In 2017, digital branded content generated $6 billion, and in 2021, brands earned $20 billion from branded content, according to reports from Statista. More brands are finding new ways to tell their stories and spread the word about their products and services—and branded content is a top contender.
We’ll explain what branded content is, why more brands are using it, and how you can invest in creating successful branded content.
What is Branded Content?
Branded content refers to content that showcases a brand’s values through storytelling.
It’s not unusual for brands to collaborate with influencers, renowned filmmakers, and other corporations to create branded content.
Unlike banner ads and other traditional advertising, making sales is not the primary goal of branded content. Businesses use this kind of content to provide educational, inspirational, or entertainment value to their audience while generating awareness and conversation about their company without directly marketing their products or services.
Branded content takes many forms but is most commonly prepared as video content. Still, some brands create branded blogs, social media content, and even podcasts.
What’s the Difference Between Branded Content and Content Marketing?
It’s easy to confuse branded content with other kinds of marketing strategies. One example is content marketing.
Content marketing is the use of written, audio, or video material to promote a brand, product, or service for commercial purposes. This includes how-to articles, case studies, podcasts, listicles, whitepapers, and video content.
Branded content also promotes brands and their offerings, but subtly. It doesn’t center them but rather the story being told. By that definition, branded content is a form of content marketing. However:
"Not all content marketing material is branded content."
Many people confuse branded content with product placement, but both strategies are different.
Product placement features the product or service of a brand during a presentation often unrelated to the brand itself. For example, the use of Macs and iPhones throughout a TV series or movie is product placement for Apple.
On the other hand, branded content tells a story that highlights or aligns with the brand’s values without necessarily displaying the product. Some companies simply attach their logos to the project, while others include a nod or two to their product during the project.
3 Important Benefits of a Branded Content Strategy
Building a branded content strategy can benefit your company in three ways.
Create High Brand Awareness
Because branded content heavily employs storytelling, it makes for a particularly memorable experience for your audience.
Research has consistently shown that the brain remembers information better when it is linked to storytelling. As a result, people are more likely to remember branded content and the brand responsible for producing it.
This means that more people—including those outside your target audience—will learn of your brand, making you top of mind whenever they or anyone they know needs your services.
Generate Audience Engagement
Most high-quality branded content evokes emotion and moves audiences to engage by reposting, sharing, or commenting on social media platforms. This notoriety is why such content will more readily become viral than the average blog post.
Audience engagement creates a ripple effect of benefits. It enhances brand awareness and affinity, increases audience trust and loyalty, and ultimately drives conversions in the long run.
Take The LEGO Movie, released in 2014. Although the animation featured LEGO characters, the company didn’t directly promote its products throughout the film. Yet, reports show that the company saw a record $4.4 billion in sales after the movie’s release.
Offer Collaboration Opportunities
Branded content is unique because it allows brands to collaborate with everyone from their audience to other brands. This can either be by running sponsored content (paid partnerships) with influencers and brands or showcasing user-generated content on social media.
National Geographic’s project with beer brand Heineken is a great example of collaboration for branded content. The documentary A Wild Lager Story spotlights the discovery of wild yeast in Argentina and its impact on craft beers—which Heineken produces.
When to Invest in Branded Content
The impact of branded content can’t be overstated, but it may not be a viable or productive option for every business. Branded content is worth a shot for your company if you have:
A story to tell: Storytelling is at the heart of branded content, so if you want to pursue this form of marketing, you must have a story to tell. Your brand story should align with your brand values, whether it’s activism, an industry issue to address, or a social issue about which your brand is passionate.
The budget to produce it: Although you can create branded content on a budget, most branded content requires a sizable budget. Depending on the scope of work, you may need to pay videographers, influencers, and celebrities; cover travel and logistics; and find a suitable location to shoot.
An audience that responds to branded content: You’ll need to narrow down your audience’s interests and general response to branded content, as well as what your competitors have done in the field. There’s always a trailblazer, but often if most competing businesses in your industry have avoided branded content or had minimal success, it’s worth investigating why before taking the leap.
Examples of Branded Content
There’s nothing better than examples to bring a topic to life. Here are five of our favorite branded content examples to help you understand what it is and how to do it.
Barilla: The Promise with Roger Federer and Zizou
In this heartwarming video spot by Barilla, tennis legend Roger Federer orchestrates a surprise reunion with a boy whose dream is to play with the star. The brand subtly inserts its signature pasta in the background of some scenes, but the focus is on the two players throughout.
Red Bull: Supersonic Freefall Campaign
Red Bull partnered with Australian skydiver Felix Baumgartner as he made a 39,045 meters (128,100 feet) freefall in 2012. Besides their logo on the video, the brand makes little mention of their product throughout the entertaining, inspiring video.
Dove Show Us Campaign
Dove’s Show Us campaign is one of many branded content campaigns the brand has successfully run. It combines video content with user-generated website content.
The empowering video showcases real women with various skin types, hair types, body shapes, and more. And on its website, the brand continues to highlight women worldwide.
