Why subtle integration of brands in content works

Most publishers face this catch-22 situation where companies do not understand the importance of subtlety of brand integration with content. Obsession of brand marketers with their plugs is hurting the larger goal of native advertising—informing the reader while pushing the brand very subtlety. Unlike ads, native advertising can never be in your face and blatant as it defeats the very purpose of this form.

Native advertising by its definition should distinguish itself from the blatant advertorials that brazenly push company products and should align with the publishers’ content, organically. Blatant and loud content can hamper the content itself. In the content marketing ecosystem, brands need to be subtly placed in sync with the content. But how well have brands understood the concept?

Meghana Bhat

“We explain to the brand that people share content and not ads and people expect to see content on our platform. When they see the product messaging overriding the story that they came to watch, naturally consumers will feel cheated and there will be some backlash, typically expressed through comments,” shared Meghana Bhat, Chief Marketing Officer at ScoopWhoop Media.

Priyadarshi Banerjee

Priyadarshi Banerjee, National Revenue Head, Digital and Marketing Head, International brands, World Wide Media, said, “We try and explain brands the basics of content nativity and rationalise how being ‘pluggy’ or too in-your-face can drive negative impact for brand values. Subtle, seamless or organic integration has a far greater cognitive effect on consumers today.”

Amer Jaleel

Amer Jaleel, Group Chief Creative Officer and Chairman of the MullenLowe Lintas Group, said the brand or the message be passed on in a manner that does not disrupt the normal viewing of the audience. The content of the ad should be natural to the context that it becomes invisible yet gets internalised.

“Brand content needs to be like the brand, the audience should never realise they are consuming it. Content is yet in its first trimester and if we force rules of branding on it, it’s going to be stillborn,” he added.

A heavily brand-oriented content appeals to people who are already loyal to the brand and have bought/used its product or service and will potentially do so again. But such brand content aimed at attracting new customers will seem too self-serving. In such cases, a more subtle approach will improve the brand image, gaining vital inbound links and shares, and eventually increasing online conversions.

Madhavi Irani

Instead of screaming for attention and ‘pushing’ the brand on potential consumers, the content should have an intrigue value that ‘pulls’ them in, said Madhavi Irani, Chief Officer Content at Nykka.

Whether the brand will go for subtle placement or push for over-the-top presence, mostly boils down to the question of right fit. The natural fitment of the content should be the starting point but unfortunately, it is not, most of the times.

Vishal Sagar

“Our experience with multiple brands across categories suggests that if the content is well-suited for the brand and stems from its DNA, then brands are comfortable with subtle placements. The moment brand realises that their brand is not a natural fit, brands push for more brand-related cues. It is time content publishers start judging the content the same way ad agencies judge an ad. If it works even with the logo of any other brand, it isn’t right for the brand it has been made for,” said Vishal Sagar, Creative Director, Dentsu Webchutney.

It is understandable brands allocating large budgets towards creating and marketing content want to see ROI but often times, this quest for share of eyeballs lowers retention/engagement rates, as they realise later. Consumers, the world over, are looking for relevant content.

The product placement should ideally depend on the purpose of the content. If the product or brand is integral to the story line, the placement can be strong. However, where the story is king, the placement needs to be more subtle, said Irani.

Agencies have evolved into understanding the efficacy of branded content created by publishers today. It's always good to have an intermediary agency who understands the brand as well the publisher.

Joy Chatterjee

“Agency helps for smooth working and keeps a subtle balance between the demand, expectations and final deliveries,” said Joy Chatterjee, AGM, Product Management Team, Mankind Pharma.

Agreeing with Chatterjee, Banerjee said, “The entire agency eco system with their current strategic approach to effective media deployment has a lot more synchronisation with publishers than before. And hence they at times act as a voice of reason during any difference in opinion or approach between brands and publishers.”

Sagar shared how his team while reviewing any content opportunity tries to understand the point of view of both: content and the platform.

He added, “Content is nothing without the context and the platform/publisher too is a part of the context. We believe in setting the right expectation when it comes to content and context and this has so far helped us in creating content with no or minimal compromise. While brands want their best interest, publishers too overpromise to get the deal.”

In a situation where a brand is in direct contact with the publisher, then the dealing might get tricky as the publisher might have to honour unrealistic demands of the brand. This at times restricts their editorial freedom.

Asked if or not brands interfere with publishers’ editorial freedom, Bhat said, “We understand that brands do find it tough to give up control and trust in editorial. The solution is to constantly keep educating clients and build trust through small steps. Editorial guidelines have been created keeping in mind what our audience on the platform expects from us. So being in sync with those is actually in the best interest of the brand.”