Branded content

Branded content (also known as branded entertainment) is the practice of marketing via the creation of content that is funded or outright produced by an advertiser. In contrast to content marketing (in which content is presented first and foremost as a marketing ploy for a brand) 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. Branded content (also known as branded entertainment) is the practice of marketing via the creation of content that is funded or outright produced by an advertiser. In contrast to content marketing (in which content is presented first and foremost as a marketing ploy for a brand) 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. 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). Many melodramatic serial dramas targeting women, such as As the World Turns, were produced by the consumer goods company Procter & Gamble; this prompted the genre to be dubbed a 'soap opera'. The Revlon cosmetics company gained significant prominence after sponsoring the quiz show The $64,000 Question; for a time, it was the most-watched program on U.S. television. In 1956, the Ford Motor Company used a branded variety special on CBS—The Edsel Show—to launch its new automobile marque Edsel. Although the special (which starred Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Hope) was a critical success and widely-viewed, its success did not transfer to Edsel itself—which was ultimately a high-profile failure. 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, when it was found that the two quiz shows had rigged games due to demands by sponsors. 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. 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 frequent incorporation 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'). 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. 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 by placing additional content within its 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, were the best-selling among all teams for a period. In 2001, automaker BMW began a marketing campaign entitled The Hire, in which it produced a series of short films featuring A-list directors (such as Guy Ritchie) and talent that prominently featured its vehicles. 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. 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.'