Category: Branded Content

Our Favorite Samples of Branded Content.

4/20/2015

By Nicolas Pinzon

There is not an exact recipe that makes a branded content campaign successful; the best campaigns produce content that complements and exemplifies the individual values in each brand. Content can be inspiring, fun, informative or all of the above. We love the following examples not only because of how they move us, but because of how they epitomize their brand in every aspect of the experience.

Finding Understanding: this touching video about a hearing-impaired girl in search for like-minded friends embodies Starbucks’ vision of creating communities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxDx3y1t9Ts

Real Beauty Sketches: In this 3-minute short film by Dove, a forensic artist exposes how women can forget how beautiful they truly are.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk

Girls Can: Cover Girl, a cosmetic company that could be seen as superficial, challenges this perception by empowering their clients.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmmGClZb8Mg

Do More: Various brands that employ large numbers of people show how much they care by promoting a raise in the minimum wage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTZ1Gk5qU3M

Journey to the Extraordinary: In an almost poetic narrative, Holliday Inn conveys how proud they are of being part of our individual journeys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=80&v=glO0wuSkpJU

Meal for a Meal: In this wonderfully creative and philanthropic form of advertisement, Virgin Mobile pledges to sponsor one meal for one hungry Australian for every picture of food posted with the hash tag #mealforameal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwLMW2Ii-G0

Best Buds: Matching its brand effortlessly, this short tells the story of two buddies, a horse and a puppy, who, like Budweiser, create more friendships.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAsjRRMMg_Q

Chipotle: Chipotle is in a class of its own. With a webseries, an internet game, and two short films, chipotle constantly reminds us that they are the more natural, healthier option in the most fun and inventive ways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5_D0rdqeAs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUtnas5ScSE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMfSGt6rHos

Jeff Gordon Test Drive: In this comical prank a famous Nascar driver epitomizes Pepsi’s fun spirit by taking a car salesman for the ride of his life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5mHPo2yDG8

A Generic Brand Video: Finally, Dissolve, a company that licenses stock footage, created a hilarious mock Brand video to showcase their footage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=148&v=2YBtspm8j8M

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Branded Content: The Future Of Advertising Is Now.

4/13/2015

1 Comment

By Nicolas Pinzon

Do you like commercials? Most people would answer “no.” There is the occasional commercial that makes us laugh, or think, or smile, but most of the time, we are not particularly glad when they come on. That’s why we choose to pay for HBO, Netflix or Tivo. We don’t like commercials because they represent the moment in which the entertainment stops and the advertising begins. With the advances in technology and new ways to view content, audiences now have more options than ever to skip advertisement and still arrive at entertainment. So how can a company effectively spread its brand and message in a world where people are no longer forced to watch commercials?

Companies now have a greater responsibility towards their audiences. In order to reach their desired customers, businesses must create content that not only informs the viewer about the product but also entertains and inspires them enough to voluntarily seek the content. Companies need to produce immersive experiences that generate curiosity and create followers so that the content becomes a part of the conversation in both the virtual and actual worlds. In other words, businesses need to blur the lines between advertisement, entertainment, and editorial content in order to create an experience that serves both as an advert and a piece of content media that people would willingly arrive to. This new style of publicity is referred to as “Branded Content.”

There are some amazing examples of Branded Content that have propelled businesses and captivated audiences. Chipotle, a company known for its lack of television advertisement, aired a four-episode web series on Hulu called “Farmed and Dangerous.” What makes “Farmed and Dangerous” great as a piece of Branded Content isn’t only the fact that it is entertaining, but also the fact that the entertainment is directly related to the product Chipotle is selling. The web series explores the dangers of unnatural farm practices and the company offers a natural food product. At about a million-dollar budget, the series required relatively little money compared to a TV campaign, but it called for a great amount of creativity, ingenuity, and professional know-how.

In the late 90s, Kahlua, a Mexican coffee-flavored liquor, took part in arguably one of the most effective pieces of Branded Content with the movie “The Big Lebowski” in which Jeff Bridges’ character, the Dude, ambles through the film sipping on the product. More than just product placement, the film and the Dude embodied the relaxed, eccentric, yet cool essence of the liquor. Banking on that success, Kahlua and Bridges have recently partnered again to make an awesome short noir film, “The White Russian.” This 4-minute experience is valuable to a viewer because it is interesting, engaging, and frankly, really cool; and it’s valuable to the company because it expresses the ideas that they want to convey. That is the ultimate goal of any company creating Branded Content.

The challenge that companies face is creating content that feels like a genuine satisfying experience and not a gimmick. To achieve this, a real expertise in storytelling, writing, filmmaking, and marketing is required. Working with the right production company that specializes in this revolutionary form of advertisement is essential. Branded Content is not only the way of the future, but also a fundamental tool for right now.

At Award Winning Reels, we are filmmakers committed to telling stories that are engaging, stimulating, and thought provoking, and now we are excited to launch our department of Branded Content where we will work with companies to create content that speaks to the essence of their brand and the themes and values that it stands for.

The White Russian - A Kahlúa Production
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f283Jwt2ePo

Chipotle - Farmed and Dangerous Official Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5_D0rdqeAs

About the Author:
Nicolas Pinzon is a filmmaker and storyteller currently enrolled in UCLA’s Professional Screenwriting Program. He has a B.A in Arts and Humanities with a concentration in both Music, and Gender and Sexuality.

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Authors

Anastasia Roussel is the head of Development at Award Winning Reels and White Swan Films.

Nicolas Pinzon is a filmmaker and storyteller currently enrolled in UCLA’s Professional Screenwriting Program. He has a B.A in Arts and Humanities with a concentration in both Music, and Gender and Sexuality.

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