OTTAWA – “Subtle” and “organic” were words used to describe the manner in which a brand should be presented when it comes to branded video content, during a during a Friday session at the CMPA’s annual Prime Time event in Ottawa.
Sean Buckley, executive producer with Buck Productions, spoke about his experience making the McMorris and McMorris reality-based program with Red Bull which aired on MTV. Burton Boards and Oakley got on board as well. The show is about Mark and Craig McMorris, two snowboarding brothers from Regina, Saskatchewan. Mark McMorris won a bronze medal in the snowboard slopestyle at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics while his brother provided colour commentary for the sport for the CBC.
One of the key success factors of the show was that the Red Bull brand wasn’t too present in the series. Running ads during the program “would demand the entire show,“ said Buckley. Rather it had to appear as if it were natural. So there aren’t any Red Bull ads at all in the show.
“I think the core word is subtly, the organic subtly of the product and it’s use throughout the content,” he said. “The product that is being exposed in it needs to be exposed organically.”
Phil Alberstat, COO at Contend, agreed, and added that brand messaging also has to align with that of the content. He spoke about Swarovski’s involvement in the UK-Italian co-production of Romeo and Juliet and how the company implemented a comprehensive strategy that involved a line of jewelry.
“This is a good example of how you can use a brand to actually influence your audience, create a connection. It’s all about an emotional connection,” he said. “And it’s really important for producers … to think about what they’re creating, what they’re developing, how can they connect with an audience and how can they then have the brand connect with that audience.”
"The ad industry is in some trouble because the clients don’t just want 30-second spots anymore; the messages aren’t getting through unless it’s Super Bowl time." – Gaye McDonald, CBC
Gaye McDonald, director of client marketing with CBC/Radio-Canada’s revenue group, highlighted the public broadcaster’s involvement with the show Recipe for Riches, which debuts on the national network next Wednesday, and has been pumped relentlessly during the Olympics. It previously ran on the Food Network, but shifted to CBC for its third season. She explained that the impetus for securing the rights to program came from Loblaws wanting to see how going with a national network would provide a boost to its brand.
McDonald noted that the branded content area is now becoming an integral part of the communications activities for the big brands. It’s no longer about putting a particular product in a certain show, it’s about trying to reach deeper into the audience.
“That’s the biggest change that we’re seeing. The ad industry is in some trouble because the clients don’t just want 30-second spots anymore; the messages aren’t getting through unless it’s Super Bowl time,” McDonald said. “It’s no longer just we can put you in this show or that show. We are creating all kinds of new content.”
Doing branded video content may not work in every instance, but to ensure success one has to consider the message that the brand wants to convey as well as its target audience and then match that with appropriate content.
Alberstat explained that there are two approaches for this. First, and perhaps, the most straightforward method is to simply match the content with the brand. The second is little more in-depth and involves “a deep dive” into the brand through data analytics to determine the audience. But once that is complete, then the matching of the brand with the content process can take place.
