BOBCM: Best of Branded Content Marketing Volume II (10th Anniversary Edition)

1. CONTENTS FOREWORDINTRODUCTION CASESTUDIES Duck Tape ‘Race of Gentlemen’ Tenthwave Carphone Warehouse ‘Smarter World’ Adjust Your Set Chivas Regal ‘MASHTUN’ Somethin' Else Terra ‘Penetras de Luxo’ Wanted Agency and ASAS da Imaginação Unilever Dove ‘Real Beauty Sketches’ Ogilvy Barclays ‘Your Bank’ Red Bee Media Metro Trains Melbourne ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ McCann Unilever Surf TOWIE ‘Summer D’Reem’ ITV Volvo Trucks ‘The Epic Split’ Forsman & Bodenfors Sony Xperia ‘Vs The Northern Lights’ DigitasLBi PepsiCo Lyubimy ‘Natural Love’ Fuse Russia Intel+Toshiba ‘The Beauty Inside’ Pereira & O’Dell Unilever Hellmann’s ‘In Search of Real Food’ Ogilvy RESEARCHMARKETREPORTSTHEFUTURE ABOUTTHEBOOK 10 Years of the BCMA Alison Knight Looking Forward to the Next 10 Years Andrew Canter Stop Trying to Make Your Ads Go Viral: Top Tips for Video Success Unruly Defining Branded Content for the Digital Age: Phase One Findings Ipsos MORI & Oxford Brookes Russia Anton Efimov Brazil Patrícia Weiss Expert Predictions Report Justin Kirby Contributors Producers Feedback Copyright 2014. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publishers (BCMA, DMC, New Media Works) and the relevant copyright owner. Please contact online@dmc.co.uk in the first instance to request such permission. All trademarks and registered trademarks acknowledged. All rights reserved. CLIENTVIEW Eurostar Nick Mercer

2. FOREWORD Back in the early 2000s, I worked with a number of companies who were advising brands to use different ways of communicating with their audiences, often substituting and in some instances replacing more traditional advertising routes. It struck me that it seemed a good idea to try to bring together these interested parties and promote a new form of communication based on bringing consumers and brands together by invitation, not interruption, in an entertaining and engaging way through branded content. The number of interested parties wanting a forum for discussion, sharing of ideas, setting industry standards and development of best practice steadily increased and the Branded Content Marketing Association or BCMA was ofﬁcially launched in October 2003. The BCMA’s primary objective was to act as a catalyst in breaking the existing barriers between content providers, advertisers, agencies and platforms. It was formed to offer support, advice, share ideas, to develop best practice, share learning and to promote the adoption of branded content as a marketing medium by communicating its strengths to the wider market. Alison Knight Founder, BCMA BACK TO CONTENTS

3. Over the last 10 years, the BCMA has established itself as the leading organisation for branded content. We have created a proprietary measurement tool, contentmonitor, giving us valuable insight into what makes branded content effective. We have opened dedicated BCMA chapters in the USA, Russia and most recently South America and Scandinavia. We were delighted with the response to our first ebook showcasing great examples of branded content, which was published in early 2013. Due to its success – and with special thanks to Tenthwave, Somethin’ Else, Ipsos MORI, Adjust Your Set, DMC and New Media Works for their help with editing, production, distribution and promotion – we have pleasure in publishing this, our second ebook. We envisage this being an annual publication showcasing the very best of branded content. We also publish the ‘BCMA Weekly Digest’ that brings together all branded content news and stories from around the world. Our Insight Series of events brings together leading experts in the field of branded content to share their views on the current and future trends. And our recently developed Leadership Series showcases the latest developments affecting the industry. Contained within this ebook are all things branded content, including the best recent case studies, a report on emerging markets, expert predictions on future trends and an in-depth analysis of the first phase of the Oxford Brooke’s University and Ipsos MORI Academic Study which sets out to develop a clearer understanding of this key marketing concept and define branded content in the digital age. We look forward to our next ten years with great excitement and we hope you are inspired to join us on this amazing journey. 3BACK TO CONTENTS

4. INTRODUCTION We generally look back to look forward and predict the emerging trends, but the explosion of social media and the rapid development of technology has impacted positively on branded content and given us a glimpse of what the future may hold for brands. 2013 was the year that branded content marketing came of age. The recent content revolution can be traced back to a seminal moment in 2001 when BMW decided to take its US$30 million advertising budget and spend it on producing ﬁve ‘mini’ feature ﬁlms working with luminary directors and producers, such as Ang Lee, Guy Richie, John Woo, Ridley and Tony Scott. The star-studded line-up of actors included Andrew Canter  CEO  BCMA Looking Forward to the Next 10 Years“2013 has been an incredibly exciting year with some amazing campaigns from major brands. We’ve seen the growth of social media and the Internet as a real driver, and I think that brands that adopt strategies that embrace branded content to its full impact will maximise ROI.” PLAY AUDIO BACK TO CONTENTS

5. Clive Owen, Madonna, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Gary Oldman and Forest Whitaker. BMW Films’ ‘The Hire’ series season one featured ‘Ambush’, ‘Chosen’, ‘The Follow’, ‘Star’, and ‘Powder Keg’. The brand followed this up with three more films for season two: ‘Hostage’, ‘Ticker’, and ‘Beat the Devil’. Already ahead of the curve, BMW then created BMW Audiobooks in 2006, which were given to customers to play in their new cars, but were not deemed to be a great success. However, we often learn more from things that don’t work than from things that do, so BMW should be congratulated for their vision and foresight. We can surmise that this influenced the decision of the likes of Audi (2005) and more recently Renault (2009) to launch dedicated channels to showcase their brands. We have also seen Jaguar producing the 2013 film, ‘Desire’, starring Damian Lewis. It was created in collaboration with Ridley Scott Associates (RSA) and features music from Lana Del Rey. The masters of branded content, Red Bull have created some incredible content over the past few years, culminating in the Stratos project that saw Felix Baumgartner freefall from space. Who would have thought that a brand would be bold and confident enough to spend millions on achieving this? Money well spent? It certainly gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, “Red Bull gives you wings”. Mobile telecommunications brands have been extremely active in the branded content market in the last decade. We have seen Orange create the music show ‘Playlist’ with Initial (Endemol), broadcast on ITV in 2005. A year later T-Mobile decided to follow suit and co-produced a show with Channel 4 called ‘Transmission’, and Vodafone’s music show TBA ran on E4 from 2006, produced by Endemol. Drinks brands have relied heavily on branded content, with great examples from Bacardi’s B-Live events in partnership with Groove Armada. A drinks brand as a record label? Also, 5BACK TO CONTENTS

6. established brands such as Johnnie Walker have created a rich vein of content based on the history of the brand. Other brands like Chivas Regal have invested heavily in content creation with two films based on real friendships directed by multi-award-winning Joachim Back: ‘Here’s to Big Bear’ and ‘Here’s to Twinkle’. We also witnessed a huge change in attitude to content as brands such as Heineken reportedly increased their branded content marketing budget from under 5% to 25% over the course of 18 months. This culminated in their highly acclaimed 2011 ‘Open Your World’ campaign that was created to engage in areas that were at the centre of their core consumer’s life, i.e. music, football, nightlife and social media. With this campaign, they recognise the legend in all of their drinkers, those who know their way around and recognise a fine beer when they taste one. In ‘The Entrance’, the film’s hero demonstrates his ‘legendary-ness’ by making the ultimate party entrance. This was followed by their high-profile involvement in the James Bond movie ‘Skyfall’, which caused a great stir among Bond fans as beer replaced his Martini and generated huge coverage for the brand. It was a notable example of how brand integration can be subtle but effective, notwithstanding the £45 million investment. 6 “We’ve evolved from, “If [consumers] might skip my ads then I’m going to try and hide my ads in the content they’re already consuming” to “Wait a minute, I actually have stories that I can shape and share with my audience that are worthy of their time.” That is really a huge transfer of thought from a world of branded content being a tactic, to a world of strategic, story-based marketing where all forms of communication have to be put through the filter of “What do I have to say that adds value to people’s lives and conversations?”” Scott Donaton, Global Chief Content Officer, UM PLAY AUDIO BACK TO CONTENTS

7. Branded content has always been at the heart of Luxury brands, with great examples coming from: Dunhill’s ‘The Voice’ campaign, featuring distinguished gentlemen who have achieved great things in their chosen fields; Prada with ‘The Therapy’, a short movie directed by Roman Polanski, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Ben Kingsley; LVMH; Chanel, producing the 30-minute film ‘The Tail of a Fairy’, created by Karl Lagerfeld and featuring Vogue cover girl Freja Beha Erichsen; and Cartier with their incredibly moving ‘Painted Love’ campaign, featuring original music by French band, Air. The soft drinks sector has been dominated by Coca Cola who have fully committed to branded content with their ‘Content 2020’ vision. They believe this will leverage the opportunities in the new media landscape and transform one-way storytelling into dynamic storytelling that hopes to add value and significance to people’s lives. Their ‘Move to the Beat’ campaign in 2012 formed part of their Olympic Games association and achieved great results. We have also seen them diversify into sub brands, such as Coke Zero for which ‘A Step from Zero’ was created with excellent results. The campaign consisted of launching a global social media audition to define the next global dance move. After hundreds of original dance move submissions poured in from all parts of the world – igniting thousands of social media conversations – one guy stood out with a tale of possibility that just had to be told. Not only did his dance move – the ‘Toe Tappy’ – take off, but also he got the whole world dancing to it. And who can forget the Coca Cola Polar Bears that featured during the Superbowl in 2012? Another great example of branded content from a truly visionary brand. In sport, Nike have been the most active brand creating content around specific events, such as their city-based ‘Run’ series – for example, aligning ‘Run London’ to the recent ‘My Time Is Now’ campaign. Then there are the charities that have used branded content effectively. Of note is ‘Movember’ that has helped to raise 7BACK TO CONTENTS

