I was lucky enough to hear a number of very strong speakers at the recent Brand Republic conference in Brighton. One I particularly enjoyed was the Fosters brand manager talking about the experience of the brand in taking on comedy as their entertainment vehicle.
There was much to admire in a company that was prepared to fund comedy and even more so to fund comedy by Steve Coogan and Armando Ianucci in the form of some new Alan Partridge episodes - all very good. Of course now they've moved on to the wonderful, deranged comedy genius that is Vic and Bob and that's very good too.
A number things occurred to me during his very good presentation....
1) Why had they chosen to act as patron to existing well established acts when their current double act of Aussie comedians turned agony Uncles was so funny and ripe for exploitation? Was there a touch of the ego here? Not just at client level but at agency level too? Had they missed a trick (and a much cheaper trick at that) and indeed the chance to integrate their campaign cross platform?
2) While a brilliant way to capture the lightning in a bottle of brilliant comedy and serve it up to a thirsty audience was this campaign advancing the cause of branded content among many of the brands sitting in the room - the answer was plainly no as question after question was hurled at the speaker focussing on ROI/cases shifted and other such mundanities while the man from Fosters took on the role of content evangelist (good to have a rest frankly) and explained that it was about long term gain not quick gratification and I agreed with him, but only in part.
While brands think that this sort of very clever and very expensive activity is what makes for branded content and while they also think that there is no quick return they may stop themselves from dipping their toes in the water - and they shouldn't - as with all things in marketing branded content is one part glamour to ninety nine parts hard graft and can be just as effective as part of a regular marketing plan. One that can be actioned quickly, efficiently and even funnily.
I heard many marketers leaving that session saying
"Its alright for them they've got the money"
I took the opportunity to tell them that there were so many things they could do that wouldn't require sponsoring comedy genius! Everything from demos to talking heads to conferences, to comedy , documentary and all things in between can be made at varying budgets and with guaranteed effectiveness - this is after all a marketing activity - just ask Alan Partridge
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director The Big Shot | 75-77 Margaret Street, London, W1W 8SY
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