For The Love of Branded Content: A Playground With Unlimited Possibilities

In modern advertising, branded content is becoming an increasingly more important ad format for agencies and brands alike. Ana Ivandic, Chief Marketing Officer at Edition Digital and President of Slovenian Agency Association is well versed in the branded content world and she answered a few short questions from us to help us all to better understand, why she likes it so much and how other ad industry professionals can better use it. 

LBB> Why do you love branded content?

Ana Ivandic > I was always much more of a fan of long term relationships than flings. Sure, a short, sweet and passionate adventure could be big fun but sharing the same passion and interests, co-creating stories to remember and building trust with each other is a much deeper joy. And that’s why I love branded content. It’s not just one great campaign, it’s a vibrant and emotional long term companionship with so many options to evolve. G

Great branded content is always the result of hard work and focus. First, you really have to know your brand in every aspect from the smallest detail to the widest social context. Second, you have to be open minded and eager to discover new or hidden angles and to expand the horizons of your brand. And only then the real work begins. To get attention and to build real communication is challenging work. To create good content you need a very strong insight into your target group’s lifestyle, interests and emotional triggers. And you need to understand trends, technology and the consumption rules of different communication channels to adapt content to them.

Aside from the challenge itself, the fun part is also the freedom to choose and build your own audience and to create your own media by your rules. And one more thing I like is the fact that with smart strategy, based on knowledge and with creativity, you can create and distribute engaging content and reach great results even if you don’t have huge budgets.

LBB> What do you love the most about branded content?

AI> Unlimited possibilities. Great stories which engage and continuously lead to more conversation and more new creative outcomes. And I really like how branded content co-exists with technology and can find the way to be interactive cross all communication platforms and screens as a response to the world’s new ways of content consumption.

LBB> What advice would you give someone who wants to make branded content?

AI> Do your homework properly and first decide which area of your brand challenges you will cover with a content marketing approach. Set goals, have a strategy. It’s OK to be flexible and improvise through the process of work, but do have a clear idea where are you going. And don’t forget to measure to get the data to determine what you have to improve.

Have in mind that a content marketing approach is a marathon, not a sprint, so don’t be impatient. You have to build your audience and you have to earn their trust. Be creative with media strategy.

You have three choices, paid, earned and owned media. Don’t be afraid to establish your own media channels. Use technology in advance to simplify your work processes and to lower costs.

There are many useful tools and publishing systems which can be big help. Choose the right one for you.