This builds support from women (the brand’s target audience) who share similar values, even though Dove never mentions its products.
Buffer’s Flow Blog
Buffer’s Flow blog features real-life stories of entrepreneurs and brands winning at social media marketing and making unconventional business choices. None of the articles and interviews mention Buffer or its services—not even a single promotional call-to-action!
The articles generate conversation and improve Buffer’s brand awareness while attracting customers who share their values.
Aerie Real
Women’s clothing brand, Aerie features women’s stories on their YouTube channel. Past guests include gymnast Aly Raisman and actress Lana Condor.
As should be with branded content, the brand does not mention or promote its products directly but focuses on storytelling and its brand value of being “real.”
Framework to Create Powerful Branded Content
If you feel ready to explore brand content for your business, you’re in good company. Follow this three-step framework to get started.
Consider Your Brand Values
With branded content, it’s less keyword research and more brand introspection. Unearth your brand’s most cherished values and think about how you can bring them to light with content that holds your audience's attention. Consider the following questions for inspiration:
What causes are you passionate about?
What are some key issues affecting your target audience?
In what ways can your brand bring humor or delight to your audience?
What industry topics would you like to educate your audience about?
In what ways can your audience be a part of your branded content?
Your answers to these questions should help clarify which subjects to build your content around. You can even use our content strategy roadmap template to outline your marketing strategy.
Set Your Content Goals
What do you want to achieve with branded content? For most brands, it's notoriety. Other brands want to connect more deeply with their audience, build brand affinity and loyalty, and engender brand advocacy.
Remember that branded content performance will need to be measured differently than basic SEO content. Consider fewer metrics like organic traffic and more indicators like video views, content shares, and chatter on social media.
Choose Your Preferred Media
As seen from our examples, most companies prefer video branded content, but you shouldn’t feel limited. Different content formats like branded podcasts, blog content, and even social media partnerships are all viable options.
Choose a medium that will appeal to your audience, align with your brand’s values, and get your message across in the best way possible.
Create Branded Content with Ease Using GatherContent
Birthing well-performing branded content requires seamless collaboration between everyone on your team. And it all begins with written content. Whether you’re crafting video scripts or blog content, you’ll need a content hub for brainstorming and polishing your material.
Good to Know: GatherContent is an all-in-one marketing platform for managing and creating content without friction. Plan, write, revise, and publish content straight from GatherContent—no fuss needed. Get started exploring all the ways you can use GatherContent today.
In 2017, digital branded content generated $6 billion, and in 2021, brands earned $20 billion from branded content, according to reports from Statista. More brands are finding new ways to tell their stories and spread the word about their products and services—and branded content is a top contender.
We’ll explain what branded content is, why more brands are using it, and how you can invest in creating successful branded content.
What is Branded Content?
Branded content refers to content that showcases a brand’s values through storytelling.
It’s not unusual for brands to collaborate with influencers, renowned filmmakers, and other corporations to create branded content.
Unlike banner ads and other traditional advertising, making sales is not the primary goal of branded content. Businesses use this kind of content to provide educational, inspirational, or entertainment value to their audience while generating awareness and conversation about their company without directly marketing their products or services.
Branded content takes many forms but is most commonly prepared as video content. Still, some brands create branded blogs, social media content, and even podcasts.
What’s the Difference Between Branded Content and Content Marketing?
It’s easy to confuse branded content with other kinds of marketing strategies. One example is content marketing.
Content marketing is the use of written, audio, or video material to promote a brand, product, or service for commercial purposes. This includes how-to articles, case studies, podcasts, listicles, whitepapers, and video content.
Branded content also promotes brands and their offerings, but subtly. It doesn’t center them but rather the story being told. By that definition, branded content is a form of content marketing. However:
"Not all content marketing material is branded content."
Many people confuse branded content with product placement, but both strategies are different.
Product placement features the product or service of a brand during a presentation often unrelated to the brand itself. For example, the use of Macs and iPhones throughout a TV series or movie is product placement for Apple.
On the other hand, branded content tells a story that highlights or aligns with the brand’s values without necessarily displaying the product. Some companies simply attach their logos to the project, while others include a nod or two to their product during the project.
3 Important Benefits of a Branded Content Strategy
Building a branded content strategy can benefit your company in three ways.
Create High Brand Awareness
Because branded content heavily employs storytelling, it makes for a particularly memorable experience for your audience.
Research has consistently shown that the brain remembers information better when it is linked to storytelling. As a result, people are more likely to remember branded content and the brand responsible for producing it.
This means that more people—including those outside your target audience—will learn of your brand, making you top of mind whenever they or anyone they know needs your services.
Generate Audience Engagement
Most high-quality branded content evokes emotion and moves audiences to engage by reposting, sharing, or commenting on social media platforms. This notoriety is why such content will more readily become viral than the average blog post.
Audience engagement creates a ripple effect of benefits. It enhances brand awareness and affinity, increases audience trust and loyalty, and ultimately drives conversions in the long run.
