10 reasons why branded entertainment is the future of advertising

– By Craig Hunter

• If you want to make an impact within the 3000 to 5000 advertising messages the average person is exposed daily, you have to do something pretty special.

• You could always buy market share through heavy reach/frequency spends, but this is only for the privileged few and will ultimately end in diminishing returns.

• You have to engage your target, not interrupt, and offer something relevant within their already busy day. Give them a reason to take time out to notice and maybe even engage with your brand.

• The old challenge of engagement has a new answer – branded entertainment. It is difficult to argue the case of advertising over entertainment.

• You can lament the old days or rise to a new challenge. In fact once you drop your guard and embrace the potential you will find that it not only makes everyone’s job a lot more interesting – it is effective.

• We (advertising agencies) are naturally placed to take advantage of this style of communication. For decades we have been in the idea business. Our fundamental worth has been, and never more so than now, based around ideas.

• We actually have the systems, skills and people already in place. The customer comes first within branded entertainment – a catch cry for consumer-led ideas – which agency strategists and creative teams have been endorsing since the 1980s.

• We have always known the power of brand over product advertising. Product advertising will never be willingly opted into. But brand advertising – or in its new form branded entertainment – will be.

• We face a new challenge, but with the application of our strategic and creative skills we can produce engaging content that influences brand favourability, which is linked to sales.

• But beware, while ROI is paramount – brand engagement has to be the key measure. The days of interruptive direct sales are over (for most). We are ushering in a new period that should excite anyone who enjoys creating content that engages and motivates the target – content that makes people feel something.

 

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