Move Over Traditional Advertising... Brand Integration Is Here
Raise your hand if you've made a purchase in the last 30 days because of a billboard, pop-up ad, newspaper ad or ad on the radio you heard. Let me guess, the number of people who were prompted to make a purchase because of traditional advertising is shrinking. After all, a 2016 study from Anatomy Media showed that 64% of millennials between the ages of 18 to 24 use ad blockers, with 43% using ad blockers to avoid intrusive ads.
So What Is "Brand Integration?"
Brand integration is explained as a form of advertising that showcases a brand through a storyline interwoven into the show, video, etc., without interrupting the consumer experience. A great example of this can be seen through the video where CMT partnered with Budweiser to develop a story that brought Budweiser into the television show Nashville. The story wasn't interrupted through the ad with Budweiser because the advertisement seamlessly flowed into the episode and the story the scriptwriters wove for the audience.
Granted, brand integration has been around for decades as product placement. However, the better the integration, the less likely it feels like an intentional placement of a product. That, and it still seems to be limited in use to big brands. But why?
Perhaps it's because video is still viewed as a pricey tool to amplify your brand, or maybe it's a lack of education about branding opportunities. Whatever the reason, as millennials become harder to reach through traditional advertising, advertisers are going to have to work to explore new opportunities to make the sale on their products.
Brand Integration On Social Media
The collaboration of two brands isn't limited to TV shows or movies, though. In fact, as brands started to get the hang of social media, branded posts started to appear. At first (and still in some cases), those branded posts were obviously sponsored and didn't blend in with the content already shared on a page.
However, as time has progressed and social media has become a more well understood means of communication, brands have stepped up their game. Again, though, we have a tendency to see these well-produced brand integrations limited to the major brands.
How Can Small Brands Participate?
For small brands, the thought of producing a top-notch video without breaking the bank in order to take advantage of another brand's social media following can be intimidating. However, it's not impossible.
Step One: Determine your budget for any branded content.
First things first, what's your budget? It's okay if you don't have $100,000 to spare on a brand integration- especially if it's the first time you're doing something like this. However, you have to bear in mind that there will be a cost associated with having another brand posting content featuring your brand. If you're using someone else's audience, there's going to be a price tag. So, what are you willing to spend based on the audience size/engagement that the brand you're looking to partner with has?
Step Two: Reach out to the brand who's social media following you'd like to piggyback on.
You can't create branded content before reaching out to the brand you'd like to partner with. After all, it's important to remember that brand integration is a partnership between two brands- not a solo mission for one brand to place their content exclusively on the other brand's platforms.
When reaching out, make sure the brand you're looking to partner with shares the same values as your own brand. Nothing is worse than when two brands partner together and the end result doesn't make sense to either of their audiences.
Step Three: Communicate your goals with the brand you're reaching out to.
This should be pretty obvious, but in case it isn't, let the brand you're choosing to partner with know what your goals are. Do you want people to like your page? Buy your product? Register for your event? Watch a video? Whatever the goal, make sure you and your partner are both clear on it.
Step Four: It's time for the main event as you work with your brand partner to create the branded content.
Now that you've identified your budget, brand partner and goals, it's time to actually create the content. In some cases your brand partner will require you to create the content, in other cases they may want to create the content for you. It will all depend on the deal you struck when negotiating how much you were going to pay for the space on their social media platforms.
Step Five: Enjoy the results of your brand partnership once the content goes live.
Once your content is live, you'll officially be able to bask in the results of your hard work. You'll also want to keep an eye on the engagement and the conversation surrounding your post to get an idea of whether or not it was a success. With any luck, if you've done your homework and you're working with a brand that shares your values, then you should see a decent level of success from the partnership.