It takes an evangelist to create long-form branded content

With authenticity in storytelling and a focus on relatability, long-form content possesses the capability to make a lasting impression on the audience. The Viral Fever’s Pitchers, Permanent Roommates, Tripling, Kota Factory and Aspirants are perfect examples of brands’ belief in the power of long-form content.

Creating branded web series is not everyone’s cup of tea. It takes a bold marketer, willing to stick his/her neck to experiment and invest in the web series format of branded content.

Even after creating successful branded web series, the road to persuading marketers to opt for this format is full of hurdles. Talking about the approach TVF takes in this regard, Vijay Koshy, President of the content studio said, “The approach that has worked for us is that we look for an Evangelist/Believer in the brand side who is willing to stick his/her neck out in what they believe in and eventually they are able to convince the naysayers into converts (remember “12 angry men” where one member of the jury manages to convince the other 11 to rethink the verdict).”

He then added, “Brands need to understand that regular above-the-line advertising has its limitations. An extra nudge is always needed. Branded web series will work very well with those kinds of marketers who are willing to unlearn some bits of the traditional ways of marketing and are now willing to let external creators recommend and advise on the best ways to collaborate and create content.”

Read the full interview where Koshy talks about short-form video content versus long-format, why TVF prefers working directly with brands than having media agencies in between and the success mantra of creating impactful branded web series.

Excerpts:

There is a notion that doing branded content with TVF is highly expensive and not everybody's cup of tea. What would you say about this?

My favourite analogy is: If a phone is a phone is a phone, then why do we pay a lakh upwards for an iPhone compared to any of the other brands? Clearly, the iPhone brings in a lot of brand equity, aspirational value, and perception (besides the fact that it rarely crashes/is not prone to virus attacks etc) which comes at a premium. The body of work that we bring to the table is unmatched and in this case we not only bring the iPhone's perception but also mass views and impact. So, it's like the best of both worlds.

Unlike most Studios/content creators, the TVF Network also has the advantage of having a 50 million+ community across various social media platforms that have been following us for at least four or five years, if not more. Even if 10% were to sample our content, then it is a huge number and mind you all these views are organic traction which is priceless, unlike paid views which have very low levels of engagement.

India now houses several content companies and creators creating branded content. Other than a few content companies, the quality of the work that comes out is quite mediocre. Why do you think such an issue exists?

Before we get into branded content, I would think the overall quality of content in the market itself is low. We need to address that first. Authentic storytelling is not there as much as one would have liked. If you chase Lakshmi over Saraswati then the approach is very short-term and leads to mediocre content, but we are more skewed towards Saraswati. If you focus on the craft, we believe money follows.

We come across so many short videos that make no sense. But judging the quality of content is a subjective matter, just as one man’s meat is another man’s poison. What is TVF’s take on the quality and impact of short-form content?

We don't focus on creating short-form content. Our expertise lies in creating long-form content. Short-form content has a very short lifespan. You're highly unlikely to remember what you watched and were probably entertained by last night. But if I were to ask you about TVF Pitchers, Kota Factory, Permanent Roommates, or any other show of ours, you are more likely to remember them.

Because you’ve taken the names of TVF’s successful branded shows, how difficult is it to sell web series to brands?

Nothing is easy. Even after so many years in the business and with our body of work, it is quite tough to convince brands and clients. But if, on the client side, any person has been following our work like a regular audience and understands what it has done for them, they will spread the word about us. The approach that has worked for us is that we look for an Evangelist/Believer in the brand side who is willing to stick his/her neck out in what they believe in and eventually they are able to convince the nay sayers into converts (remember “12 angry men” where one member of the jury manages to convince the other 11 to rethink the verdict). 

Does that mean TVF prefers working directly with the brands and does not want agencies in between?

We would have loved to have agencies as part of the whole process, but the way the content industry moves, it can’t be controlled in the manner a typical media agency does its deal. Due to this, 90% of our work happens directly with clients, including both MNCs and Indian brands and startups. They're also extremely happy to continue in this way. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to work with agencies, as for them everything eventually boils down to reach and numbers and between science and art we are clearly driving the latter.

But then, don't you miss out on a large chunk of business from the brands that involve their agencies at each level?

It will end up being their brands' loss if they try to apply the same media buying framework on the new evolving models of partnership. We would love to have more brands on board. Our hands are always full because of the kind of work we do. We have already worked with Spinny, Meta, Unacademy, DSP Mutual Funds, AMFI, Unilever etc etc. Proctor & Gamble does one web series with us every year for their various brands. We have recently partnered with Ikea and with most of the above brands they have always come back to do multiple rounds of partnership.

Given the kind of investment involved, not many brands try doing content in web series format. They find it a risky affair. What would you say here?

Risk is always involved in any marketing activity. There is no guarantee of ad campaigns becoming a hit. Anything genuinely engaging will be liked by the audience. Brands need to understand that regular above-the-line advertising has its limitations. An extra nudge is always needed. Branded web series will work very well with those kinds of marketers who are willing to unlearn some bits of the traditional ways of marketing and are now willing to let external creators recommend and advise on the best ways to collaborate and create content.

One quick-fix approach that brands follow is influencer marketing and short-form content. All of these approaches have their pros and cons. Influencer activity has short-term spurts of impact. But with the kind of work that TVF does, the impact is much bigger during launch and also sustains over a long period. People still watch Pitchers and recall the brand Kingfisher even after 7 years of the show dropping. 

What is the secret sauce to TVF’s success in creating branded content?

I'm glad that this is the perception among people. We've had our own bunch of shows that have not worked as well as we expected. Even the top Bollywood stars don't deliver hits all the time.

Firstly, we focus heavily on relatability. Secondly, writing is at the core of everything that we do. We are extremely finicky about the quality of our writing. The chances of success are slightly higher once you get the foundation of the whole content piece right, rather than just focusing on superior production values, big stars, and other such things. Thirdly, TVF is one place where we constantly give each other feedback, which helps us refine and fine-tune the final product that comes out.

Does TVF have different teams for branded and unbranded content?

Most creators in the TVF have worked on branded content at some stage or another. The creators of India’s top web shows like Panchayat, Kota Factory, Aspirants and Gullak all work on branded content too be it like writers, directors, or producers. It is like joining Unilever where a marketer needs to keep making market visits to know the ground realities. For us, we insist on everyone on continue doing some amount of branded work to stay contemporary.

What is new at TVF?

Last year we dropped 14 shows and hopefully this year we will touch 20. We have 12 shows which have done 3 seasons or more and still counting (incidentally no studio/platform in the country has more than 5). We are ramping up our efforts on the regional content front because that is the fastest-growing segment. The other big news is that TVF will get into the motion picture business across Hindi and regional cinema (watch this space for more).