8. £276 million over the past 10 years with 577 funded projects for men’s health in 21 countries, focused upon prostrate and testicular cancer as well as mental health issues. There is also Cancer Research UK’s ‘Tesco Race for Life’, the UK’s biggest women-only fundraising event, which incorporates a 5km run for the charity. It has raised almost £500 million over the past two decades. There are many more great examples of brands using content effectively, which can be viewed on the BCMA’s YouTube channel. There are also examples of where branded content has not worked as well as planned. It is often the latter campaigns we learn most from, and we must ensure that changes are implemented for subsequent activity to ensure the best possible outcome. At our most recent BCMA event, BC: 2023, we asked our experts to look 10 years into the future and give us their views on what brands would be doing to engage with their customers. Eric Schwamberger, Partner at Tenthwave, said that brands will stop "disrupting what people are interested in" and try to "become what people are interested in", shifting marketing value from brand impressions and message frequency to brand engagement and experiences. His other prediction was that, as the ﬁrst ‘Social Generation’ grows up, transparency and sharing will become 8 “I think one of the most interesting things about marketing today is just how much being a globally connected society has changed things. As more people enter the job market and [join] organisations that understand the value of relevant content and being a good social brand, and that value relationships over impressions – as these people are put in charge of budgets, we are going to see more attention paid to branded content and content marketing. This is going to be essential for these people to succeed, because many brands will be competing to win the hearts and minds of their consumers. The successful agencies in the next ﬁve years are going to become obsessed with delivering branded experiences that can create real bonds with their customers.” Eric Schwamberger, Partner, Tenthwave PLAY AUDIO BACK TO CONTENTS

9. part of a new global dynamic. The idea of social media will move past a line item in the marketing budget to an integrated tactic of just about everything we do. We have seen an unprecedented increase in the level of branded content over the past year, and, although the process of producing great content has improved, there is still much debate and discussion about the best approach. This was summed up in 2013 by Robin Thornton of Shaman Marketing, who said, “There is a significant amount of confusion and controversy out there around what content is, what it does and how to use it.” This is backed up by Cindy Gallop of IfWeRanTheWorld who said, “Content is such a broad and fuzzy term that it tends to make any discussion of it broad and fuzzy as well.” These quotes come from the literature review of our current academic study, ‘Defining Branded Content for the Digital Age’ – see the Phase One results report here. However, through the BCMA’s desire and passion to drive forward creativity and establish academic understanding, champion best practice and share learning, we truly believe that branded content will continue to be an increasingly important part of the marketing mix. This will maximise the return on investment for those brands adopting a strategy that fully embraces the power of content. 9 “I don’t think brands are taking enough risks in the content space. [They are] looking at what they bought from a mass media perspective and trying to replicate that in the realm of digital. I also believe that the content produced by brands is primarily passive and linear. I don’t think it takes advantage of advanced platforms like Xbox One. I don’t think it has a high level of consumer engagement. I don’t think it is transmedia in the truest sense of delivering different content experiences, be they entertainment or utility based. So I think there is tremendous growth opportunity.” Doug Scott, President, OgilvyEntertainment PLAY AUDIO BACK TO CONTENTS

10. 10 “The branded content segment is developing and becoming more popular among advertisers in Russia. Top TV programmes of general interest and top sport events are already branded. Further growth will follow the segmentation of content delivery channels (Internet and digital TV) and technologies that analyse audience preferences. Audiences will require more and more specific- interest content that will be produced in partnership with advertisers.” Anton Efimov, Managing Director, Fuse Russia “In the Age of Social Conversation, the period of interruption-based advertising is diminishing and is being replaced by engagement-based advertising in most parts of the South American region. In Brazil, 2013 has been the year of the video, due to the social visual culture evolution. Naturally, marketers are planning to increase social video ad placements, leveraging the production investments of original content to create their own experience and conversation territory with the consumer - without causing an impact on the traditional, and still predominant, investment in TV. Because we are an emerging market, in many cases, the content created is still centred on the brand and is media-oriented, demanding stronger planning and creativity to develop more entertaining, efficient, involving, storied and relevant branded content initiatives within the consumer’s context to provoke shareability and relationship. The big challenge for the Brazilian market is in maturing and expanding branded content strategies by permeating other forms of connection between the brand and the consumer. When storytelling gets incorporated in the centre of the brand strategy, it will triumph as a powerful, ‘meaning-conveyor’ marketing tool. More examples of compelling stories that manage to get the attention of a dispersive audience will be seen, informing and delivering value while entertaining. Marketers are getting serious about creating great stories that spread brand meaning and help to humanise the brands – exactly now, when the most important universal currency is the conversation.” Patrícia Weiss, SVP Strategic Consultant for Branded Content, Branded Entertainment and Transmedia Storytelling, ASAS da Imaginação BACK TO CONTENTS

11. Campaign : The Race of Gentlemen Client : ShurTech Duck Tape Agency : Tenthwave Digital CASESTUDY BACK TO CONTENTS

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13. First run over an Autumn weekend in 2012, the Race of Gentlemen is an invitation-only series of races in which hand- built, modified pre-World War II cars and motorcycles roar along a 1/8-mile sandy straight on the beach at Wildwood, New Jersey. The Race was conceived by a group of hot-rod enthusiasts from the Oilers Car Club, which was established in the 1940s. The Race invokes the bygone era when people built cars to push their skills and their love of speed, using parts pulled from other cars or fabricated by hand in their backyards and home garages. “My vision was for a race much like you would have seen in 1910 or ’20: people dressed up, with picnic baskets and good booze, waiting to see a machine at its top speed pass before them on a wide open beach,” said Mel Stultz of the Oilers Car Club and founder of the Race of Gentlemen. One of the spectators at the 2012 event was Brendan Kennedy – now a Tenthwave Creative Director. Brendan went to Tenthwave in summer 2013 and pitched the idea of partnering with a brand to help raise the profile of the Race. The agency loved the idea, but had just three weeks to find a partner, conceive and produce a campaign that would be ready to go live at the second annual Race in October 2013. 13 CHALLENGE BACK TO CONTENTS

14. When looking to engage a brand with a cultural event, Tenthwave aims to satisfy two important factors: 1. The event should be something that people care about and are already talking about, but there is an opportunity to expand the conversation in some way. 2. The involvement of the brand must be relevant and authentic to the event – a brand can’t stomp all over an event and take it over, they have to be genuine participants with a right to be there, and they have to participate in a way that’s not only on-brand but also feels natural to the consumers involved. For their first challenge – finding a willing and suitable brand partner – the agency realised that a cult race series with a niche target audience required the support of a cult brand that’s relevant to that niche and interested in building its own profile within the same community. One of Tenthwave’s clients, ShurTech’s Duck Tape®, was an obvious and natural fit. Duck Tape was first used during World War II, when US troops needed a strong, flexible, durable, waterproof tape that could seal canisters, secure cracked windows, repair trucks and more. The tape has been a staple in garages and toolkits across America ever since. Not surprisingly, drivers in the Race of Gentlemen were already using Duck Tape to build and patch up their cars, make pre-race modifications and running repairs – it was literally holding together vital car parts. 14 SOLUTIO BACK TO CONTENTS

15. So both culturally and from a product angle, Duck Tape was a perfect match for the Race. The brand agreed to get involved at short notice, trusting Tenthwave to come up with a branded content marketing idea that would expand on Duck Tape’s existing goodwill and authenticity among race-goers. The agency had several other considerations to take into account for the conception and production of a campaign. First, they had to do something highly effective for the Race and the brand with a very short lead-time and without spending a lot of money. In fact, there was less than US$10,000 allocated for media. Hurricane Sandy had hit the beach the year earlier, destroying some of the historic beach huts and infrastructure. In order to support the event, Tenthwave would have to bring their own technical communications equipment, such as power and Internet connectivity, and get Duck Tape involved from the ground up. From a creative viewpoint, the energy and passion of the historic motoring event was matched by the amazing natural beauty of the backdrop itself – the beach with its sand and sea spray, the crazy characters, the old jalopies and the heritage buildings would all enable the creation of great visual content. 15 PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

16. Tenthwave decided to create an experiential, branded content marketing pilot campaign, consisting of a mix of live activities during the Race from 4-6 October 2013: Live online broadcast of races Tenthwave created a campaign website that included live streaming of race footage from the beach, so that anyone anywhere in the world could view the races and the surrounding activity. Social media, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, was used to help drive trafﬁc to the live feed site before and during the Race. Live photographic contest Spectators were encouraged to take photos during the Race weekend and hashtag their photos with #raceofgentlemen and #ducktape for a chance to win US$500. Instagram was the main social media platform for the photos, however photos also appeared on Duck Tape’s Facebook page where the brand has more than 5.5 million fans. The contest was promoted on the campaign website via a live feed of the Instagram shots, and it was promoted live at the Race, where Duck Tape and Tenthwave staff walked around chatting with attendees and handing out cards with directions on how to enter the contest. 16 "This campaign worked because it was cool and fun and relevant for hotrod enthusiasts. Whatever it is that’s culturally relevant, we want to bring that authenticity and relevance to all the brands we work with. This campaign is just one excellent example of facilitating the meeting of a brand’s product with cultural and social currency." Drew Rayman, Managing Partner, Tenthwave BACK TO CONTENTS

