Future of Branded Content is bright
The massive increase in attendance at this year’s Australian Grand Prix has been attributed to the success of a branded entertainment program.
Content Industry leaders, including several television industry heavyweights, heard at a Melbourne function discussing the future of branded content, that the “Drive to Survive” Formula 1 series shows how an entertaining story narrative delivers audience and ROI.
“Branded content delivers exponentially higher results in terms of landing the brand message in an engaging way than traditional ads, when done right,” Australian Grand Prix Corporation Board member Nicki Kenyon told the event.
“It’s storytelling at its most powerful,” Ms Kenyon said.
The branded function was staged by Melbourne’s biggest production company WTFN, which has produced some of Australia’s most successful primetime branded shows, including Space Invaders and The Living Room. Brand marketers, television executives, media buyers and content industry experts heard that with more focus than ever on how to fund premium content, brand funding is definitely an effective pathway.
“The life cycle of content is now extraordinary,” said WTFN’s Chief Creative Officer, Steve Oemcke. “
“Brand messages embedded in content lives on far beyond the first airing,” he added.
The key takeaway from the branded event was that nothing changes when it comes to making commissioned branded content because the story is still king.
According to Network Nine’s Head of Content, Production and Development Adrian Swift, “If the storytelling fails because the integration is forced, then we’ve failed.”
Mr Swift reminded the audience that Nine’s top rating shows, The Block and Travel Guides use brand integration very effectively.
“From a network standpoint, the future is not just in spots and dots, it is absolutely how we commission shows where we can logically integrate brands into those shows,” said Mr Swift.
And the benefit of using brand funding in high end content is being viewed favourably internationally.
“In the United States, it’s finally dawning on broadcasters and producers that carefully crafted brand integration can be a vital part of a finance plan,” said Daryl Talbot, WTFN’s Studio President.
“It was ironic that the buzzword at Realscreen recently was ‘brand integration’ when in fact it has been an important part of Australian TV for 20 years,” Mr Talbot added.
WTFN is planning another major industry function in the near future, when the spotlight will be put on the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
