Why branded content needs to go beyond human-interest storytelling to beat fatigue

Over the years, brands have understood branded storytelling as a powerful way to humanise a brand, form deeper connections with the audiences and then, of course, share the brand story in an engaging way. And to make people feel emotionally engaged, brands seemed to equate branded content with human-interest storytelling or cause-marketing.

While human-interest storytelling certainly is a powerful way to evoke emotions, BuzzInContent asks experts why brands need to be more innovative and go beyond creating just human-interest storytelling if they want to beat the fatigue.

Hamsini Shivakumar

Hamsini Shivakumar, Co-founder of Leapfrog Strategy Consulting, said brands equate branded content with human-interest storytelling or cause-marketing because both these styles resemble the emotional/thematic style of advertising that brands used to rely on before branded content came along. Or because both the styles are tried and tested in generating brand love.

She said simply sticking to these and not looking beyond amounts to a serious underutilisation of branded content. Because, unlike advertising, branded content doesn't come with fixed parameters of structure, duration and storytelling format. It is not meant to stand out as an interruption through distinct and standardised communication codes, like an ad. It is meant to merge with other sources of engagement in consumers' lives – whether a music video, a podcast or even a book.

Quoting Swiggy Instamart’s Better Half Cookbook (an innovative take on the traditional cookbook, which encourages gender equality in the kitchen) and The Man Company’s performance poetry, she said content can take on any form and adopt any communication codes, given that they are preceded in the non-branded world of content.

Then why restrict branded content to human-interest storytelling and cause marketing?

Rumi Ambastha

Rumi Ambastha, Director, Brand Marketing at The Man Company, said human interest or cause stories are here to stay. However, it leads audiences to mostly a sob story.

“In 2019, when we started cracking performance poetry with the campaign ‘Gentleman Kise Kehte Hai’ with Ayushmann Khurrana, we realised this was something that hasn’t been done before in mainline advertising. Although this entire theatrical genre has always been there, stand-up poetry is just a much more evolved version of theatre. Human interest content leads you to just one emotion only, which mostly is a sob story. It will make you sad and some revelation at the end. However, performance would pack as many emotions as possible and can be very direct and authentic. I think more and more brands will realise the power of theatre and this is just one of the many ways to explore branded content,” she said.

One can definitely do cause or human interest content marketing but it is very important to go beyond that and accept that new things/genres can also be worked upon.

“Till when are you going to play only tried-and-tested games, because there might not always be a case study to refer to? Somebody has to take the plunge and be one of those to do something different,” she said.

‘Gentleman Kise Kehte Hai’:

Sai Narayan

Sai Narayan, CMO, Paisabazaar.com, said branded content is all about connecting with the audience.

“Telling human stories or getting behind a cause is a great way to build that emotional connection. I think as long as the brands say things with simplicity and authenticity and stay relevant to the narrative it seeks to build, they will manage to engage and communicate better,” he said.

Pawan Sarda

While the Future Group does create human-interest content stories, Pawan Sarda, Group CMO, Future Group, Digital, Marketing and e-commerce, believes content is all about engaging with audiences with your brand story.

“Eventually a brand’s content should tie-up with the brand’s idea. As far as genre is concerned, we do emotional content. At times, we use influencers and we even have worked with Vir Das (for Sorted) to connect with younger audiences. Whatever is the genre, it should really come from the space that your brand wants to achieve, keeping brand guidelines in mind. When it comes to human stories, we are emotional people and it breaks the ice with us and is of great interest. There is nothing wrong with creating a human interest story till the time it engages with audiences and it is a brand story. Keeping the brand's structure in mind, if someone wants to explore something else, they surely should. There’s so much innovation happening already in the content space. Brands should definitely explore but should go back to the idea of what the brands want to achieve and not to create just for the sake of it,” he added.

If cause marketing or human interest storytelling style is pivotal, it should definitely be used. But harm is done when marketers are stuck with the ‘bandwagon effect’.

Akshaara Lalwani

Akshaara Lalwani, Founder and CEO, Communicate India, said a major reason why consumers are more receptive to branded content is that they believe such content is more consumer-focused and relatable rather than seeming like a sales pitch.

But what brands must understand is that there are more ways to use branded content approaches. In order to beat the fatigue, one must avoid generalisations and refrain from having your campaign look like 10 other campaigns in the market. The wheel of branded content needs to keep getting renewed, she said.

Are brands shying away from expanding their creative horizons?

Ambastha thinks bigger brands shy away from experimenting with new genres majorly as they are into the tried-and-tested thought of storytelling because advertising is an expensive medium.

“It takes a lot of energy, money and time for a lot of people to put out good content and advertising as a medium is not forgiving. So brands take a path that is known to them. Nobody wants to take the road less travelled because in the end, everyone wants to sell the products. No matter what genres you take, the ultimate destination is to sell your products and services. Then the question becomes why to even experiment. But once people have the appetite to actually taking the risk, more and more people will join. After our campaign, we saw so many other brands that have come forward and started doing branded content differently and not just mainline, straightforward sob storytelling. So there has been a change. And there is no dearth of talent in India,” she added.

The situation is similar to creating formulaic Bollywood films from yesteryears. The love-struck couple, scheming villain, peppy songs and an ultra-macho fight sequence. It worked for some time and then it tanked. Today, branded content is meeting a similar fate.

Lalwani said the comfort of the known and mindset that ‘tried and tested’ works best is a major deterrent. No matter the scale, branded content is an expensive investment. Strategists recommending or brands wanting to invest are already making a huge commitment and hence they should save themselves from falling into formulaic tropes and start harnessing imagination, content, technology and platforms at their disposal. It is risky to expect success by implementing static, fixed parameters in the world of the dynamic consumer.

“The consumer today is digital and constantly consuming content. They need to be constantly excited, intrigued and have their need for newer forms of the content met. If they are targeted for the same form of content, there is no stopping them from dropping their loyalty and setting off seeking new forms of gratification. As strategists, we can look at this as a huge advantage instead and move out of comfort zones and the mindset that ‘tried and tested’ works best,” she added.

However, Narayan didn’t agree that brands are shying away from expanding their creative horizons.

He said that time and again several brands have broken the shackles and made their own rules and done content that has stood the test of time. Today, more than ever, brands are willing to take risks and experiment to cut the clutter and make a space of their own. Following set patterns won’t get you there. On the other hand, he said, some brands do not need to experiment and continue with what has worked for them, as they get the desired RoI.

Are brands restricting branded content?

Narayan said we need to understand that branded content as a vertical is still evolving.

“There are no guarantees of success or failure here. Some brands have the risk-taking capacity and, hence, can experiment with fresh concepts, and try and break patterns and build novelty. Others may not have the resources to experiment on a large scale and may decide to stick to tried-and-tested ways,” he said.

Ambastha said that the customer is always at the epicentre and brands are always putting efforts to delight the customers. With advertising, brands might be getting stuck with tried-and-tested formulas but in a way that is also not wrong if their customers are still consuming and engaging with that content.

She said unless something new and innovative comes in, nobody realises we need it.

The success of newer forms of content, storylines and platforms all point to the fact that the consumer is ready to be surprised and entertained.

Lalwani said marketers should make use of the tools— both offline and online, global trends, social conversations and a mindset to create a unique piece of branded content.

“A brand marketer or strategist might say that their major obstacles are adherence to guidelines due to the brand being conservative or the nature of the brand. The argument includes the target audience posing certain restrictions. There are still limitless options for conservative brands and audiences to approach this by carrying out a thorough analysis of customer needs and exploring the brand’s maximum potential. This can result in an effective yet unique branded content put into action,” she added.