Branded content is marketing content designed and produced by a brand in order to engage with their target audience. It differs from typical advertising in that it is more real and less promotional, allowing customers to more readily connect with it.
Storytelling, videos, blog entries, social media postings, and other sorts of material that educate, inform, or entertain the audience are all examples of branded content. This form of content is more likely to be shared and create organic reach, therefore increasing brand recognition, loyalty, and, eventually, sales.
Creating effective branded content is not an easy task and requires a clear understanding of your brand’s voice, values, and story. It should be engaging and able to form a connection with your target audience.
Branded content should be able to tell your brand story in an authentic way, making it more likely to be shared and generate organic reach. It’s important to keep in mind that branded content should align with your brand’s values and have a distinct brand voice. It should also be created by skilled and creative professionals to ensure its effectiveness.
Some examples of brands that have succeeded in creating effective branded content:
Dove
Dove is a brand that is well-known for its effective use of branded content. One of their recent campaigns, the #showus campaign, is a great example of how they use user-generated content to connect with their audience.
The campaign encouraged women to share their stories of what makes them unique and different, and the company received several thousand pictures and videos in response. This campaign was a great example of how Dove used a strong brand voice and cause-based marketing to create a powerful and meaningful connection with their audience.
Dove then took the user-generated content and compiled it into YouTube videos that featured several stories of women from different backgrounds. The company also shared these stories and the corresponding images on their Instagram account.
The approach made the campaign relatable and authentic as it featured real women and their experiences, which many people can relate to. The campaign resonated well with the audience and received a high engagement rate. The use of user-generated content and a cause that many people can relate to, made this campaign one of the best examples of branded content in 2019.
Cisco
Cisco, a technology conglomerate, faced the challenge of humanizing their brand and making it relatable to the public. To achieve this, they leveraged employee advocacy through branded content on social media. They asked employees from different locations to share their personal stories of working with the company in a relatable and authentic manner.
The approach helped to improve Cisco’s brand image and establish themselves as a brand that cares about its people. By highlighting their employee’s stories, Cisco was able to showcase the human side of their company, making it more relatable and approachable to the public.
Cisco’s employees participated in this effort by posting relatable social media posts that highlighted how the company takes care of its employees. They shared stories of their day-to-day work environments and the facilities or benefits that Cisco provides to make employees’ lives better.
People understand that Cisco is a brand that cares about its employees. For example, one employee, Ileana, posted about a benefit that the company provides for pregnant women, such as designated parking spots for them. She shared a picture with another pregnant employee, which helped to emphasize that this benefit is valuable to many people. This campaign helped Cisco to establish itself as a brand that cares and improved their brand image.
The employee-generated content was relatable, emotional, and factual, making it an effective example of branded content. Additionally, Cisco created a campaign-specific hashtag, #wearecisco, to further promote the campaign and track all of the posts in one place. The use of a hashtag also helped to create a sense of community and connection with the brand among the audience.
Tinder
Tinder’s #menprovement campaign was an effective example of branded content because it effectively targeted their audience. The campaign used two elements of good marketing: a deep understanding of their target audience, women, and leveraging a popular social media trend, memes.
Tinder collaborated with creators to make a series of Instagram posts and videos featuring memes and humor. The basic theme was to show technical advancements that could be used to improve men. The use of humor and memes made the campaign relatable, and helped to deliver the message in a way that resonated with the target audience.
The campaign was well-received by the audience and helped Tinder to connect with their target audience in a unique and engaging way.
The messaging was crafted to resonate with women, effectively targeting them. The use of humor ensured that the campaign was well-received and not seen as offensive. It should be noted that the campaign, despite being targeted at women, also caters to men.
An example of the campaign’s success can be seen in a post made in collaboration with creator @mytherapistsays, which received over 355K views. This was just one of many posts in the campaign, all of which received high levels of engagement.
Tinder also utilized a campaign-specific hashtag, which greatly contributed to the campaign’s visibility on Instagram and made it one of the most popular social media campaigns of 2017.
Subaru
The posts were created with the theme that the vehicles are meant for adventure lovers and are aimed at adventure enthusiasts and thrill-seekers. By using actual Subaru customers, it amplified the effectiveness of the marketing strategy and turned them into brand advocates.
The campaign was successful in promoting the brand as a reliable and adventurous choice for consumers. Additionally, the use of a specific campaign hashtag, #meetanowner, helped increase visibility and engagement on social media platforms.
Subaru’s #meetanowner campaign effectively leveraged customer advocacy by enlisting the help of influential customers to showcase the brand’s vehicles as vehicles for adventure and thrill-seekers.
By featuring real-life customers and their experiences with Subaru vehicles, the campaign was able to enhance the brand’s image and appeal to potential customers. The use of social media posts, such as the one featuring a Subaru owner and his BRAT vehicle, also helped to increase visibility and engagement for the campaign.
Subaru’s #meetanowner campaign was an effective way to improve brand image by turning their customers into brand advocates. By identifying customers with influence, Subaru was able to collaborate with them to create social media content featuring their vehicles. The theme of the campaign was adventure and excitement, which aligned perfectly with the brand’s image of being a provider of rugged, all-terrain vehicles.
This was further reinforced by the use of customer-created YouTube videos that showcased the vehicles being put to the test in adventurous settings. Overall, this campaign effectively established Subaru as a brand preferred by adventure enthusiasts, providing social proof and driving sales.
Red Bull
Their videos are a testament to this association. They have a YouTube channel that is dedicated to showcasing videos of people doing extreme sports and adventure activities, all while sipping on Red Bull.
Shot in a way that makes them look like native, non-promotional video content. This is a great example of how a brand can create branded content that doesn’t feel like an ad, making it more likely to be shared and viewed.
One such video is “The Athlete Machine” which features a skier performing a variety of tricks while drinking Red Bull. This video received over 7 million views and helped solidify Red Bull’s association with extreme sports and adventure.
Red Bull has an effective video marketing strategy that helps maintain their strong brand image as an energy drink associated with adventure and sports. They create a series of thrilling videos of people performing stunts or engaging in adventure sports, which are not overtly promotional but rather resemble native content.
Red Bull posted these videos on their YouTube channel, which has 8.7 million subscribers, thereby showcasing their brand image as an energy drink that appeals to adventure enthusiasts and thrill-seekers. An example of this type of branded content can be seen in this video from Red Bull.
Conclusion
One of the key takeaways from these examples is that effective-branded content should be authentic, relatable, and align with the brand’s image and values. Additionally, by leveraging user-generated content, leveraging popular trends, and turning customers into brand advocates, brands can create engaging and impactful content that resonates with their target audience.
Another key aspect is to make the branded content look like native and non-promotional content, rather than making it look like an advertisement. With the right approach, brands can create branded content that truly connects with their audience and drives their business forward.