17. Duck Tape giveaways ‘stand’ Duck Tape gave away free branded T- shirts, rolls of Duck Tape and cards promoting the photo competition from the back of a suitably modified stationwagon on the beach. Archival video footage A production crew filmed thousands of hours of footage during the Race weekend, with the aim to use this collection of stories and social content in future Duck Tape social and digital marketing initiatives. 17 "What was so great about this branded content campaign is that it was just an off-the-cuff idea from a guy in a garage: “Hey this is going on, wouldn’t it be cool if…” Duck Tape was literally invited in to the event and they took a chance that it would generate some benefits for them as well as for the Race of Gentlemen. And boy did it! It’s all about finding the right idea and the right brand and bringing them together." Kate Daggett, Executive Creative Director, Tenthwave "Duck Tape is the most versatile tool in my bag. I keep a roll in every car I own and I use a ton of it when I'm prop-making for the Race of Gentlemen" Meldon Van Riper Stultz III, Oilers Car Club, and his 1939 Indian Chief BACK TO CONTENTS

18. 18 Founded in 2010, Tenthwave is the customer-obsessed digital, social and mobile marketing agency. Its passion is to inspire customers through insight and understanding, creating share-worthy social content for brands that resonates with – and between – people. As a more personal, full-service digital agency, its core service offerings lie in strategy, research, digital design, development, branded content development, user experience, social media management, online media, analytics, promotions and online marketing. Tenthwave has about 100 employees globally, with offices in New York City, Long Island, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Washington DC and London. See more of Tenthwave's work here. RESULTS• c.30,000 people accessed the live event online broadcast • Online viewers from 60+ countries • Average 15+ minutes spent on site per visitor • c.1 million pieces of branded content consumed in a week "My first truck, a 1969 Toyota Hi-lux, had a floor entirely made of Duck Tape" John Illenye and his 1928 German-built Triumph and Hindenberg metal werks sidecar "I've used Duck Tape to make a fan belt – and a belt to hold up my pants!" David Stein and his 1930 Ford Model A Speedster BACK TO CONTENTS

19. The Duck Tape 'Race of Gentlemen' branded content marketing initiative matched the right brand with a relevant, relatively unheard-of, cool cultural event. It was the perfect opportunity to tell a story about Duck Tape in an authentic way – a story that people could help create and share in real time from a live event via earned media. The brand was welcomed into the event, rather than having to buy its way in, and all the Tenthwave and Duck Tape staff rolled up their sleeves to help build the event infrastructure. This translated into a feel-good, morale-boosting story that brought kudos to Duck Tape for its support of the event and the traumatised Jersey Shore, and in turn helped the live, socially activated campaign to take off under its own steam. The Duck Tape partnership also raised the Race of Gentlemen’s profile, connecting this niche subculture with other enthusiasts who create – and break! – things. Looking at the impact of the individual Duck Tape campaign activities, the stand at the Race was mobbed by race-goers and the free samples ran out within minutes, tens of thousands of people from around the world tuned into the live event on the campaign website, and over a million social impressions flooded the Internet over a couple of days. 19 OUTCOMES "Our goal with the Race of Gentlemen is to give car buffs some pure, event-driven content that stirs passion and makes them the marketing engine. When a brand delivers content so cool that people want to share it with their friends, there’s a credibility you can’t buy." David Rodgers, Senior Digital Marketing Manager, ShurTech Brands BACK TO CONTENTS

20. There were several useful outcomes from the photographic contest: When Duck Tape and Tenthwave staff walked down the beach to hand out cards about the contest, the reaction was extremely positive and they were treated as part of the family. Duck Tape wasn’t borrowing the equity of the Race; it was dedicated to helping build it – a difference that was apparently obvious to event attendees and social media viewers alike. As a result, Duck Tape saw its largest spike in conversation across its social media channels. Through its presence at the Race and the inherent awareness this created, the brand also appeared in vastly more attendee photographs as an integral part of the cars, motorbikes, and general race experience. The photographic contest also proved vital to the live broadcast activity. When there were breaks between races, the footage from the beach wasn’t constantly riveting. However, the accompanying Instagram feed always featured shots that captured breathtaking moments in time and covered stories that were going on all over the beach, such as performer stunts that were pulled – a racer standing on a motorbike, the passion and energy of the event. The archive film footage of the event is being curated, along with all the fan content, and it will be distributed throughout the coming year. Building on 2013’s campaign experience, Duck Tape and Tenthwave are now looking to scale up the reach and amplification of the pilot project’s success. For 2014, Tenthwave plans to involve additional strategically aligned brand collaborators to augment the campaign activities, create more rich content to share, and use it to build a larger cultural story for the Race of Gentlemen and its associated partner brands. 20 "I X out my headlights and seal my floor with Duck Tape when I'm racing" TJ O'Grady and his 1931 Model A Ford roadster pick-up "We use Duck Tape on the seams between the hood and grill and the hood and body to help cheat the wind" Ken Schmidt and his 1932 Ford 3-window Coupe BACK TO CONTENTS

21. Campaign : Smarter World Client : Carphone Warehouse Agency : Adjust Your Set CASESTUDY BACK TO CONTENTS

23. 23 CHALLENGE In 2012, Carphone Warehouse decided to return to its roots – a new ‘back-to- basics’ approach, with a focus on becoming the specialist smartphone retailer. With every network represented (7million+ purchase combinations), Carphone Warehouse’s unique sales proposition is to oﬀer more choice than any rival retailer, and to be the only place for truly independent expert advice. To fulﬁl this aspiration the brand needed to inspire people about what smartphones can do: the mini-computer in the pocket that can make people laugh, cry, keep close to loved ones, educate, provide the soundtrack to a commute, help run a new business – even spark revolutions and regime change. Video has an important role to play in this activity. Video consumption is becoming increasingly critical in the consumer research and purchase journey – 39% of all smartphone shoppers now use video at some point in their buying process. Carphone Warehouse appointed Adjust Your Set as its video agency following a competitive pitch, then challenged the agency to create a campaign with two objectives: 1. Develop an ongoing programme of entertaining and engaging video content that inspires people about smartphone possibilities. 2. Support the brand’s desire to become the number one destination for smartphone research and browsing. The results benchmark for the campaign was to generate 6 million aggregated views and a 5% click- through rate within a year. BACK TO CONTENTS

24. Adjust Your Set came up with the ‘Smarter World’ branded video campaign, creating a content strategy split into three phases; awareness, engagement and interaction. For the launch of the campaign, Adjust Your Set produced an introductory film to a ‘Smarter World’, unveiling ‘Cliff’ as a humorous salesman in a Carphone Warehouse store, fed up with customers not using their phones to their full potential. Cliff takes customers on a journey through the ‘Smarter World’ lab where dogs can communicate, a DJ can spin tunes and you can work up a sweat with a personal trainer, all from your smartphone or tablet. Adjust Your Set has now started creating a series of six ‘Smarter World’ documentaries focussing on different inspirational stories. The first looks at an amateur photographer’s rise to fame through smartphone photography. The film crew took Dilshad Corleone to Barcelona to shoot the city with its stunning architecture and beauty, simply via his smartphone and the variety of apps now available to photographers. 24 SOLUTIO PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

25. The next documentary features the achievements of blind runner Simon Wheatcroft who is using his smartphone to help him train for an ultra-marathon in the desert. The documentaries are complemented by how-to content created by Carphone Warehouse and Geek Squad, showing viewers how they can use apps to achieve similar style photos, videos and challenges. The audience is then encouraged to create and submit their own photos and videos. To host this content and enable it to be shared with other people, Adjust Your Set designed and built a dedicated video player system that presents both the professionally produced content and user-generated content integrated across multiple channels (carphonewarehouse.com, YouTube, Facebook) and devices (desktop, mobile and tablet). When people upload their own smartphone content, as well as sharing via social media the ways in which smartphones have affected their lives they get the chance to win smartphone- related prizes. The winning entries are then used to populate the ‘Smarter World’ player to provide an immersive visual experience to the user. 25 PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

26. 26 Adjust Your Set™ is a full-service digital content agency. Their approach is to fuse content strategy, creativity and technology to enable brands to become always-on publishers in a customer-centric digital world. As the most visible and powerful content format available to brands on digital and mobile channels, and the fastest growing advertising medium ever, video is the agency’s focal point. Adjust Your Set have been pioneers and distributors of video in a multi-screen world since 2008. Take a look at some more work from Adjust Your Set. RESULTSLaunched in 2013, the ‘Smarter World’ campaign has achieved: • 1 million+ aggregated views within six weeks of launch, backed by media spend • 36,000+ page impressions • 4,000+ user-generated content uploads BACK TO CONTENTS

27. The 'Smarter World' branded video campaign achieved its core aims. The device that generated the most engagement, not surprisingly, was the smartphone. It drove 68% of the page impressions, followed by the tablet at 55% 27 OUTCOMES "Our customers want to connect with us in new and smarter ways, and video is the ideal content format to share our brand stories with them. We were really impressed by the strategic thinking from Adjust Your Set, and their expertise in retail video-commerce. The ‘Smarter World’ branded content marketing campaign combines creative and technical innovation to deliver strong brand engagement." Gareth Jones, Head of Online Marketing, Carphone Warehouse BACK TO CONTENTS

28. Campaign : MASHTUN Client : Chivas Regal Agency : Somethin’ Else CASESTUDY PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

29. Working with Havas, Somethin’ Else took Chivas’ overall campaign objectives and put their proven design approach to work. Somethin’ Else could have proposed a perfectly suitable game where little hosts barrel back and forth. However, creating a game that actually makes social gatherings go well was deemed a far better plan: the game should be a tool for hosts and should bring the campaign to life. Recognising that social gatherings are affected by personal digital technology, Somethin’ Else also decided to embrace that technology to turn the attention of party guests towards each other. This called for a 29 CHALLENGE Chivas Regal is a sophisticated, modern brand of Scotch whisky – with over two centuries of history. Their ‘Art of Hosting’ marketing campaign is sharply focused: Chivas makes the modern social gathering complete. Chivas asked their marketing partner Havas Worldwide London to include a smartphone app in the campaign. Havas challenged content design and creation company Somethin’ Else to come up with a game that showcased the ‘Art of Hosting’, which is all about creating an environment, a novel experience, and facilitating a good time. SOLUTIO MASHTUN BACK TO CONTENTS

