As the impact of television ads is continuously decreasing, brands are looking for new ways to connect with their customers, and many of them are turning to branded films...
As the impact of television ads is continuously decreasing, brands are looking for new ways to connect with their customers, and many of them are turning to branded films. In my last article I pointed out that 89% of all forms of advertisement isn’t noticed or remembered at all (Campaign). A 2014 study showed that 84% of respondents wanted to fast forward through the ads they watch. On the internet, the stats aren’t that much better – approximately 200 million people worldwide have installed ad-blocking software. Forced to change their approach, some marketers have opted for a radically different strategy: rather than trying to force customers to watch their ads, they are trying to get customers to watch their films out of their own choice. How could they possibly achieve that, you ask?
The emphasis is on high-quality
The answer is surprisingly simple, yet not particularly easy to put into practice: the challenge is to create high-end, high-impact, compelling branded films that trigger emotion and that customers will actually want to watch. When it comes to sharing content online, brands have to realise they are competing against the entire world, who is producing content at a rate too great for any of us to fathom (300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute). With so many entertaining, funny, informative, weird and fascinating stories out there, people don’t have a spare second to watch your film unless it’s really worth it. They can tell if you’re showing them just a badly disguised ad.This is why we repeat: when creating branded content the focus needs to be on telling an authentic, powerful and engaging story.
Respect your customers
Marketers might find this approach more difficult, as it may be more difficult to measure direct impact. What needs to be remembered, is that the aim is not to simply buy, but to drive organic views and increase brand awareness. There is also much to gain: it enables brands to engage with their customers on a much more egalitarian level and in a more respectful manner, which customers will appreciate. It turns the relationship upside down.
Forget privacy, we’re in the era of sharing
In this modern age of social media, people are sharing everything about their private lives online: from what they had for breakfast, to where they went on holiday, to their child’s birth and they expect companies to be similarly open about who they are – they want to know who you are and what you care about, which in turn will tell them why they should care about you. A 2015 study by JWT revealed that 75% of millennials actively research the behaviour and policies of the brands they buy. As Nicole Fallon Taylor rightly says: “Product-related content still exists, but now the product itself tends to be a footnote in a more engaging, wide-reaching piece that fits seamlessly into the existing publication or platform.”
If you’re also thinking about creating some branded films for your company or have questions you can email me at maria@roganproductions.net.
Rogan Productions specialises in creating high quality branded films by drawing on its experience from the broadcast industry. This year we have programs on BBC, Channel 4, Al Jazeera as well as in UK cinemas. One of our latest branded film series, The Craftsmen’s Dinner, received around six million views online and had a PR reach of 58 million OTS as well as being featured in national newspapers. One of our latest documentaries, The Confession: Living the War on Terror, was just nominated for Best Documentary for the British Independent Film Awards.
Visit our portfolio page to see all our current and upcoming productions.
