Liveblog: Best of Brands & Content Screenings

Photo: OgilvyEntertainment president Doug Scott (left), executive creative director Panos Sambrakos, Ogilvy One Worldwide.

For those curious about the definition of branded content, OgilvyEntertainment president Doug Scott has an explanation: « It is not product placement. Placing your product in the shot of someone else’s story is not branded content, » he said. « I would say it’s an original story informed by the brand’s brief or positioning. » Red Bull, he said, is a powerful branded content powerhouse.

« Not only have the advertising industry embraced branded content, but the entertainment industry has too, » Scott said. « It is very much about a collaboration. »

Alongside Panos Sambrakos of Ogilvy One, he presented four powerful examples of branded content. Ogilvy believes there are four types: digital-led, event-led, property-led and broadcast-led.

DIGITAL-LED

Coke Zero’s A Step from Zero was « driven by an insight into Coke Zero: the idea of making it possible, » said Scott. This campaign revolved around the global search, and consequential promotion, of a new dance craze. The winning dance was called the Toe Tappy.

The  dance was activated across digital, events, traditional media and brought the « make it possible » message to life. It « gave rise to a movement » — something Scott went so far as to call a « cultural touchpoint » — reaching a total of 51 million people.

« The more we can create and help shape pop culture », the more merchandising and promotion can be done around it, Scott said.

EVENT-LED

For the promotion of the Renault Twizy, an electric vehicle, Digitas, Publicis Conseil & Moxie (France) produced Plug In To Positive Energy, which revolved around a dance concert featuring David Guetta.

To tie it effectively to the electric car, they created a floor that, during the Guetta performance, enabled people to power a Twizy while dancing. It generated 14.9M impressions on Twitter alone, not to mention 100,000 test drives.

« What they really exhibited was how to take an event, and leverage that into content in a unique way: touching influencers, creating TVCs and driving earned media, » said Scott.

PROPERTY-LED

The Creators Project, the fruit of a partnership between Intel and Vice, was a project to « redefine cultural moments ». It generated 230 million video views. 1.7 million people visited the site 9 times per month in the last year. It also happens to be the MIPTV/MIPCube Brand of the Year Award winner (prize ceremony tomorrow).

BROADCAST-LED

Panos Sambrakos took the stage to present a powerful broadcast-led example. On Valentine’s Day in Greece last year, the film « Love in the End » saw the most opening night billings, selling 75% of tickets in Greece that night. It was a branded film for Lacta, a chocolate bar popular among « lovesick teens », according to Sambrakos.

To succeed at broadcast-led branded content at this scale, it’s key to integrate your brand’s message into the movie theme; « that way your message is conveyed more effectively, » Sambrakos said.

To produce « Love in the End, » customers were invited to participate in its creation. They asked people to send in stories of unfulfilled love, promising that, on Valentine’s Day, three of them would get a happy ending.

They also considered how young Greeks consume media today. To benefit from piracy, they seeded a 20-minute film that told one of the stories and left users with a cliffhanger.

Finally, they used all available media to market it – including the chocolate’s own wrapping.

« Who would have thought a few years ago that we could make a 90-minute ad about chocolate, and that people would pay $1M to see it? » Sambrakos marveled.