30. social game that made players look at each other rather than their devices. Those two insights framed Somethin’ Else’s mission: to reinvent the parlour game for the modern age; to make ‘real- time social games’; and ultimately to make you a better host. The starting point for developing the game was to look at the most successful parlour games from history and capture their essence. What made them popular games? What was the central mechanic that encouraged interaction? The creative team tested them out (a lot) and whittled the list down to around 20 games. The next step was to test these ideas against the central premise: the games had to make smart, entertaining and imaginative use of iPhone and iPad hardware, such as the touch screen, camera, gyroscope, accelerometer and microphone. A shortlist was then compiled and the resulting games were prototyped and tested to see if they ﬁt the bill. Scoring was an interesting challenge. The aim was for scoring to be arbitrary, something to be set by the party host to demonstrate that s/he had the qualities that Chivas was interested in fostering. The results of several user testing sessions with a target audience of professional people aged 25-35 were fed 30BACK TO CONTENTS

31. into the whole development process to create the final app: MASHTUN – a suite of five parlour games for the modern host: • Mashact: Inspired by Charades, this quick-fire acting game encourages wild team acting under pressure, with the words selected by the opposing team. • Mashjam: Players ‘jam’ by playing sections of a track in time. • Mashtip: Players complete physical challenges while keeping a tower of blocks balanced. • Mashrelay: A head-to-head relay race powered by your voice! • Mashseek: Hide and seek for the modern age. One team hides their device. The other team uses their device to find it. The MASHTUN app automatically suggests the number of teams and the number of players on each team, based on the guests and smartphones or tablets in the room. Launched in April 2013, the free app was made available on the iTunes app store as part of the wider ‘Art of Hosting’ campaign, and promoted via YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook. 31BACK TO CONTENTS

32. 32 Somethin’ Else designs and creates content that millions of people watch, listen to and play with every day on their computers, radios, devices and televisions. Awarded internationally at the highest level – they are 2013’s BAFTA Production Company of the Year, for example – Somethin’ Else has an interdisciplinary team of media and technology experts who work with brands, broadcasters and content publishers across four areas: digital, radio, talent, and TV and video. Their knowledge of strategy and their obsession with audiences and users help them to achieve diﬃcult objectives by creating content people love. Take a look at Somethin’ Else’s showreel. "This collaboration with Havas Worldwide London shows why enlightened brands and agencies are instrumental in the future of content. Together we've created a parlour game like never before – truly social and sophisticated, challenging people’s perceptions of technology and gaming." Paul Bennun, Chief Creative Oﬃcer, Somethin’ Else BACK TO CONTENTS

33. The MASHTUN app has been nominated for a number of awards (already winning a bronze award in the Kinsale Sharks International Creative Festival 2013 – Digital category), and generated signiﬁcant interest from other FMCG brands on how games can play a part in their content marketing. 33 OUTCOMES "Chivas MASHTUN combines elements that we know modern gentlemen love: games, gadgets and, above all, being a great party host. Chivas has always been about bringing people together, celebrating friendship and generosity. With this new venture, we wanted to change the rules of gaming technology, which can be insular, and make entertaining at home sociable, entertaining and memorable." James Slack, Global Brand Director, Chivas ©OliviaArthur/MagnumPhotos BACK TO CONTENTS

34. Campaign : Penetras de Luxo Client : Terra Agency : Wanted ASAS da Imaginação CASESTUDY BACK TO CONTENTS

36. Wanted Agency and ASAS da Imaginação decided to create branded content that featured Generation Y and could be viewed digitally, making it possible to generate spreadability. They came up with ‘Penetras de Luxo’ (VIP Party Crashers), a series of online ﬁlms that uses Planeta Terra as a backdrop to tell the story of a group of friends that gatecrashes the festival’s VIP area. To shoot the series, the festival was turned into a set where the storyline and characters were ﬁctional but settings and surroundings were real. 36 CHALLENGE Terra is a Brazilian ISP and media network that sponsors Planeta Terra, one of the largest music festivals in Brazil. The brand challenged Wanted Agency and ASAS da Imaginação to come up with a marketing campaign that had two objectives: extend the experience of the one-day Planeta Terra festival into other territories; and connect with Generation Y to continue the conversation about the festival long after the event ends. SOLUTIO PENETRAS DE LUXO BACK TO CONTENTS

37. Live incidents that occurred throughout the festival were used to develop the story, grabbing the attention of the public during and after the event. Launched online and on digital TV after the festival, six short episodes and one short film presented the ‘Penetras de Luxo’ characters and showed how they gatecrashed the VIP area. Just like every good work of fiction, a conflict was also added: a mysterious situation occurs and they all end up at the police station. The idea of blending real life with fiction was taken a step further with a celebrity twist that started during the festival. One of the characters was played by a famous Brazilian actor and, in a PR stunt, his character’s name reflected his real name, Sergio. So when a fictional kiss between him and another character was shown on the big screens at the festival, it generated tweets and impressions on social media instantly. 37BACK TO CONTENTS

38. 38 RESULTS During the Planeta Terra festival weekend: • c.65,000 festival attendees were exposed to elements of the series • The kiss scene received 600,000 social media impressions • The buzz became so intense that Sergio had to publicly announce that the kiss was part of ‘Penetras de Luxo’, creating even more buzz about the series ‘Penetras de Luxo’ subsequently became one of the most watched national productions on Terra’s digital TV platform, Sunday TV Wanted Agency was founded in Brazil in the age of participation, in the midst of a culture of convergence. The Agency believes that fan culture is the new reality in which consumers participate in the production of collective intelligence about brands and products. In order to succeed, the brand story needs to connect with the broader conversation and discussion of what is happening in today's culture. Wanted Agency specialises in creating or developing brand culture. It uses a proprietary methodology to tell a consistent story throughout the brand experience and initiatives, connecting the brand to contemporary culture and creating tribes who actively participate in the life of the brand. Take a look at some more work from Wanted Agency. BACK TO CONTENTS

39. The ‘Penetras de Luxo’ series of branded content ﬁlms became such a hit for Terra that it has now evolved into a sitcom with a contract for an entire season on web and cable TV. 39 OUTCOMES "The key to the success of this branded content marketing campaign was creating intriguing narrative content that seamlessly incorporated the product (the festival) with the audience, as well as blurring the lines between ﬁction and reality. This created an appetite for people to discover more, to put themselves in the shoes of the characters and to talk to each other about the story unfolding before them." Patrícia Weiss, CSO, Wanted Agency; SVP Strategic Consultant for Branded Content, Branded Entertainment & Transmedia Storytelling, ASAS da Imaginaçaõ BACK TO CONTENTS

40. Campaign : Real Beauty Sketches Client : Unilever Dove Agency : Ogilvy CASESTUDY PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

41. 41 CHALLENGE From 2005, Unilever's Dove brand of personal care products has celebrated women's natural beauty in its 'Real Beauty' marketing campaigns. Market research suggested that only 4% of women describe themselves as beautiful, so the Dove Real Beauty campaign for 2013, created by Ogilvy Brazil, was tasked with raising the self- esteem of the other 96%. No short order! Real Beauty Sketches "Unilever asked us to make women feel better about themselves. We wanted to move women, to ﬁnd an idea that could actually prove to women that they're wrong about their self-image. Hats oﬀ to Unilever – they didn't approve a script, they approved a social experiment that could've gone either way." Anselmo Ramos, Creative Director, Ogilvy Brazil BACK TO CONTENTS

42. Ogilvy came up with the idea to run a social experiment that turned on its head the tendency of women to be critical of their appearance. It involved women being filmed going through a process of self-discovery, seeing themselves through their own eyes and those of strangers. For the experiment, FBI forensic artist Gil Zamora sketches women he can't see on different days – firstly based on their own descriptions of themselves, then based on a stranger's description, without Gil ever knowing when the subject was the same person. The resulting sketches are then revealed to the subjects for comparison, with the sketches from the strangers' descriptions being the more accurate and flattering. The women reacted strongly to the sketches, some with tears, as they realised that they were doing themselves an injustice. The campaign was presented on YouTube as a branded, documentary-style film (in six-minute and three-minute versions) with the tagline 'Women: You Are More Beautiful Than You Think'. 42 SOLUTIO BACK TO CONTENTS

43. 43 RESULTS• 170 million views on YouTube • Most-watched online branded content of 2013 • 3rd most-shared branded video of 2013 BACK TO CONTENTS

44. The Dove Real Beauty Sketches branded content marketing campaign strongly reinforced Dove's ongoing Real Beauty strategy. It was successful in tapping into women's emotions and making people think again about how they judge their own appearance. The ﬁlm went viral very quickly (more than 15 million views within a week of its launch) and inspired conversations, debate and articles in media as diverse as Adweek, The Telegraph, Facebook, Bloomberg, Mashable, New York Times, Forbes, Hufﬁngton Post, and Psychology Today – as well as wider adoption of the concept, such as the 'Men: You Are Less Beautiful Than You Think' spoof video. 44 OUTCOMES BACK TO CONTENTS

45. Campaign : Your Bank Client : Barclays Agency : Red Bee Media CASESTUDY PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

46. Video content held the key to answering those particular challenges. Its power to move, amuse and persuade people was used by Red Bee to tell real stories about the changes Barclays had made and is still making now. Working with Barclays, Red Bee identiﬁed the stories with the most tangible and demonstrable human impact – the ones that would lend themselves best to video. Wherever possible, these stories were told from the customers' perspective, not that of the Bank. This was important for two reasons. Firstly, it placed customers and their needs at the heart of the story, demonstrating 46 CHALLENGE After a period when high street banks haven’t been top of the general public’s Christmas card list, Barclays wanted to demonstrate a change of approach, one born of a very real desire to regain the public’s trust and preference. Barclays asked Red Bee Media to produce branded content for a new marketing initiative called 'Your Bank'. This initiative invites consumers to help inﬂuence changes to everyday banking. Your Bank includes an online platform to gather and share ideas to improve Barclays products, services and overall banking experience. The development of Your Bank presented as much of a challenge as an opportunity. Namely, how do you make people stick around voluntarily to explore a website dedicated to everyday banking issues – not normally a high interest category? And how could Barclays show that it was and is acting on the ideas suggested? The branded content on the Your Bank website therefore needed to both enthrall and inform. SOLUTIO Your Bank BACK TO CONTENTS

