Why and when do brands put a stop to branded content?

Branded content has always been effective in generating buzz around a brand and sparking meaningful conversations. Though not directly linked to a product or service of a brand, this strategy has been successful in linking people more to the brand’s values and principles. Often, a good branded content campaign introduces users to the conversion funnel.

Lately, however, brands have been seen stopping investments in this medium after building enough awareness in the market. More recently, Pepperfry stopped betting on branded content as it felt it had created enough perception about the brand.

On the other hand, established brands, including Myntra, Flipkart and Kia Motors, continue to vouch for this strategy.

So is branded content only relevant for brands that are building awareness in the market and not after that?

Shahid Javed Ansari

Shahid Javed Ansari, Founder of RVCJ Digital Media, says he has seen brands getting sold out after a well-strategised branded content campaign. While the audience is getting more aware of this type of promotion, there is increasing acceptance for brands in the market. Brand awareness is a goal that, if accomplished, can contribute significantly to the sales of any product, especially in a competitive market like India, he said.

He said branded content can still surprise the audience and gain their attention by making engaging content.

“I can see a pattern in the mistakes of brands that stopped using branded content. Most of them didn't execute their campaigns with a proper goal and a tone of voice for the brand. The content produced didn't reveal much information about the brand. Most of the brands chase quick wins versus long-term reputation in the content space, which creates hurdles in making a strong connection with the target audience. Also, brands are not consistent in publishing branded content, which decreases the recall value,” he added.

Any advertising expense is driven and measured by purpose and returns. If a creative unit doesn’t meet the purpose at the right price, then, of course, it is of no use.

Harikrishnan Pillai

Harikrishnan Pillai, CEO and Co-founder, TheSmallBigIdea, said evaluating branded content is no different.

“The reason why traction from the brand POV (point of view) has reduced in recent times is the increase in cost against clear measurable returns, especially for clocking sales. There are very few branded content works that have really broken the clutter," he said.

The challenge with branded content is that most of it doesn’t have any immediate CTA (call to action). It is a great branding and familiarisation exercise, but he is not too sure if it is a sales-driven one. It can be topped up with platform-level devices to help turn to traffic, but then again that won’t be in the best interest of the content.

Pillai said the challenge with branded content is that it tries to do justice to both the story and the brand but with advertising, the loyalty is towards the brand, and maybe, it is better that way.

Rishi Sen

Due to the non-linear consumer journey today, branded content can be evaluated in different ways, said Rishi Sen, Managing Partner, Jack in the Box Worldwide.

Without generalising, the content in its nascent development phase should address the question of what objective it wants to meet.

He said episodic branded content tends to aim for long-term saliency, while spur-of-the-moment, topical content pieces drive immediate action such as conversions and sales.

For an agency, branded content is just another format it uses to tackle a brand’s business challenges. They are created keeping in mind the short and long-term objectives of the brand.

Sen believes that brands are battling the impressions war, trying to get a larger share of consumers' screen time and the best way to do that has always been content marketing. The usage of celebrities and influencers plays a capital role in catching the attention of the consumer, with branded content being the format to do it.

“While the approach may be changing towards how branded content is conceived and created, I believe brands are creating more branded content than ever before,” he added.

Rajeesh Rajagopalan

Rajeesh Rajagopalan, National Business Head- Grapes Digital, said that branded content in most cases is used to build affinity with the consumer. A brand needs to identify when and where it can intervene in the consumers’ life cycle. “If the brand successfully identifies that space and creates a branded content property then it helps the brand achieve their marketing goal and solve a business problem,” he added. 

In a nutshell, experts said brands need to be consistent with producing branded content to not lose relevance among audiences. But at the same time, some felt it might not fit brands that are specifically looking for conversions of leads.

Does branded content lose its relevance after a particular stage in a brand's life?

Ansari believes the best part about branded content is that it can be used for brands of any size. One just has to find out some ways by which it stays relevant to the audience. Crisp and entertaining content can make any subject interesting and if one can make viewers interested in knowing about the product, then a brand can easily make an impact on sales too.

He said brands that already have certain awareness in the market should create content that makes them look unique.

“Focus more on community building. For a brand that is already popular, you have to maintain a proper tone that communicates with the audience in a way that looks more natural and human. User-generated content can be very beneficial for such brands,” he added.

Most content properties eventually lose their relevance since most of them are created to ‘live in the now’, Sen said.

Creating a long-term brand content property is just like any fashion show or music concert IP – they succeed as long as they provide relevant experiences with a 'today'-focused narrative.

And the decision to invest in branded content completely depends on the brand’s objectives at hand, he said.

“Awareness isn’t a one-time job. Awareness and top-of-mind recall need to be continuously built throughout the purchase journey because of sheer competition for the consumer’s attention. Brands such as Amazon and Flipkart tick all the boxes when it comes to branded content. They are topical, relevant for the consumer of today, deliver a clear message and instigate conversions. With these markers addressed, any brand, regardless of their size, should feel comfortable to invest in branded content because it’s still one of the best consideration-building formats out there,” he added.

Pillai said branded content picked up steam a few years ago as people chose to immerse themselves in content and storytelling instead of ads. But as the creative realms for ads open up, and they become more audacious and honest, entertaining and useful content is no longer restricted to branded content, he said.

He said that inherently, branded content is great for brands to familiarise the audience about a new feature, a new product, show a different use, or continue immersing if the product use itself is dynamic in nature.

For instance, branded content for an oven brand is great, because one can use it for a variety of dishes. But it might not be the same for some other brand.