From product placement to creative partnership: The new age of branded entertainment
Having your brand or product appear in a film or TV show might be great but, says Amy Gardner, Founder of Finite Films & TV, the new landscape of branded entertainment can allow those brands to have much more creative control.
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Product placement has been part of film and TV for decades, but the relationship between brands and entertainment has evolved considerably.
Early examples demonstrated the commercial value of placing a product in the right story, at the right moment – from Reese’s Pieces in E.T. to Ray-Bans in Top Gun – which would see sales jump globally.
[Branded entertainment] impact can go far beyond traditional ads, creating cultural associations that resonate.
These moments showed that brands can become part of stories. Their impact can go far beyond traditional ads, creating cultural associations that resonate by integrating products seamlessly in ways that make sense for the production.
Above: Brands can be placed in the right story at the right time and reap the rewards, as Ray-Bans did with Top Gun in 1986.
What has changed is how brands are involved in producing branded content. We are moving away from sponsorship and placement and towards partnerships and co-development. Brands now have the opportunity to help create entertainment which audiences actively choose to watch and return to. Critically, branded entertainment offers a more even balance of creative control between production company and brand, rather than sponsoring placement in something that would exist without it. The huge opportunity lies in brands developing content with film and TV producers.
We are moving away from sponsorship and placement and towards partnerships and co-development.
As producers of long-form film and TV, the most productive opportunities come when we work with brands from the outset, understanding their ethos, purpose and audience, and finding the story that naturally connects all three. The brand should never feel bolted onto the entertainment.
We have found this in our partnership with North Sails, whose sailmaking heritage dates back to 1957. Its decades-long reputation and passion for water sports provide a strong editorial foundation for branded entertainment. A shared understanding of what makes a compelling show and what it needs to achieve commercially is essential, particularly when audiences are more discerning than ever. Consumers can tell when they are being sold to, but remain open to brands having a meaningful, natural role in the entertainment they consume.
Above: Channel 4 Digital's programming for North Sails, Force of Nature, is an example of when brand and broadcaster can work well together.
Our work with North Sails on Force of Nature is a good example. The series sees three professional North Action athletes battle through a series of challenges. With commentary from Formula 1 presenter Ariana Bravo, audiences watch professional kiteboarders, wing-foilers and windsurfers compete. North Sails is fully integrated into the story and culture of the series, which became the first social branded entertainment commission to air exclusively across Channel 4 Sport’s digital channels.
As brands invest more strategically in content, they bring more than funding, they bring their own platforms and audiences, from which broadcasters can also benefit.
This points towards a new triangle between brand, production company and broadcaster, demonstrating the potential for brands to cut through on broadcasters’ established digital platforms. The key is finding partners who can collaborate on original entertainment for a specific audience and platform. Branded entertainment can be developed with ambition and creative scale to achieve something entirely different to ads, earning its place within a broadcaster’s ecosystem, just like mainstream programming.
Traditionally, the commissioner has been the broadcaster or platform. But, as brands invest more strategically in content, they bring more than funding, they bring their own platforms and audiences, from which broadcasters can also benefit. Brands can invest in an idea and work with production companies to develop original IP. This can extend beyond a single campaign, opening up opportunities to create new audiences for both brand and channel.
Digital platforms have accelerated this change, removing traditional barriers and TV production timelines. Ideas can be developed, produced and distributed quickly, with greater scope to respond nimbly to audiences. Distribution strategy should be built into development, with episodic content, short clips and talent promotion working together across brand channels. Success should be defined from the outset, whether through sustained viewing, engagement, brand consideration, enquiries or sales.
Above: Now, branded entertainment offers a more even balance of creative control between production company and brand.
Digital does not mean compromising on production values, the common thread, whether broadcast or digital, is finding the niche. Brands already have audiences with shared interests, whether that’s access to world-class athletes, as with North Sails, or connections to locations and communities through events and regattas. The producer’s role is to shape these assets into a format with strong characters, clear stakes and cliffhangers.
Specialist sports offer strong entertainment values because the emotions are universal: ambition, fear, rivalry, humour and achievement. Branded storytelling needs to create onscreen moments that engage audiences, and our job as producers is to make a niche world compelling beyond its existing fan base. The opportunity is to understand those audiences, create entertainment that genuinely speaks to them, and use content that resonates to expand beyond the existing customer base, making the relationship between brand and production company symbiotic.
Bringing brands into development allows producers to identify where their ambitions and audience interests meet.
Bringing brands into development allows producers to identify where their ambitions and audience interests meet. If this leads to a lasting collaboration, the partnership can develop across different formats and routes to audiences. Each programme can have its own editorial purpose while contributing to the brand’s overarching identity.
This is where the future of branded entertainment lies. Brands should not think of content as another marketing channel, but as a long-term commercial strategy; a way to build IP and create lasting relationships with audiences. For production companies, it means we are no longer being asked to make something that sits around a short-term marketing brief.
The challenge is no longer getting people to see your brand; it is giving them a reason to spend time with it.
