TikTok is the channel with the most registered users, and social content as well as users are now all "always on": in this reality that never finds time to stop, creating quality products is essential to stand out, but it may not be enough to reach your audience if there isn't a meticulous distribution strategy behind it. We discussed this in the second presentation at ALMED (Graduate School of Media Communication and Performing Arts at the Catholic University), with contributions from our creative director Andrea Stagnitto and Matteo Albertini, Digital Communication Strategist at our subsidiary Lifonti&Company.
We started with a study: Peter Field and Les Binet, two well-known marketing experts on advertising effectiveness, illustrated how companies achieve better results when they allocate 60% of their total resources to Brand Building rather than allocating them solely to Sales Activation. What does this mean? Focusing only on sales activation, aiming to propose quick purchase incentives and promotional offers with discounts and direct CTAs, is not enough. It is rather necessary to invest time and budget in a careful Brand Building process. Content should be conceived and developed in the long term, and then gradually distributed to build and enhance brand loyalty, making the brand unique and recognizable through images and values in the eyes of consumers.
This research highlights how the success of a sale does not depend solely on the product itself, but also and especially on the perception of the Face behind it. This is why Branded Entertainment, the marketing strategy where companies create entertainment content such as films, videos, TV shows, or events to subtly and organically promote their brand without direct ads or spots, is becoming increasingly appreciated. It allows responding to consumer needs while also attaching messages to the distribution that are consistent with the brand, thus conveying trust and advocacy. Branded Entertainment has a growing turnover, and as reported by OBE (Branded Entertainment Observatory), Italian companies invested 619 million euros in original productions and brand integration projects in 2022 (a 264% increase compared to 2014).
Videostrategy emerges as an excellent ally of Branded Entertainment because it allows creating engaging storylines, introducing the product/service as an integral part of the narrative without force; in the video, the product is no longer the protagonist but the Story takes the stage, and through it, the brand's worldview also emerges. Among the Branded Entertainment projects curated by Social Content Factory, we highlight the multi-platform thriller web series "Il mistero sottile", developed for the leader in home automation and Smart Home, Bticino.
Il Mistero Sottile represents a true multichannel communication project that uses different media to tell a highly interactive story consistent with the brand's identity. The short film made with actor Giorgio Pasotti was one of the first branded content in Italy.
The story developed on various online platforms, allowing the audience to interact with the narrative through a main line on Facebook and YouTube and a complementary one on Instagram. The 6-episode web series was distributed both on YouTube and Facebook, totaling over 6 million and 400 thousand views, an average of 350 comments, and 530 shares per episode. Additionally, the dedicated website generated profiling of over 4000 end consumers and the download of over 3000 BTicino product brochures (videos available here). Discover other Branded Entertainment projects on our website!
Article by Isabella Garanzini, Group Head of Storytelling at The Story Group
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