Effective content partnerships have to be authentic
The BCMA is in a privileged position to have access to the leading experts and pioneers of the branded content industry. This interview is a part of ‘For The Love of Branded Content’ series which brings together ‘thought-leaders’ from across the globe to share their ‘love’ and advice on what it takes to succeed in the ever-evolving world of branded content.
Abby Carvosso, Group MD, Advertising at Bauer Media, says Effective content partnerships have to be authentic.
Learn more in her short interview below.
Why do you love branded content?
We are a content business so producing great content that informs, inspires and entertains our audiences is what we do 24/7.
Branded content is simply an extension of this.
We treat it in the same way as any of the content that we create as it has to be value adding to our consumers. Branded content is an effective way for our advertising partners to communicate with our audiences in the same tone, style and environment we know they love and deliver on their marketing objectives. For us, a combination of editorial instinct and audience insight helps our teams create branded content that resonates with our audiences, is relevant and engaging and therefore makes a cultural impact and delivers for our advertisers. The most effective content partnerships have to be authentic – we only work with commercial partners that are relevant to our audiences and fit with our brands to create content that is meaningful to them. It is for this reason that branded content is accepted and valued by our audiences for example: 64% of The Debrief consumers are interested in reading ad-funded content if is relevant and engaging.
2. What do you love the most about branded content?
It isn’t intrusive and it is value adding to the consumer experience. If done right, branded content can fit in alongside editorial content naturally and the consumer should be able to see both as valuable as each other.
We create content that has genuine cultural impact with our audiences, both commercially and editorially, and the great thing about branded content is that it can work just as effectively as editorial content. Branded content is a way for brands to take advantage of the strong relationship media brands have built with their audiences over time, using that connection to build their own audiences. Brands need to live and breathe within the culture around them to generate long-term brand love and we’re experts in building these connections between brands, audiences, content and culture.
3. One piece of advice you’d love to give someone undertaking branded content?
Trust. Branded content must integrate seamlessly in to its environment and context is everything. For the best possible return on branded content, work with a partner who shares your vision and knows their audiences like the back of their hand and how best to target them. With brand safety being questioned, context is key and advertisers will benefit from working with premium media brands because of the trusted environment.
4. What is the best example of branded content you love?
I know I’m biased but we recently launched our first ever podcast series on The Debrief in partnership with FSCS. We looked in to our audience’s attitudes towards podcast usage as well as the type of content they love. Knowing that The Debrief audience is interested in finance and savings content, FSCS was an obvious partner that provided our audience with trusted advice via a trusted media brand. It’s that deep understanding that makes the difference in working with a media owner on branded content – we knew what The Debrief reader wanted and exactly how they wanted to receive it because we create editorial content for them every day. Coupled with this insight is making sure we bring together the magic combination of editorial talent influencers and external experts to create content that has cultural impact.