Digitalisation has transformed the way companies communicate their brand and product image. Because it makes communication bidirectional, allowing the company to optimise its actions to the maximum, as it has great capacity to analyse the target, the resources allocated to each action, and the return obtained through different metrics: number of users, degree of affinity, visualisations, etc.
However, digitalisation allows users to create their own perimeter of channels through which they relate to the world. In practice, the user's choice of channels creates barriers that make it difficult for companies to reach their image or product campaigns, making investment more expensive.
Communicating and building loyalty efficiently
The branded content is emerging as a way of communicating that brings efficiency to business communication. The branded content generates content that makes the brand the protagonist of a story, making the consumer identify it with the emotions and values conveyed by the story. It is a tool that makes the brand closer and more relevant to the user, and amplifies the impact of the communication.
The first case of branded content is that of the American Spinach Distributors Association. In 1929, it reached an agreement with the producer of the Popeye cartoons to make spinach the key food in the script, because it gives the main character superhuman strength. The result was that the public perceived spinach in the same way as Popeye does, as fundamental to his life.
Another more contemporary example is the film The Castaway. The main character, Tom Hanks, works for the transport company Fedex, and a plane crash leaves him alone on a desert island in the Pacific for several years. The viewer identifies Fedex with the values that Hanks conveys throughout the film: a man who struggles to survive, hard-working, constant, and generous, who in the end achieves his goal.
Five success stories
The BCMA (Branded Content Marketing Association) at its 05×10 BCMA event presented five cases of branded content worthy of analysis. All of them, based on exciting and compelling ideas, exported to the public with a 360º vision with content adapted for consumption. transmediai.e. through different channels such as social media, TV, PR events, advertising, marketing, or press.
- Casaterapia" campaign to promote Leroy Merlin's differential philosophy.
The company wanted to convey the values that define its differential philosophy: Audacity, Inspiration and Pedagogy, in order to be identified as the best ally for people who renovate their homes. According to Leroy Merlin, "improving the house means improving people's lives", "the more I give to my house the more it gives back to me", or "each house reflects the personality of the person who lives in it".
These values and principles are conveyed in a miniseries of 4 episodes of 23 minutes each, broadcast on DKISS, which describes four real cases of people who have carried out renovation projects in their homes.
With this campaign, it reached an audience of 1.1 million people, more than half of whom identified the brand with its differential philosophy. Almost 35,000 people viewed the mini-series on YouTube.
- Campaign "When I grow up I want to be..." to promote sales of the Barbie doll, from the Mattel company.
Supporting the hopes of girls between the ages of 4 and 12 who want to be successful when they grow up is the leitmotiv of the campaign by Mattel, maker of the Barbie doll. The company created a video in which three women who have achieved fame and professional success, transmit to three girls who dream of imitating their success in life, the values they consider key to success.
Each character summed up the source of success in one sentence. Carme ChaparroThe presenter and writer put it down to the fact that "if you fight for your dream, you achieve it". The gymnast Almudena CidWe achieve dreams if we believe in them". The entrepreneur Vicky Martin BerrocalHe insisted to his admirer that "don't be afraid of not getting it right".
The video was screened on Divinity, and distributed on social media, PR events and press. The campaign achieved a significant improvement in the share of this channel, reaching 60% of the target, with a 100% of affinity.
- The "Time Machine" campaign to promote Electium's death insurance policy
In a death insurance policy, the user pays to save the funeral and burial costs for their relatives when they die. To promote the launch of one of these products, the company Electium held a script competition to choose the one that best conveyed the "last act of love" of a person with their loved ones. Associating the product with the best possible farewell a person can give to their relatives.
The winning script was for the short film "La máquina del tiempo". A very emotional video of high cinematographic quality, it won several national and international awards. The campaign achieved 203,000 views, and achieved strong sales increases, mainly because the insurance commercials "fell in love" with the product thanks to the video.
- Pipol in da house" campaign to promote El Corte Inglés' fashion for young people.
El Corte Inglés wanted to promote its spring summer 2018 young fashion collection with a campaign aimed at young people of the "Generation Z" profile. To do so, it launched a series that was broadcast on Netflix and Instagram, and in the digital spaces of the shops and brands, where four very popular influencers share their stories and life experiences while wearing El Corte Inglés fashion brands.
The aim of the action was to convey values such as authenticity, credibility and modernity, which are related to this target, and to associate them with these brands. The campaign achieved 10 million views, 650,000 likes, and 20,000 new followers for the Instagram account of El Corte Inglés. Organic engagement was multiplied by 6.
- El Observatorio de la Empresa" campaign to strengthen Vodafone's business customer segment
In order to encourage the acquisition of corporate customers, Vodafone launched a campaign to change the brand perception from just another telephone operator to a leading company in innovation, which is the most qualified partner to help a company undertake a digital transformation process.
To this end, it created "El Observatorio de la Empresa", a platform with the widest range of content on the impact of digital transformation on companies. Content that addresses the issue from any point of view: qualitative, quantitative, through success stories in companies, countries or sectors, or through contributions from leading experts. And, to facilitate access to and understanding of the content, the platform has a simple datalab with a look & feel attractive.
The campaign was disseminated in the national press as well as in local and regional press, in order to ensure its reach to the greatest number of Spanish companies. The result has been a change in perception and increased brand visibility for Vodafone, as well as a 6-fold return on investment.
Javier Ferrer
Communications consultant specialising in the world of investment at Proa Comunicación.