Branded Content: Explore, don't exploit.

'Branded' and 'Content', two distinct terms that can be interpreted as just about anything when brought together. Especially when there's a propensity for clients to insist upon, and content creators to get carried away with branded content solutions that push beyond the boundary of consumer appeal, relevance and acceptance.

Just read a very interesting perspective on the Huffington Post by Joe Frydl of Indigenous, calling for a re-think on branded content, where he simply states "Instead of thinking about how to integrate brands into content, marketers need to be more disciplined about how to integrate the right kind of content into the brand's marketing mix to accomplish a specific objective."

How do we address the concept of branded content on radio? Without pushing the borders of permitted brand activity on radio, brands and radio stations can seek to explore certain avenues. Avenues which seek to weave a brand campaign into station on-air and/or online content, so long as it's done subtly and seamlessly.

Spark Plug: Heinz Tomato soup currently has a radio ad campaign which plays upon the premise of Heinz being accounted for 'one of your five a day'. Nice simple sell which plays upon a daily necessity. What if we were to take this forward in the form of a daily deals feature?

Create a daily deals/events advertorial which could run across relevant dayparts. The segment will feature a set of five current events and gigs, or deals and discounts currently available. One of these five will always be the brand plug for Heinz Tomato Soup as 'one of your five a day'. The feature accomplishes three differnet benefits.
1) It offers a brand extension to Heinz Tomato Soup, integrating the brand into station programming, without a commercial force-fit. It takes the brand beyond the plain commercial route.
2) It offers pertinent content of interest to the listener, without shoving the brand into your listening experience and builds brand recall for the Heinz campaign premise.
3) It creates an advertorial platform for the station to extend to other brands to highlight their offerings, be it any new products, or deals and discounts on the go. The four slots can be balanced out between commercial offerings and 'things you must do today'.

As always with branded content, don't exploit the license to spill over into the sacred space of  listener experience. But don't deter from exploring the possibilities of smart integration between brand and content. You never know where you might hit home.