Take The LEGO Movie, released in 2014. Although the animation featured LEGO characters, the company didn’t directly promote its products throughout the film. Yet, reports show that the company saw a record $4.4 billion in sales after the movie’s release.
Offer Collaboration Opportunities
Branded content is unique because it allows brands to collaborate with everyone from their audience to other brands. This can either be by running sponsored content (paid partnerships) with influencers and brands or showcasing user-generated content on social media.
National Geographic’s project with beer brand Heineken is a great example of collaboration for branded content. The documentary A Wild Lager Story spotlights the discovery of wild yeast in Argentina and its impact on craft beers—which Heineken produces.
When to Invest in Branded Content
The impact of branded content can’t be overstated, but it may not be a viable or productive option for every business. Branded content is worth a shot for your company if you have:
A story to tell: Storytelling is at the heart of branded content, so if you want to pursue this form of marketing, you must have a story to tell. Your brand story should align with your brand values, whether it’s activism, an industry issue to address, or a social issue about which your brand is passionate.
The budget to produce it: Although you can create branded content on a budget, most branded content requires a sizable budget. Depending on the scope of work, you may need to pay videographers, influencers, and celebrities; cover travel and logistics; and find a suitable location to shoot.
An audience that responds to branded content: You’ll need to narrow down your audience’s interests and general response to branded content, as well as what your competitors have done in the field. There’s always a trailblazer, but often if most competing businesses in your industry have avoided branded content or had minimal success, it’s worth investigating why before taking the leap.
Examples of Branded Content
There’s nothing better than examples to bring a topic to life. Here are five of our favorite branded content examples to help you understand what it is and how to do it.
Barilla: The Promise with Roger Federer and Zizou
In this heartwarming video spot by Barilla, tennis legend Roger Federer orchestrates a surprise reunion with a boy whose dream is to play with the star. The brand subtly inserts its signature pasta in the background of some scenes, but the focus is on the two players throughout.
Red Bull: Supersonic Freefall Campaign
Red Bull partnered with Australian skydiver Felix Baumgartner as he made a 39,045 meters (128,100 feet) freefall in 2012. Besides their logo on the video, the brand makes little mention of their product throughout the entertaining, inspiring video.
Dove Show Us Campaign
Dove’s Show Us campaign is one of many branded content campaigns the brand has successfully run. It combines video content with user-generated website content.
The empowering video showcases real women with various skin types, hair types, body shapes, and more. And on its website, the brand continues to highlight women worldwide.
This builds support from women (the brand’s target audience) who share similar values, even though Dove never mentions its products.
Buffer’s Flow Blog
Buffer’s Flow blog features real-life stories of entrepreneurs and brands winning at social media marketing and making unconventional business choices. None of the articles and interviews mention Buffer or its services—not even a single promotional call-to-action!
The articles generate conversation and improve Buffer’s brand awareness while attracting customers who share their values.
Aerie Real
Women’s clothing brand, Aerie features women’s stories on their YouTube channel. Past guests include gymnast Aly Raisman and actress Lana Condor.
As should be with branded content, the brand does not mention or promote its products directly but focuses on storytelling and its brand value of being “real.”
Framework to Create Powerful Branded Content
If you feel ready to explore brand content for your business, you’re in good company. Follow this three-step framework to get started.
Consider Your Brand Values
With branded content, it’s less keyword research and more brand introspection. Unearth your brand’s most cherished values and think about how you can bring them to light with content that holds your audience's attention. Consider the following questions for inspiration:
What causes are you passionate about?
What are some key issues affecting your target audience?
In what ways can your brand bring humor or delight to your audience?
What industry topics would you like to educate your audience about?
In what ways can your audience be a part of your branded content?
Your answers to these questions should help clarify which subjects to build your content around. You can even use our content strategy roadmap template to outline your marketing strategy.
Set Your Content Goals
What do you want to achieve with branded content? For most brands, it's notoriety. Other brands want to connect more deeply with their audience, build brand affinity and loyalty, and engender brand advocacy.
Remember that branded content performance will need to be measured differently than basic SEO content. Consider fewer metrics like organic traffic and more indicators like video views, content shares, and chatter on social media.
Choose Your Preferred Media
As seen from our examples, most companies prefer video branded content, but you shouldn’t feel limited. Different content formats like branded podcasts, blog content, and even social media partnerships are all viable options.
Choose a medium that will appeal to your audience, align with your brand’s values, and get your message across in the best way possible.
Create Branded Content with Ease Using GatherContent
Birthing well-performing branded content requires seamless collaboration between everyone on your team. And it all begins with written content. Whether you’re crafting video scripts or blog content, you’ll need a content hub for brainstorming and polishing your material.
Good to Know: GatherContent is an all-in-one marketing platform for managing and creating content without friction. Plan, write, revise, and publish content straight from GatherContent—no fuss needed. Get started exploring all the ways you can use GatherContent today.
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