SPONSORED CONTENT
The way that millennials absorb content & experiences has evolved within the past five – ten years. They are now aware of when they are being advertised to and can decipher quality content integrations from strict brand plays. Millennials will quickly switch off or avoid content if it is not seen as an organic integration.
To create a favorable content experience it is important to value the creation process. With so many great publishers offering custom editorial & the rise in great Canadian influencers on social media, doing great branded content can be so much more than running pre-roll, title cards, or buying the surrounding banner space.
There are four ways a brand can work with a publisher to create branded content:
- Sponsorship
- Integration
- Custom Content
- Influencers
Determine which branded content model fits your campaign’s needs, budget, KPI, and desired outcome.
Each of the four branded content models offer a unique value to the brand, but not every method is right for every advertiser or campaign. The key is to understand which strategy best serves your campaign goals, be that; building brand awareness, reaching a new demographic, increasing brand recognition, or announcing the launch of a new product.
Below are four key things to consider when working with publishers or influencers.
RFP Early:
Custom content pieces require preparation, publisher brainstorming, and internal approvals. The longer the lead time for the proposal, the more robust and planned out the custom content ideas will be.
Define Your Content Must Haves:
Letting the publisher & their team know what platforms you would like to run on, the level of integration, social media obligations, desired flight commitments, and how you would like the ad experience to run will help dictate which branded content model will be the right fit for your objectives.
The more information you can provide the better the creative team or influencer can ensure your brand values are represented accurately in the content. Creators know what works for their audiences and can guide you toward the best model for your objectives. Influencers and publishers are protective of their image and of the content that they post on their portfolio, so you want to ensure your objectives align with the type of content they’re comfortable producing.
Followers & Subscribers Don’t Tell the Full Story:
Studying previous social post details will give you a better understanding of what to expect from your content piece. Reviewing how often they post, average views per videos, and average engagements will give a bench mark into expected performance. Work with the publisher to review previous campaigns and outcomes to get real time expectations.
Empower The Talent:
A great partnership involves both the brands desired outcome & the publisher’s voice. Branded content is most successful when your campaign is weaved organically into the content and your message is properly married with the publisher’s brands. Clearly defining your brand objectives & outlining things that are critical for your brand are good to know when partnering with talent, but in the end you want them to speak in the voice that their audience has come to know and love. By empowering the talent your branded content will perform better and resonate with the audience they have built. Remember: There are two sides to the partnership; your brand has chosen them to tell your story in their voice.
Stay on Schedule:
The earlier you can connect with the creative team or influencer, the more time you and your key stakeholders have to agree on the content model. Remember that the talent will have their own posting calendar planned out months in advance. By sticking to the Work Back Schedule and ensuring that approvals are done in the correct timeline will help you guarantee your content will launch on time. If you know that the WBS won’t work for internal approval requirements, be upfront about that and work to revise the timeline.
Read more about DEFY’s methods of content creation in Digiday.
