Content creators must understand the discipline of brand building: Shriram Iyer of Tilt Brand Solutions

Just creating content for brands isn’t where the responsibility of a creator ends. Content creators and platforms have to understand the discipline of brand building, feels Shriram Iyer, Chief Creative and Content Officer, Tilt Brand Solutions.

Highlighting the trends in content marketing, Iyer said creators should first have the basic understanding of why a brand even decides to go to a market. He predicts why curators in the upcoming years would become important and why they ought to become responsible towards brands and audiences.

“A lot of content shops do not have brand-building credentials. They might be good storytellers, but should know the objectives and ambitions of brands. They can think of ideas, but are not experts on brands. They also need to know how to tailor content to the medium,” he said in an interaction with BuzzInContent.com.

Creators have a responsibility to put out content that is going to make somebody’s life better in some way. There is responsibility towards the audience and to the brand. Content creators should constantly harness the power of information that is available, keeping a track of what is trending and what are people going to like.

"Content creators should know how to simplify complex data or else it is going to be a lot of trash in the content space," he said.

Iyer, predicting the trends of the Indian content space said, since there is going to be a lot more space for expression and storytellers, telling what to do, trash is ought to be there.

“You can’t sustain the massive machinery of keeping the people engaged with so much trash. At some point people will get tired of it. They would like somebody to come and curate for them. Curators will become important. People who can simplify in a complex world are going to be a currency and valuable.”

Quoting Redbull TV, Iyer said more brands will become publishers and would want to create their own content. They might opt for feature films, and content of more than 10 minutes.

Telling how a great quality content piece can make a mark and stand out organically without promotion and proper distribution strategy when it is phenomenal, Iyer said that the real debate is about the quality of the piece of content. If it can catch a pulse somewhere or crack the quality, if it makes somebody feel some emotions, it is bound to travel. If you are paying and promoting an average video, as long as you can pay for it, it will travel.

Explaining how regular advertisement still has its space, he said there are certain aspects of the brands that can be effectively communicated through a TV commercial. TV allows brands to introduce themselves to the people. Pure advertisement is for generating sales, and make brand known to people.

He said, “All the brands should create content to generate love for the brand whereas pure advertising should do what it was meant to do, which is to drives sales, make brand known to more people. To create branded content or advertising for brands is all same hard work.”

Bringing forth the advantage of having a discipline understanding of the brands, along with Iyer’s expertise in writing, ideation and film making, Tilt started with an objective to plug the loopholes of what agencies are not able to provide. The company is now all about strategy which involves data scientists, digital and media planning, story and studio. The model doesn’t actively distribute content as of now. Commenting on it, Iyer said, “If we become a platform for our own content, and it becomes relevant to a large number of people, distribution will come into play.”