47. Barclays' determination to put customers first in all of its thinking. And secondly, it made the stories more instantly relatable to the audience. Your Bank launched with a series of these stories in the format of online films, some showcasing initiatives that Barclays had already implemented to make everyday banking better as a result of its customers’ feedback, others demonstrating Barclays’ commitment to listening to and understanding its customers. The first batch of films included: • Blind stand-up comedian Chris McCausland introducing Barclays’ new audio cash machines for blind and partially sighted people. Chris gives us some insight of his previous difficulties with talking machines. • An animated story of how a customer and a Barclays Personal Banker created a new type of high visibility debit card for visually impaired customers. • The experiences of Barney, a Barclays Branch Manager, who spends an uncomfortable day in an “age suit” that simulates the physical restrictions and difficulties of being elderly or infirm, to research branch accessibility for older customers. • The story of Ken Bellringer, injured in Afghanistan, now on placement with 47 PLAY VIDEO PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

48. Barclays as part of its AFTER programme for ex-military personnel. • John Dennerly, a country park manager in Scotland who is deaf, introducing Barclays’ new sign video service. • The story of Sam, an older customer empowered to get online through a joint initiative between Age UK and Barclays. • And a series of ﬁlms featuring Barclays “Ideation” workshops with customers to generate ideas for making everyday banking better. The online videos were placed within the integrated Your Bank online platform (customised and managed by Dare) and on the Barclays YouTube channel. The launch was supported by print, outdoor and digital advertising driving consumers to the Your Bank website. 48 PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

49. 49 RESULTSWithin the ﬁrst three months of launch: • 449,000 interactions • 283,000 video views • 26,900 poll votes• 3,693 ideas submitted by consumers "The Your Bank branded video content is playing a key role in persuading the public that their ideas count and that it's worthwhile to submit them. The high level of interaction and idea submission is an indicative measure of audience engagement for Barclays, which can only help them improve customer service for the future." Michael Reeves, Business Development Director, Red Bee Media BACK TO CONTENTS

50. Thanks to Your Bank and its branded video content, Barclays is now able to have an ongoing conversation with customers – learning from them, listening to them and demonstrating the changes it’s making for them. 50 OUTCOMES "The 'Your Bank' platform and its content represents a very public commitment to listening to our customers and showing how we are going to act on change, big and small, which can make their lives easier." Sara Bennison, Managing Director, Marketing Communications, Barclays UK Retail Bank "Oﬀset savings account to current accountwhen going overdrawn" - ellievin89 "Show the interest rate of all savings accounts in online banking." - simonjones12345 "Enable Skype meetings with branch advisors."- Telegraph reader "Create a Barclay's programme for schools to educate children about money matters." - Mumsnetter "Be able to withdraw diﬀerent currencies from an ATM." - Parliament Street, York branch customer BACK TO CONTENTS

52. Two insights propelled McCann’s solution for the campaign: that young people hate being told what to do; and that if you get hit by a train, you’ve probably done something pretty dumb. So the campaign strategy focussed on turning a message about rail safety that nobody wants to listen to into a piece of entertainment people actively seek out and share, that tells the truth about rail accidents. McCann created ‘Dumb Ways to Die’, a branded content marketing campaign consisting of a three- minute song and video featuring 21 cartoon characters dying in really 52 CHALLENGE Every year there are needless deaths or accidents around trains in Melbourne, Australia. And while rail accidents are tragic, they are in most cases completely avoidable. This is particularly true for young adults. Metro Trains Melbourne challenged McCann Melbourne with three primary objectives for a new marketing campaign: 1. Reduce train-related accidents in key accident areas by 10% over 12 months 2. Generate a stated commitment to be safe around trains (40,000 pledges) 3. Generate campaign awareness of 25% among the core target audience of young adults SOLUTIO BACK TO CONTENTS

53. dumb ways – three of them in train- related accidents. McCann launched the song in the usual way on iTunes, YouTube, radio and more. The agency used both traditional media (radio, TV, cinema, posters, press) and social media (Soundcloud, Tumblr, Instagram and Facebook) to drive trafﬁc to the music video on YouTube. To extend the reach of the campaign through social media and PR, they also created dedicated forms of shareable content across multiple channels, including a karaoke version of the song, limited-edition posters of the characters, the ‘Little Book of Dumb Ways to Die’ for schools and the Dumb Ways to Die smartphone game app. 53BACK TO CONTENTS

54. 54 RESULTS74 million+ video views on YouTubeWorldwide #1 app downloaded over 35 million timesSong charted on iTunes in 28 countries; sold over 100,000 copies1 million+ pledges to be safe around trains on the campaign websiteAU$60 million of earned media impressions "We’ve got a campaign that’s relied on content and with the app we’re starting the move to merchandising. I think the way forward … is to steer away from the advertising model and create content and create merchandising … We need to keep creating shareable pieces that people can seek out and [that] have a worth beyond just the marketing message." John Mescall, Executive Creative Director, McCann Melbourne From interview in AdAge 24/6/2103 Most awarded campaign ever in D&AD history. Most awarded agency in the history of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Most awarded agency in the history of the Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity. London International Awards Agency of the Year 2013. Most awarded campaign at the Webby Awards 2013. 3rd ranked global agency at One Show 2013.Selected among TED’s top 10 Ads Worth Spreading 2013. (The only Australian advertisement ever to have been so recognised.) Clio Awards 2013 top ranked Australian Agency. Second ranked Australian agency at Adfest 2013. BACK TO CONTENTS

55. The ‘Dumb Ways To Die’ campaign became a global phenomenon and quickly demonstrated a real impact on social behaviour. Far exceeding its objectives, it’s one of Australia’s most successful public service campaigns. As well as the results listed previously, there were hundreds of cover versions and parodies viewed more than 20 million times themselves, campaign awareness among the core target audience of 46% after only one month, and most importantly a 10% reduction in near misses and accidents at level crossings and station platforms over 12 months. 55 OUTCOMES BACK TO CONTENTS

56. Campaign : Summer D'Reem Client : Unilever Media Owner : ITV CASESTUDY PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

57. Today, functional differences between detergents are minimal. Personality is the extra dimension that powerfully and intimately connects brands with consumers. This insight led to a ﬁtting solution: extending Surf's multi-platform sponsorship of The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE) – the show with some of the biggest and most inﬂuential personalities on TV. The entertainment show’s reach and the buzz it generates represented an excellent opportunity for Surf to get its key audience listening – and buying. 57 CHALLENGE In 2012, Unilever’s Surf laundry detergent found itself facing a challenge. Washing detergent is a low-interest category and Surf’s competitors were aligning themselves with the biggest event in the calendar – the 2012 Olympics. A big idea was needed for Surf to resonate in customers’ minds. SOLUTIO Summer D’Reem BACK TO CONTENTS

58. To deepen and personify the TOWIE/Surf relationship, Unilever extended its TOWIE licence to launch a brand new Surf fragrance called Summer D’Reem, featuring cast favourite Joey Essex. The launch included: • TOWIE branding on Surf packs and across in-store design • Social media-driven discussion from TOWIE’s ﬁercely loyal and active fan base • Joey Essex starring in unique viral video content ‘Fresh Out of Essex’ • Additional Surf digital advertising to support the launch ‘Fresh Out Of Essex’ was an online mini- series of exclusive content that lived on the ofﬁcial TOWIE website, devised to feed fans’ constant demand for everything TOWIE. Bumpers on ITV mobile and ITV Player, plus roadblocks on ITV.com consolidated this activity. Unilever also knew that competitions were key in engaging Surf’s target audience, and who would say no to a free, glamorous trip to ‘Marbs’ in Spain? Certainly not TOWIE fans. 58 PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

59. 59 RESULTS • £1 million+ gross retail sales value across the summer • Talkability 51% (vs. 36% non-viewers)• Purchase intent 62% (vs. 51% non-viewers)• 1.3 million ‘Fresh Out of Essex’ video views across the year • 61,501 visits to the Marbs competition entry page (297% vs. KPI) • 19.9 million monthly total video requests and 18 million page views online during the campaign BACK TO CONTENTS

60. 'Summer D’Reem' was a very successful branded content marketing campaign with a massive inﬂuence on viewer response. Surf’s TOWIE sponsorship awareness grew to 77% (22% above the norm) by the end of the campaign. The campaign was viewed as especially effective in terms of persuasion, with 62% of viewers likely to say it made them think differently about Surf and made them more likely to consider that Surf’s image was more positive. 60 OUTCOMES "Sponsoring TOWIE was a great chance to build brand awareness and demonstrate we are a fun brand with a point of diﬀerence. The new fragrance launch, aligned with TOWIE, further helped extend the sponsorship into retail, leading to great business results that helped meet our objectives." Katy Holder, Surf Brand Manager, Unilever BACK TO CONTENTS

61. Campaign : Live Test Series: The Epic Split Client : Volvo Trucks Agency : Forsman & Bodenfors CASESTUDY PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

