Branded Entertainment Will Take Over your Screen!!!
Written by: Enrique Zabala
enrique@bars-tone.com
Branded Entertainment started in the early 1950s as an advert to radio shows and eventually to soap operas; the purpose of branded entertainment is to communicate the product’s image to its target audience through different emotions. At the start of the Reagan Era, branded entertainment faded away in the American landscape. Now that technology has advanced people are more able to skip through ads much easier. Advertisers are having a hard time getting their message across without it getting interrupted. For this reason, they are trying to figure out how to stay relevant and rise over other competitors to get a more effective response.
Though, 30-second ads are still successful, some brands want to have a different connection with their target audience. There is an effort to return to Branded Entertainment, a longer and more emotional way of advertising. Brands such as BMW, Philips, and Oliver Peoples have used this way of advertising successfully. They have increased their brand awareness, brand loyalty and sales.
BMW released a series of short films titled The Hire featuring different BMW models and Clive Owen as the main character of these short films. The purpose of these short films was to increase brand awareness and connect with customers online. Though YouTube and video streaming sites were not popular at the time (2001), BMW made sure people could watch these videos through their website…eventually becoming viral helping them increase brand loyalty by 47%.
Oliver Peoples, a European luxurious eyewear company has released a Branded Entertainment piece every year for the past three years. They recognized that consumers needed a different way to connect with the brand. As a result they have seen an increase in E-commerce sales, time spent on website and brand recognition. “Les enfants sennuient le dimanche (The children are bored on Sundays)” is Oliver Peoples’ latest film.
Philips created five short films after the success of their previous branded entertainment video campaign (Carousel). These five short films used five different directors but all of them had the same script. These films were uploaded on Philips’ website (www.philips.com/cinema) as part of the new launch of the Philips Cinema 21:9 TV. “The Gift” one of the five films from Parallel Lines won the Grand Pix award. This video currently has over 8 million views online!
These brands have successfully integrated Brand Entertainment as part of their marketing campaign by increasing sales, building brand affinity and raising brand awareness. Connecting with consumers has always been a priority. Advertisers have found an effective way to connect with consumers and it does not look like it will stop anytime soon.
