general is not new. What’s new is merely the change in format (from TV to web & mobile) and the increase in output to meet the demand.
REEL - Do you think that the less a brand has to do with its work, or rather the braver they are with the director, the stronger the outcome?
MP - Depends on your definition of 'stronger'; if we're talking strictly creatively, then, generally, yes. It's certainly easier for a brand to cut through with work that enjoys more freedom than your average ad, anyway; people tend to talk about things that are different.
NJ - Dig For Fire just completed a project with Coca-Cola which was a great working example of being given a task, but really being chosen as a trusted filmmaker and being left to lead on the artistic front. I believe the project was the first of its kind for Coca-Cola. The brief from Coca-Cola was to tell the story, as we viewed it, of the Corporate Social Responsibility work that the company is doing in Tanzania, set against the culture of music in the country. Dig For Fire was offered access to the various initiatives The Coca Cola Africa foundation is involved in, but completely left to choose the music, editorial and creative approach to the end product. We were also able to invite filmmaker friend Vincent Moon (of internet fame, Le Blogotheque, Take Away Shows) to participate in the project. Everything, down to the duration of the content and how it was presented online was open to discussion and we took the lead with direction throughout. Coca-Cola asked us to work with their interactive marketing agency Mediatronica to ensure the content was distributed across the platform to reach a global audience and to ensure that they would have the analytics to accurately assess the success of the concept. The content is almost void of branding, and at no point were we pushed into editorial changes. It made for a very honest and engaging series of films which we hope will be seen by more than two million people around the world.
REEL - Do Directors now have to have more skills to work on a branded content piece?
NJ - Directors have more access to information. In my opinion, its more about being a filter for that information, building a reputation and becoming a trusted source. Asking a director who creates commercials to create a piece for the internet is just creating a long advert. You can smell it a mile off.
REEL - Is the director as the auteur affected by this process? i.e. A branded short will obviously have input from the brand in a way that a standard short or feature would not – as brands are more protective over their interests than a standard financier.
NJ - Well, the truth is, a financier would have some say over the script and the cast – it really varies. But it comes down to reputation and trust with a director. There will always be some compromise from both the director and the brand, but with experience, respect and a willingness to understand each others perspective, a happy medium can normally be reached.
REEL - Do you think this is a trend that will continue? Do you think commercial television / moving image will lean more towards branded content in the future?
NJ - Yes, definitely. Audiences or “consumers” have not depleted, they have just changed their habits. Brands understand that mass marketing is no longer effective, and the consumers that they are trying to reach now belong to communities and networks. Branded content is a way to tailor communication to reach niche audiences.
MP - Oh hell yes. There's no doubt.