62. The solution to both the targeting and budgeting challenges was to embrace the new media landscape. Forsman & Bodenfors’ idea adhered to Volvo Trucks’ communications strategy in which innovation plays a key role. The agency devised an online marketing campaign using branded video content presented on Volvo Trucks’ YouTube channel. Called the ‘Live Test Series’, the campaign consists of a group of online films, each showcasing a different new Volvo truck feature being put through its paces in a live test. 62 CHALLENGE The trucking industry is a traditional business-to-business environment in which it’s quite a challenge to introduce a radically new communication approach. In addition, the target group of truck purchasers is scattered and difficult to reach. There are many influencers around each buyer, ranging from drivers, family and friends to trade press journalists. Volvo Trucks and their Swedish independent agency partner Forsman & Bodenfors knew that the most obvious way to reach their core target group would be a ‘catch-all’ broadcast marketing approach. But ‘reaching’ doesn’t equate to ‘connecting’, plus there was no allowance for the huge media budget needed to conduct a global advertising campaign to launch their new truck models. SOLUTIO Live Test Series: The Epic Split BACK TO CONTENTS

63. However, this was not going to be any ordinary product review; the live experiments had to test the chosen features in informative, astonishing and entertaining ways, designed to focus on the trucks and catch the attention of the widest possible target audience. The aim of this creative strategy was to generate viral hits and a subsequent wave of (free) media publicity, effectively driving positive word of mouth about the ﬁlm content that was relevant to both trucking and non-trucking audiences. 63 'Pyramids in the Wild' PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

64. True to this strategy, the first five online films include one in which two trucks race towards a tunnel while a woman walks across a wire between them and another in which a truck takes part in a bull run. The former film generated nine million views. The sixth film in the Live Test Series – ‘The Epic Split’ – is an even better example of the power of this strategy, with the added twist of a celebrity participant whose existing fanbase helped drive word of mouth. The starting point for ‘The Epic Split’ came from talking to Volvo’s technicians about the film’s chosen feature: Volvo Dynamic Steering. This system combines conventional hydraulic powered steering with an electric motor fitted to the truck’s steering gear. The electric motor receives 2,000 signals per second from the truck’s sensors, allowing for more precise steering and a more relaxed and ergonomically designed experience for truck drivers. To demonstrate this stability and precision, the creative team worked closely with film director Andreas Nilsson to come up with the idea of a spectacular stunt: actor Jean-Claude Van Damme slowly performs a split while standing on the side mirrors between two Volvo FM trucks – that are driving backwards at 15 miles/25 kms per hour as they move apart! Filmed in one astounding 76-second take after three days’ practice at a Spanish airfield, the film was designed to work on two levels: most viewers are expected to think “Wow, Jean-Claude Van Damme”, but the core target audience is expected to think “Wow, two trucks are able to be driven in reverse like this”. 64BACK TO CONTENTS

65. 65 RESULTS Within the first three months of its launch in November 2013, ‘The Epic Split’ achieved: • 70 million+ views (10 million within the first 48 hours) • 8 million+ shares • Most shared video in the world within week one • Most watched automotive ad ever on YouTube • 20,000+ editorials globally online, in print and on TV (inc. general press and all major automotive and trucking press) • 5 million+ shares • #6 in YouTube’s Top Ten Trending 2013, a list that draws from all YouTube content across all categories, including babies and music videos that tend to generate the highest engagement • Earned media value of €126 million "The media landscape is changing. We have different media consumption habits today than a couple of years ago. That’s why, starting with the Live Test Series, we’re investing in this cost-efficient way of reaching out to millions of people via online branded content marketing." Anders Vilhelmsson, PR Manager, Volvo Trucks BACK TO CONTENTS

66. The Live Test Series has not used any traditional paid media – YouTube is its only media channel. The relevance and power of the branded content itself has kickstarted organic distribution, editorial coverage, wider interactions and an upsurge in awareness of the Volvo Trucks brand and product messages, both online and via the Volvo Trucks global dealer network. The Series has already won the Grand Prix award for Branded Content & Entertainment at Eurobest 2013. And, in the ultimate evidence that ‘The Epic Split’ ﬁlm has entered a wider cultural consciousness, it has already inspired a raft of consumer-generated spoof versions, some of which have racked up 50 million views themselves. Volvo Trucks will continue to release more Live Test Series stunt ﬁlms, paving the way for future advertising and sales campaigns in local markets. 66 OUTCOMES BACK TO CONTENTS

67. Campaign : Vs the Northern Lights Client : Sony Agency : DigitasLBi CASESTUDY PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

68. DigitasLBi developed ‘Xperia Vs…’, an online branded content programme that aimed to extend the target audience’s awareness of the new Sony Xperia Z and to encourage them to find out more about the phone. The initiative consists of a series of online video films in which ambassadors from the creative industries put features of the new phone to the test in interesting ways. For ‘Xperia Vs the Northern Lights’, the first group of chosen ambassadors – members of the bands OK Go and Pyyramids, and the photographer Martien Mulder – 68 CHALLENGE Sony is a household name when it comes to consumer electronics, however it’s a challenger brand in the relentlessly competitive smartphone market. In order to be among the top three brands people consider when choosing a phone, it’s essential to spread the word online. This is where people research ahead of purchase, and where brands earn the right to be viewed as a credible option. Supporting the introduction of the new Sony Xperia Z smartphone, DigitasLBi was tasked with creating an initiative to keep building product awareness post-launch – specifically online among the curious-minded, technology-loving target audience. The key challenge was to stand out from the existing plethora of online branded content in a way that was true to Sony’s philosophy: inspiring wonder and emotional response through technology. And all with minimal paid media support. SOLUTIO Xperia Vs The Northern Lights BACK TO CONTENTS

69. travelled to northern Sweden to capture the sights and sounds of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis). They used Sony Xperia Z smartphones and tablets to capture their inspiration, and then used the Xperia Z's one-touch connectivity feature to bring their work together, resulting in a four-minute track ‘From Under Other Stars’. DigitasLBi also created a series of in-depth, making-of ﬁlms demonstrating the process and the technology involved. Designed to appeal to the motivations of consumers with an interest in what’s new and exciting, along with a love of technology and its possibilities, the full series of ﬁlms from the trip was hosted on Sony Mobile's YouTube channel. 69 'Making Of (From Under Other Stars)' ‘Damian Kulash and the sound of outer space' 'Pyyramids in the Wild' 'Photographer Martien Mulder on ice' PLAY VIDEO PLAY VIDEO PLAY VIDEO PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

70. 70 RESULTS Within a week of release: • #1 most shared video on Facebook and Twitter in last 24 hours - UK • #3 most viewed YouTube video in last 24 hours - UK • #1 most popular YouTube video in 'Entertainment' - UK • #1 most popular YouTube video in 'All Categories' - UK Within seven months: • 500,000+ unique views • 1,000 new Sony YouTube channel subscribers "The 'Xperia Vs' series is essentially a product demonstration on steroids. It's a chance for us to put the device to the test in truly surprising ways, and see if it survives to tell the story. Tech always forms the backbone to these stories, and in this instance we put the Xperia in the hands of musicians and photographers and sent them to the Arctic Circle. Their mission? To create a one-of- a-kind audiovisual experience, using only the features of the phone, especially connectivity. A soundtrack to the Northern Lights was born. The result was a stunning, shareable piece of branded content and was supported by an innovation tale that spoke directly to our tech- curious audience." Simon Attwater, Group Creative Director, DigitasLBi BACK TO CONTENTS

71. With little paid media support, the Sony Xperia Vs Northern Lights online videos spread the message of the new smartphone to a vast new audience. By understanding the audience, creating a strategy that spoke to their interests, and developing branded content that was new and innovative, DigitasLBi produced a campaign that exceeded expectations. 71 OUTCOMES BACK TO CONTENTS

72. Campaign : Natural Love Client : PepsiCo Lyubimy Agency : Fuse Russia CASESTUDY BACK TO CONTENTS

73. Fuse Russia decided to bring ‘Natural Love’ from real life to the TV screen. The agency created a cross-media marketing campaign that used social media to invite people to tell their real-life love stories by writing in to campaign pages on two Russian social networks (vk.com and ok.ru) and on STS TV channel’s website. 73 CHALLENGE PepsiCo’s Lyubimy (meaning ‘beloved’) is one of the biggest fruit juice brands in Russia. Its marketing activity focuses on the message “beloved because it’s natural”, and stories about love lie at the heart of every communication. The most popular content among the brand’s target market – women aged 25-45 with average income – are TV shows and series about love. However, these portrayals of love are perceived by the audience to be artiﬁcial, not real. PepsiCo challenged its agency partner Fuse Russia to ﬁnd a way to link Lyubimy juice with unquestionably real, natural love stories. SOLUTIO Natural Love BACK TO CONTENTS

74. The 50 stories that received the most ‘likes’ online were turned into professionally shot video clips. Edited versions then appeared on STS, the biggest family TV channel in Russia, while the full versions were made available to view online. The people who submitted the best three love stories – one happy couple and two sad single people – won a romantic trip to France. 74 'Pyramids in the Wild' BACK TO CONTENTS

75. 75 RESULTS The campaign became the talk of Russia: • 2,000+ story submissions• 4.6 million active users on the campaign web pages (twice the previous biggest national Internet campaign) • 6.5 million online views• 200,000+ ‘likes’ • 3-4 times above market average conversion indices for online registration and subsequent actions “Thanks to Natural Love and STS channel.” “Thanks Lyubimy.” “So cute!” BACK TO CONTENTS

76. The ‘Natural Love’ branded content marketing campaign provided cut-through of the Lyubimy brand’s key message to the target audience, and converted online love into consumer love: the number of people who stated that their most often bought juice brand is Lyubimy rose by 20% during the campaign period. 76 OUTCOMEs "We were challenged by PepsiCo to ﬁnd a new way to cut through to the Lyubimy core market on TV. We used branded co-created content to give millions of people the ultimate real-life, natural love stories they already craved." Anton Eﬁmov, Managing Director, Fuse Russia BACK TO CONTENTS

