Branded Content: Everything you need to know about branded content

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Discover the “ABC” of what Branded Content is
We already know that building a brand is very important for a company to survive over time. And a good strategy to achieve this is to invest in branded content, or sponsored content.

It is all very well to say that Branding and Branded Content are marketing elements that help with strategy and, above all, impact awareness and the top of mind of consumers, but… what is it?

In this type of content and strategy, we leave aside talking about a product or service , and we only focus on the benefits and characteristics that a brand has to impact and reach users and consumers.

Big brands have been rowing in this direction for some time now, dedicating part of their budget to projects of all kinds. Because their variety of formats is one of their charms for reaching a fragmented audience. Podcasts sponsored by brands are very common, but also documentaries, series or even spaces in the metaverse. And we can see a wide variety of topics, from purely entertaining content to highly informative content. The important thing is that the content is aligned with the values ​​and image that the brand wants to convey.

Some point to this trend starting with the pandemic and the impact it had on entertainment consumption habits. But it also has a clear connection with the evolution of the latest technology. By incorporating it, brands are able to generate very immersive and attractive content, even with the wide variety of options that users have today. Many times, they have nothing to envy of large audiovisual productions. With how saturated the market is, it can be a great strategy.

Objective? To be remembered, valued, and of course to connect with the brand.

But that's not all, because in the description of Branded Content and what it is we find features such as:

The value it can offer to the user.
Using stories to appeal to and reach consumer emotions.
It is not a type of content that is invasive towards the user.
It seeks notoriety and to make people talk about the brand , so that a consumer feels identified with it.
Increase brand recognition .
And a long etcetera
How different formats and types of Branded Content can help your brand
Generate business!
However, Branded Content is not focused on saying that our brand is good, that it is the best in the world, and so on, but quite the opposite. It focuses on demonstrating this through content aligned with the brand's values, but which does not require a direct reference to its image. As they say, certain things are demonstrated with facts. And Branded Content consists of doing just that. Including references to the brand's products or services is sometimes not even necessary. We have mentioned the types of Branded Content in our section title, but... are there really types? What are they?

Guy Feature
Formative Rational in style, it shows the brand as a reference entity on a specific topic for the training and education of the client on it.
Informational With a rational and more journalistic tone, the brand approaches the user on a topic as a source of information.
Emotional/emotional An emotional connection is established with the user through content, usually through visual content.
For entertainment It aims to entertain the user and relate the brand to it.
In addition to the types of Branded Content, there are also different application formats depending on the rational or emotional intention of the message:

Infographics
Audiovisual content
Use of Social Networks
Collaborations with opinion leaders
Mentions in the press
Guides, webinars, podcasts
User comments and reviews
Blogs and articles
etc
As you can see, there is a wide variety of applications of Branded Content, and knowing how to do it is the key to making your brand recognizable, and most importantly, to being remembered by your potential audience.


Be careful! Don't confuse it with content marketing
Sometimes it is normal that Branded Content can be confused with content marketing, or even with certain forms of traditional advertising, such as product placement .

Certainly, Branded Content can be included in a Branding strategy, but this content is much more complex than it seems. Hand in hand with content marketing and traditional advertising, brands use this type of plan to promote their brand . But specifically, Branded Content depends on subtlety and millimetric planning to show positive aspects of the brand without falling into healthtrax corporate email database the temptation of being presented as a conventional advertisement. It is not the same!

Why include branded content in your strategy

Given the “supernatural” power that Branding can have on people, daring to use bold Branding strategies can pay off. Specifically, Branded Content appeals heavily to feelings to impact viewers.

Including this type of technique in a brand strategy allows you to humanize and involve your target audience , beyond trying to get them to buy your product or service, or simply make them feel like a number within your business plans.

But… in addition to this, it is important to include and work on Branded Content in your strategy to:

Gaining brand recognition
Have new followers/subscribers/consumers of your brand, and for existing ones, build loyalty .
You will position your brand in the top of mind and in the brand awareness of your target audience.
Increase your followers' interaction and engagement with your brand.
Ultimately, if you work hard and hit the nail on the head (to do this you need to know your buyer persona) to promote your brand through Branded Content (and Branding, of course), you will succeed.

Branded Content: 3 examples
Well, you probably think of Coca Cola when we talk about soft drinks, or Apple when we mention cutting-edge technology in telephony, or the emotional feeling produced by Estella Damm's “Mediterráneamente”. There are many examples of Branding and Branded Content. Here we show you recent examples of pure Branded Content:

1. BBVA: Let's learn together
Generate business!
BBVA's educational talks, “ Let's Learn Together, ” are a success story par excellence. Their educational value is unquestionable. Although it is not an advertisement for the bank, it is a success as it positions the brand with very positive values ​​such as education and knowledge. Not only that, but it also shows itself as a company willing to learn that is positioned in favor of those who seek to progress regardless of their possibilities. It is a purely educational and informational branded content.

2. Domino´s Originals
We can also highlight the documentaries by Domino's, in which they delve into the biographies of the best Youtubers . At no point do we see a single slice of pizza, but by showing the lives of some of the internet stars, Domino's manages to connect with the youngest audience . In this case, it seeks to create content that combines entertainment with emotion.

3. RedBull: the masters of Branded Content
If we go back further, we can find great examples from Redbull . They are one of the benchmarks in terms of Branded Content. They sell extreme adrenaline and excitement, which is why they are associated with the most daring athletes. Felix Baumgaurtner was the greatest exponent of this, but there are countless examples of competitions and sporting feats with the seal of the energy drink.

What to do and what to avoid with Branded Content
The first thing to avoid is trying to create traditional advertising. Although it is tempting to do so when you have spent time and resources creating the content, you should try to avoid it becoming a conventional advertisement. In the same way, it should not be invasive at any time. Remember that the intention is for it to be attractive content and for the user to consume it intentionally. Thanks to differentiating itself in this way from other types of advertising content, with Branded Content we must try to establish an emotional connection with users. In the examples we have seen, anyone who sees these videos can appreciate the emotions they convey. They are precisely success stories because they do not do it in an exaggerated or forced way. They are genuinely interesting and achieve their objective. In addition, due to their striking and original nature, they are ideal material to make it go viral.

Make your brand remembered
We have talked about Branding, content, and especially Branded Content, but… how important is it? Well, the truth is, a lot. That a person/user remembers a brand for some reason, in the face of the brutal competition that exists, is almost of vital importance, because your brand (your name and your reason for being at a marketing and business level) must be the priority. Selling will come later.