At Pressboard, we’re invested in growing the branded content industry. Whether that involves connecting advertisers and publishers through our own platform or celebrating the incredible work of our peers, we’re dedicated to building up the industry as a whole. That’s why I write about my favourite branded content partnerships every month. So without further ado, here are 10 incredible pieces of branded content that publishers and advertisers created together in November, 2017.
(You can check out the best branded content partnerships from past months here.)
Intel is known for driving the forces of technology, but always operating behind-the-scenes, rather than being a hand-held tech commodity. Their positioning makes them a natural partner for the Verge’s Next Level video series, which takes viewers behind the scenes of cutting edge technologies like drones, virtual reality and holograms. Working with some of the world’s most innovative companies and research institutions, this partnership positions Intel alongside these innovators and delivers value to their ideal techie audience.
This partnership between Great Big Story and Toyota pushes the boundaries of what we normally expect to find in branded content. The video centers on aboriginal artist Joel Isaak, who creates handmade garments using fish skin and other natural materials. Through this piece and others in the series, Toyota aligns themselves with environmental responsibility, creativity, heritage and adventure.
Hosted by Vice’s celebrity chef Matty Matheson, this video series sponsored by Jack In The Box serves up the same deadpan wit we’ve come to expect from the brand combined with the vivacious, high-volume cooking tutorials from Munchies. Matty is known for taking an already-pretty-good recipe and making it even more delicious, making him the perfect partner for this campaign in which Jack in the Box takes fast food that’s already pretty good (burgers) and makes them even better (ribeye burgers). A warning to readers: don’t watch this series while hungry.
Volvo isn’t the first brand that comes to mind when thinking about a luxury SUV, so they set out change this with written content highlighting the intelligent design of the new XC60 SUV. For Entrepreneur, Volvo leveraged an interview with their former Senior VP of Design about the origins behind the vehicle’s Scandinavian style. His thought leadership combined with the discussion of the vehicle’s unique design elements are sure to pique the curiosity of entrepreneurial minds. Check out more content from the campaign on Mashable and Cottage Life.
(Disclosure: This content was created through the Pressboard platform)
The Hostess Next Door is a weekly live show that streams across a variety of platforms and brings on partners and sponsors for different themed episodes. Branded content often runs the risk of feeling forced, but a partnership between fresh, local eggs and a family-based cooking show makes perfect sense. While the very nature of a live stream requires advertisers to give up some control over their content (anything can happen live!), the long-term payoff is real. Not only will you capture the attention of live viewers, the footage can then be cut and edited into mini snippets of evergreen content like this.
Tastemade’s video content consistently knocks it out of the park, and this is no exception. Tastemade and Cacique, a producer of authentic Mexican cheeses, sauces and beverages, visited the family-owned restaurant Mi Tierra in San Antonio. The restaurant has been in the same family since the ‘60s, with many recipes remaining unchanged since they first opened their doors. Cacique’s sauces and flavors are a part of their family story, and a part of the lives of many Mexican expats who continue to seek out a taste of home.
The latest in a Personal Investments content series between Edward Jones and The Guardian, this piece features the story of an entrepreneur who is changing the world through baby-sized sleeping bags. Inspired by a class at Stanford business school, Jane Chen built a social enterprise that has helped save the lives of over 250,000 premature babies around the world. The story is captivating, not just because of the subject matter, but through great writing, audio snippets and interactive elements that make the content really come alive. An entrepreneurial success story is always ideal content for a brand like Edward Jones, but the social significance of supporting society’s most vulnerable members makes this truly buzz-worthy.
I never thought I’d be featuring WebMD on this list, but here we are. This simple branded content partnership is a great example of reaching your audience at the right place and time. Visitors to WebMD are already thinking about their health, and the holiday season is the ideal time to shine light on charities supporting people in need. Many North Americans visit their local pharmacy to receive a winter flu shot, and Walgreens is giving further motivation to immunize. Their “Shot@Life” charity provides a life-saving vaccine to underprivileged children in developing countries for every shot given at Walgreens.
Partnering with five English and French publishers across Canada, Elizabeth Arden offered practical advice to urban Canadians looking to “city-proof” their skin. Elizabeth Arden’s luxury skincare line PREVAGE relies on scientific evidence to account for their products’ effectiveness, and their partnerships with health and wellness publications over traditional beauty magazines enforces this ideology.
(Disclosure: This content was created through the Pressboard platform)
As a marketing guy who has also been a lifelong fan of heavy music, this piece of branded content feels like it was tailor-made for me. The story is about how heavy metal band Ne Obliviscaris used digital tools and social outreach to sustain themselves in an era where the music industry is not structured to support artists. Making content about creative uses of digital technology, without mentioning SAP at all, is a unique angle that feels like true brand journalism.