77. Campaign : The Beauty Inside Client : Intel & Toshiba Agency : Pereira & O'Dell CASESTUDY PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

78. Pereira & O'Dell realised that all young people go through a journey of self-discovery and use technology as a key tool for this exploration and expression. The agency came up with the idea of co-creating a film about the universal search for self-knowledge and acceptance, using contemporary Hollywood stars (Topher Grace, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Matthew Gray Gubler) and social media to involve as many people in the target audience as possible. They devised a love story with the intriguing premise that the main character, Alex, wakes up every day 78 CHALLENGE Following the success of the 2011 thriller 'The Inside Experience', award-winning agency Pereira & O'Dell was asked to create a second branded content film for Intel and Toshiba. This film needed to feature the Toshiba Ultrabook laptop and refresh the 'Intel Inside' branding, introducing both Intel and Toshiba as innovative technology brands to a new generation of 18- to 34-year-old millennial consumers. SOLUTIO BACK TO CONTENTS

79. as a different person on the outside but the same person on the inside – and s/he has fallen in love with someone who can never see him/her as the same person. Alex makes a daily video diary of this experience on a Toshiba Ultrabook that goes everywhere with the character as a vital and natural accessory. The 45-minute film included gaps for consumer-generated content. Facebook was then used to invite people to audition to be an Alex by submitting their own video diary, putting themselves in Alex's shoes to share the experience. From over 4,000 auditions on Facebook, 26 Alexes were cast in the film. They included fans from all over the world, including Japan, France, German, Italy, Philippines, Canada and Spain. An additional 50+ Alexes were featured on the Facebook timeline. The final film was divided into six weekly episodes and presented on Facebook and YouTube running over an eight-week period. 79 PLAY VIDEO PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

80. 80 RESULTS70 million views in eight weeks 26 million social interactions 97% YouTube approval rating66% and 40% brand perception lift for Intel and Toshiba respectively among Facebook users 300% sales increase "Branded content is becoming an increasingly important part of Intel and Toshiba's strategy to reach out to a younger audience. They can see that people enjoy making branded content part of their lives – it draws people in naturally with a deeper message they can identify with on an emotional level" PJ Pereira, Chief Creative Oﬃcer, Pereira & O'Dell "We are all Alex in one way or another, andhe is all of us" - Larissa B "This is beautiful, poetic and powerful...." - Pamela V "I can’t wait for next Thursday!" - Leah M BACK TO CONTENTS

81. 'The Beauty Inside' was the most-shared branded video during the campaign period. It won an Emmy for Outstanding New Approach to A Daytime Series, and three Grand Prix awards – including one for Branded Content – at Cannes Lions 2013. The campaign inspired hundreds of thousands of fans to give and request love advice and discuss their own sense of identity, while celebrating the principle that - with humans and computers alike - it's what's inside that matters most. The campaign also started to create a relationship between the client brands and the audience that will grow over time. In fact, Pereira & O'Dell has already created the next social ﬁlm instalment for Intel and Toshiba, a horror story called 'The Power Inside'. 81 OUTCOMES BACK TO CONTENTS

82. Campaign : In Search of Real Food Client : Hellmann’s Agency : OgilvyEntertainment CLASSICCASESTUDY PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

83. With the insight that people wanted to say no to over-processed food yet had time, cost and taste considerations when it came to making meals, Ogilvy devised a pioneering marketing initiative called ‘In Search of Real Food’. Part of the project involved traditional print and TV advertising that used real people to deliver Hellmann’s point of view on food made from natural, simple ingredients that are good for you. In tandem with this strand of the campaign, Ogilvy created a Hellmann’s-sponsored ‘In Search of Real Food’ microsite hosted by media 83 CHALLENGE Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise was ﬁrst made for a mass market in 1913 and is now America’s favourite mayonnaise. Hellmann’s asked their agency partner Ogilvy to develop a summer marketing initiative that would explain the product’s ingredients and range of uses in an attention-grabbing way, and reinforce Hellmann’s positioning as the epitome of simple, honest, real food. SOLUTIO BACK TO CONTENTS

84. partner Yahoo! Food. This creative platform was designed to drive consumer conversations about real food, using interactive branded content, co-created content and a variety of fun community features. In order to draw people in to join the conversation and keep them coming back to the site, Ogilvy created a 12- episode branded content web series presenting celebrity chef Dave Lieberman on a weekly road trip through America in search of real people making real food – from the proprietors of a Mexican food cart in SoHo, New York creating a pulled pork taco, to a bighearted lady’s regular fundraising Friday Fish Fry in New Orleans. Each episode was split into four three- to four-minute chapters for easy web consumption. 84 "The challenge with branded content is to maintain the authenticity of the production while maximising the potential for the brand. This show oﬀered incredibly rich content, allowing multiple channels for consumer engagement. By teaming with Rock Shrimp Productions and Dave Lieberman as our host, we had a ready-made fan base that was looking for the 'real food' point-of-view that Hellmann's as sponsor is all about." Doug Scott, President, OgilvyEntertainment PLAY VIDEO BACK TO CONTENTS

85. Beyond watching the weekly video content, ‘In Search of Real Food’ website visitors could: • continue the real food conversation by reading Dave’s blog (including his recipes) and posting comments. • share their own ideas and recipes on the Real Food group page. • ask and/or answer questions using a Yahoo! widget embedded in the site. • look for real food restaurants in their neighbourhood using a local dining guide widget pre-programmed with real food locations. To promote the web series to consumers, Ogilvy used web banners in which excerpts of the show were embedded, TV and print ads, and creative on Hellmann’s jar tops. There was also coverage on US TV news channels, inviting people to star in the show by making their own ‘real food’ cookery videos. 85 "’In Search of Real Food’ was a programming concept that captured the fast changes taking place within the food industry – the emphasis on local-grown and real foods – as well as the changes within the entertainment industry. Finding new ways to reach consumers using interactivity, this show set a new standard for consumer engagement." Bobby Flay, Celebrity chef; Executive Producer, Rock Shrimp Productions BACK TO CONTENTS

86. 86 RESULTSThe ‘In Search of Real Food’initiative tapped into culturalconversation and delivered:• 1 million unique visitors tothe campaign website • 5,000 Real Foodcommunity members "We've always been about what's simple and real. Whether it's the quality ingredients in our jar or the real experiences people have with others when they share food made with our Mayonnaise. This effort leveraged the technology available to have a conversation about that with consumers, offering recipe ideas and a point-of-view about food that kept the brand relevant to moms and built affinity to new and younger users" Brian Orlando, Senior Brand Manager, Hellmann's BACK TO CONTENTS

87. This groundbreaking project teamed branded content with traditional advertising, forged an innovative media partnership with Yahoo!, and capitalised on celebrity connections for Hellmann’s. Consumers shared and commented on the branded content via YouTube and social media networks, and even created their own real food videos. This activity resulted in the spread of the conversation about real food (and Hellmann’s’ association with it) far beyond the original campaign site. Ultimately, the integrated mix of traditional advertising and branded content enabled Ogilvy to convey positive brand messages about Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise, while provoking a dialogue with consumers about real food. 87 OUTCOMES BACK TO CONTENTS

88. “How do I make my ad go viral?” Of all the questions, this is the one we’re asked most often from brands and agencies wanting to promote online video content via social media – aka social video marketing. They care about going viral with good reason (aside from ticking the viral video campaign box on their CVs). The number of video shares of branded content has rocketed over the last eight years. In By David Waterhouse Global Head of Content and PR at marketing technology platform Unruly RESEARCH Stop trying to make your ads go viral Top tips for social video success BACK TO CONTENTS

89. 2013, the top three ads attracted 11.6 million shares combined – almost 50 times more than the top three ads in 2006 (244,395 shares combined). There are now more than 500,000 shares of branded videos online every 24 hours. But what makes people share video content? And what steps can a brand take to improve its chances of attracting more shares? For starters, there’s a lot more than to it than featuring cute babies, talking dogs and cats that looks like Shakespeare. We worked extensively with Dr. Karen Nelson-Field, Senior Research Associate at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, on her latest project. It consists of original research from more than two years of work, five different data sets including Unruly’s own data, around 1000 videos and nine individual studies. The research findings are presented in the 2013 book ‘Viral Marketing: The Science of Sharing’, and they support the development of simple formulae for advertisers to follow when they want to increase their social video marketing success. Here are Unruly’s top tips: 1. Stop Chasing Viral Success – Focus on Social Video Success It became possible in the early 2000s to track views of online video clips accurately using the video technology itself. These were the days before social media when the only distribution channels were email and a handful of specialist humour websites. Very early brand-created viral video hits include John West’s Grizzly Bear, Budweiser’s Whassup and XBOX’s Champagne – an ad that was banned on TV in the UK and went on to win a Gold Lion at Cannes in 2002. Slowly more advertisers started releasing branded video content online in the elusive search for consumer-driven, exponentially increasing views. Further boosted by the advent of social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, this practice is now firmly part of mainstream marketing. 89BACK TO CONTENTS

