“Stop interrupting what people are interested in, and become what they’re interested in.” – David Beebe, Marriott

Last year, it seems the interest by brands in making films or series got a serious boost. And we’re not talking about long-form ads, these are really valuable content, branded entertainment.

To name just just a few brands that produced great films in recently: Prada-owned Miu Miu, American Girl, Cornetto ice cream, JetBlue, Johnnie Walker, Marriott, Jaguar, Samsung, Airbnb, Intel, Toshiba, LEGO, Biotherm (one that Toast Studio produced).

 

Many of you will reply by saying these are global brands that have the budget to produce such content, but recent advancements in production capabilities have allowed smaller brands to do the same.

The main thing to remember here is that :

  • “In 2015, Americans spent more time each day with digital video than they did social media.”
  • “[…] studies have shown that 80 percent of millennials reference videos when they’re making purchasing decisions.”

What do brand marketers like about brand films ?

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  • The story is theirs to tell. They own the narrative and can make it entertaining, relevant, while keeping it in line with business objectives.
  • Brand films allow you to favour owned content rather than a borrowed audience (in comparison with advertising).
  • Brand films can feed, as would traditional advertising, your upper-level funnel, it’s not just about brand building. See that image at the top, how Marriott creates travel packages, based on their film French Kiss.

Take some today to read more about the subject with this article, which also dwells in how it ties to sales and how distribution is key in the success of the endeavour.

(P.S. A quick search by Chérie made us realize that when you’ll read that mention about La Presse being the first French newspaper that sold a print ad, it means French as in France. Not the Montreal-based La Presse daily.)