90. However, uploading a branded video that you think is funny, without any paid distribution, in the hope of it attracting cartloads of earned (free) media, is the strategic equivalent of shoving your hand in a haystack and expecting to pull out a needle. Just as technology and social media have evolved, so too has online video. These days, the word “viral” is simply unhelpful. It suggests something that is random, untargeted and out of control. Videos that go viral are the exception, not the rule, and that’s why seeking viral success is a terrible tactic to focus on for your brand. Instead, advertisers should focus on a marketing strategy that’s predictable, repeatable and measurable: social video. Open your company wish list and replace “make a viral video” with “create and distribute highly shareable content, repeatedly and at scale”. What exactly is social video? According to the Internet Advertising Bureau, it’s “a non-interruptive, user- initiated video format sold on a cost-per- engagement basis”. In other words, it’s the perfect union of online video and social media – content plus conversation. There’s no need to force people to sit through a badly edited TV commercial for toilet cleaner before they watch the thing they really want to watch. As we’ve seen with recent campaigns by Dove and Volvo Trucks, the social video ad is the star! People choose to watch it. Viewers have total control of the viewing experience, including the ability to comment, share, re-post, pause and replay. After all, everyone likes to be the one holding the remote. Social video is fundamentally changing the rules of advertising. Long gone are the Mad Men days when all an advertiser needed to do was buy the airtime, create the spot, blast it out to a captive audience, and raise a glass of Scotch for a job well done. Today consumers pick and choose what they watch with a fickle flick of their DVR remote. So rather than releasing a video and keeping your fingers crossed that it will go viral, try focusing on optimising the 'shareability' of your video content and distribution strategy. 2. Make it emotional Marketers hoping to attract significant earned media should think less about creative appeal and more about emotional appeal. Videos that elicit strong emotions – positive or negative – from an audience are twice as likely to be shared as those that elicit a weak emotional response. ‘Viral Marketing: The Science of Sharing’ explains that professional video creators may be aiming to create hilarious, exhilarating and inspiring material, 90BACK TO CONTENTS

91. however the vast majority are falling short. In fact, 70% of all commercial videos provoke only “low-arousal” emotional reactions. 3. Be positive Video content that draws a strong, positive emotional response is 30% more likely to be shared than content that elicits strong negative emotions. Strong negative emotions, such as anger or shock, can prompt viewers to share your content, but you risk alienating your consumers. Focussing on positive emotions is a much safer bet. 4. Feature personal triumphs It’s a myth that featuring a cute cat will make your video go viral. Such creative devices are ineffective, unless your content also elicits strong emotions from its audience. However, there are some underused creative devices that are more likely to attract large amounts of sharing. One is personal triumph, as used for example in P&G’s 'Best Job' from the 2012 Olympics. 5. Big up your brand Using poorly branded advertising is like throwing away your marketing budget.  According to Dr. Nelson-Field’s research, there’s no relationship between how much sharing across social media a video achieves and the level of branding it uses. Nor does overt branding reduce a video’s emotional impact. So when you consider that the average social video has one third of the branding of the average TV commercial, there’s a huge opportunity for marketers to promote their brands via social video marketing. 6. Exhilaration can make a lasting impression Eliciting a strong, positive emotional reaction will not only boost your content’s shareability, but also help your audience to remember you – often for years to come. Which positive emotion is most likely to cut through the clutter and help viewers recall your message? At the individual emotion level, exhilaration is the most successful, followed by hilarity. However, exhilaration is an emotion that has been largely ignored as a creative hook by brands over the years, as bemoaned by Dr. Nelson-Field. In 2013, that started to change. We saw more examples of brands, such as GoPro, Ford, Red Bull and Volvo Trucks, embracing exhilaration and using it as the main focus of their video campaigns. 91BACK TO CONTENTS

92. This highlights the importance of brands making shareable content for a reason. It’s not just about racking up a huge number of views among potential customers. It’s about being remembered, favoured and bought in the process. Throughout 2014, the trend of eliciting top-performing emotional reactions in social video content will only get stronger as the world’s gaze falls upon Brazil for the FIFA World Cup. When we trained Unruly’s algorithmic tool to predict viral success in the Brazilian market, we discovered that exhilaration was the most effective emotional trigger in the Latin American country – more effective than humour which is the most popular emotional sharing trigger in the US and UK. 7. Don’t under-invest in distribution and over-invest in creativity It’s all very well being the best violinist in the world, but if you’re playing in your bathroom, no one will hear you. The same goes with creating video content. Even if you have the most shareable video in the world, if you start with a small viewer base, the total shares and views will typically be small. Investing in seeding your campaign across a variety of platforms will make it easier to deliver good sharing metrics over a shorter period of time. 8. Quality reach is key Reach is important, but it needs to be quality reach in order to maintain and increase your video views and shares. There’s no point in simply placing your videos on your company’s Facebook or Twitter profiles – you’re already preaching to the converted. Besides, Facebook and Twitter brand profiles are inefficient at providing vast reach to consumers. To build the market share of your brand, reach out to light and medium buyers outside of your own social media channels. Find out all about Unruly and their global social video testing, distribution, sharing and analytics services. Watch this video of Dr. Karen Nelson- Field discussing key findings from ‘Viral Marketing: The Science of Sharing’. 92BACK TO CONTENTS

93. Overview Little research has been conducted to date in the area of branded content, in spite of the rising use of this key marketing concept, and the estimated US $4bn value of the branded content market. As part of the Branded Content Marketing Association’s (BCMA’s) strategy to establish academic understanding as well as champion best practice and share learning, it has commissioned a study entitled ‘Defining Branded Content for the Digital Age’. Conducted by Oxford Brookes University and the BCMA’s global research partner Ipsos MORI, this study has two main purposes: 1. Identify and understand the different conceptualisations people use when talking about branded content 2. Develop a definition that helps to clarify the concept for a broad range of stakeholders and therefore supports the progress of branded content marketing practice By Bjoern Asmussen, Andrew Canter, Andrew Butler and Dr. Nicolette Michels RESEARCH Towards the future of branded content ‘Defining Branded Content for the Digital Age’, Findings of the Research Project, Phase One BACK TO CONTENTS

94. The first phase of the study – a literature review of practitioner and academic publications – has resulted in the development of a new definition of branded content and the uncovering of emerging themes that will help organisations to harness the power of branded content. These initial findings are presented in this chapter. Why does branded content matter? Organisations creating branded content is nothing new, however the advancement of technology, particularly the evolution of social media, has made the process of content creation and dissemination much easier – even for end-consumers. Likewise, the consumption of branded content has changed dramatically and continues to do so. Today, consumers have an unprecedented freedom of choice when it comes to what they want to read, watch, or listen to. The best way for an organisation to get through to its target audience and receive positive attention in this challenging environment is therefore by creating great content. How? The study revealed four key strategies that organisations use to produce successful branded content: the content is either entertaining, informative, educational, or something that serves a function (e.g. the branded content could be an app that the target audience can 94 RESEARCHTEAM Bjoern Asmussen, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Oxford Brookes University Business School Bjoern leads the Branded Content Research Team at Oxford Brookes University, which includes Andrew Butler and Dr. Nicolette Michels. Sarah Gale, Senior Director, Ipsos MORI, Media, Content and Technology Division “We’re delighted with the first phase of the results. One of the other elements of the study is that we’ve developed a new methodology for brands to plan effectively for branded content, using it as a core part of their marketing strategy.” Andrew Canter, CEO, BCMA “Content, in all its shapes and forms, is core to everything we do as marketers.” Econsultancy, 2013 PLAY AUDIO BACK TO CONTENTS

95. download to make their life easier). The research also showed that these content strategies can be combined. The initial ﬁndings of the study indicate so far that organisations are using branded content mainly to meet two objectives: to create a positive brand meaning or image, and to engage with certain stakeholders. So it’s not predominantly about a quick win with a campaign or promotion – it’s more about developing deeper engagement and long-term relationships. The BCMA and Ipsos MORI have noticed an increasing emphasis on the use of branded content among marketers, with many major organisations integrating it now as a core element in their marketing strategies. This observation is supported by a survey conducted by Econsultancy in which 39% of digital marketing professionals nominated content marketing as one of their top priorities in 2013. We now live in a world in which virtually every digitally literate individual can become a branded content creator and distributor on an unprecedented scale, and this is a considerable paradigm shift, not only for marketers and their organisations but also for media companies. 95 “The future of the marketing department is half marketing and half publishing.” Joe Palazzo, Founder, Content Marketing Institute, 2012 BACK TO CONTENTS

96. How are people talking about and using branded content? 96 “The concept of branded content is fundamentally ﬂawed.” David Martin, Forbes, 2011 “The term ‘content’ seems a bit of a broad stroke owing to its multi-dimensional nature.” Amar Trivedi, Social Media Strategist, 2012 “There is a signiﬁcant amount of confusion and controversy out there around what content is, what it does and how to use it.” Robin Thornton, Shaman Marketing, 2013 “‘Content’ is such a broad and fuzzy term that it tends to make any discussion of it broad and fuzzy as well.” Cindy Gallop, If We Ran The World, 2013 BACK TO CONTENTS

97. Branded content comes in numerous different forms, such as native advertising, branded entertainment, advertiser funded programming, viral videos, and many more. It is therefore no surprise that the term ‘branded content’ means different things to different people, leading to misunderstandings and confusion. The first phase of the study has concluded so far that people talk about branded content in five different ways. These are categorised as: 1) The Traditional Trademark Owner (TMO) Perspective This perspective was originally developed in the pre-digital age when branded content was usually controlled by the trademark owner of the brand, who financed the production of the content. Since it was the pre-digital age, the content was most likely to be communicated via traditional media channels, such as TV, radio and print. For example, in the 1950s and 1960s, companies such as Procter & Gamble not only sponsored soap operas, but also paid for the entire production of TV shows, aiming to create some positive brand associations in the target audience’s mind. This perspective, where the trademark owner of the brand is in control of the created content, is still used nowadays. Some organisations produce and distribute branded content without the help of sophisticated digital media technologies. For example, in 2013 McDonald’s produced millions of books in the UK to replace the toys that accompanied its Happy Meals for children. In terms of volume, McDonald’s has subsequently become one of the UK’s leading book publishers and distributors, while the branded content activity aims to add educational values to its brand image. 2) The Digital TMO Perspective This second perspective refers to branded content initiated by the trademark owner of the brand and distributed on digital channels. The trademark owning organisation behind the brand is initially in control of the digital channel and the content they choose to publish or broadcast, however it is not in control of what happens to the content after release – for example, the amount of views online, or viewer comments that are made about a branded content video and published on the YouTube website. 97BACK TO CONTENTS