Branded content has grown from a tool employed by only a handful of companies to a widespread practice embraced by many. Brands of all sizes and industries are reaching audiences through storytelling, and the data proves that it’s working.
Since Pressboard opened its doors in Canada in 2014, the amount of brands and publishers creating great content together has skyrocketed, making it difficult to select only a few partnerships to showcase. However, with branded stories becoming de rigueur, the partnerships that push the limits and motivate us to think differently truly shine through. Here are some of the exceptional branded content campaigns that inspired our team of this year, and that clearly resonated with audiences as well.
For the few that don’t know Wattpad, it’s an incredibly popular platform that readers and writers around the world can use to publish and share original stories. This partnership with Schick Quattro saw the creation of four new fictional stories centered around pivotal moments in a young woman’s life, like getting a first job, going on a first big road trip and finding love. The series promoted the brand through occasional mentions in the stories as well as accompanying ads. This unique campaign really puts the story into branded storytelling by creating fictional narratives that engage with young audiences on an emotional level.
As proud Canadians, we know perfectly well what makes our country so spectacular. But reaching American audiences with that message can take a little bit more work. Destination Canada was up to the challenge. Partnering with 12 American publications to create 28 original pieces of branded content, they showcased the thrill of traveling north. The content highlighted uniquely Canadian activities that would appeal to specific US states and cities like houseboating down the Rideau Canal, visiting polar bears in Manitoba and exploring PEI’s thriving culinary scene. Readers responded incredibly positively, generating over 75K social engagements as they shared the stories with family and friends, so it’s safe to say Americans are in love with more than just our prime minister.
(Disclosure: This content was created through the Pressboard platform)
This is a prime example of how great storytelling can be used to promote a cause. The WE Campaign, part of the organization WE Charity, promotes empowering communities to lift themselves out of poverty through sustainable action. This smart campaign played off the misconception that millennials are selfish, by switching every “I” in posts to “we”. It’s a great way to catch readers’ attention and drive conversions, and it worked: pledge conversions increased by 28x according to Steve Meraska, SVP of Innovation and Insights at Starcom.
What kind of Canadian list would this be if I didn’t feature the brand partnership that gave us a new way to watch hockey. Sportsnet and Molson Canadian teamed up in February to start broadcasting a series of six NHL games in virtual reality. Molson Canadian supplied 350,000 VR headsets in cases of beer around the country, and then worked with Sportsnet to create additional content for the partnership. I think we’re going to be seeing a lot more VR content in the sporting world soon, so Molson has put themselves at the forefront of technology with this partnership.
Uniqlo demonstrated that they know how to reach Canadian audiences by appealing to what makes us so proud to be Canadian. The clothing company partnered with Canadian publishers like Toronto Life, Daily Hive and Narcity to promote their entry into the Canadian market with a unique pop-up shop. Uniqlo invited Canadians to try on their flannel shirts at the pop-up and either keep them for free or donate them to a new Canadian. Needless to say, all of the flannels found homes with newcomers to our country. This campaign is a great example of how to use branded content to amplify a campaign. They used influencers to promote the pop-up, created video content on site, and then spread the message after-the-fact by using branded stories.
Working with 12 different publications, Toyota created three videos and 10 stories to highlight the economic value of owning a hybrid. One of my favourites? Local publisher Vancouver is Awesome challenged a couple to drive around the city’s famous Stanley Park in a Toyota Prius until it ran out of gas. Unfortunately for the drivers, this took way longer than expected (almost 12 hours!), but fortunately for audiences, the journey is hilarious. To top it off, the campaign also offered a $500 gas credit to one lucky winner – enough to keep a Prius-owner rolling for a full year. The three videos received over 134K video views in British Columbia alone.
(Disclosure: This content was created through the Pressboard platform)
You can expect virtually everything coming off Vice’s Munchies channel to be witty, delicious and engaging – and this partnership with Kraft Singles Bold is no exception. Celebrated Toronto chef Matty Matheson and Top Chef Canada alumni Danny Smiles reached audiences in the most innately Canadian way: with bilingual content celebrating the country’s favourite cheese brand, Kraft.
Keeping in the food category, Quaker was looking to highlight the use of their oats in overnight oats recipes, so they partnered with four publishers to create stories that positioned overnight oats as the perfect solution to busy mornings. The content lived on health and parenting websites like Best Health and Parents Canada, and really resonated with readers, who converted back to Quaker’s site at over 2x the average conversion benchmarks for branded content. Just more proof that recipe content is king.
(Disclosure: This content was created through the Pressboard platform)
This partnership with the CFL was Twitter Canada’s first weekly live-streaming show and has racked up millions of views, culminating with a whole week’s worth of live shows leading up to the Grey Cup. The show feels polished but natural – exactly what you’d hope for in a live-stream, making this a branded content home run. Or, rather, a branded content touchdown. The beauty of live video content is that it’s easy to edit into bite-size snippets, which the CFL capitalized on across Twitter’s Amplify program.
This clever move by General Mills extended the reach of their annual baking contest by partnering with Food Network Canada to create a one-hour TV special, featuring the 10 finalists and a $10,000 grand prize. Contests are great for driving initial engagement, but the risk is that the only people invested in it are the entrants and their personal networks. By turning this contest into a TV special with additional video and written content, General Mills was able to engage and entertain a whole new audience for a sustained period of time.
Thanks to all of the brands and publishers on this list for continuously creating content that makes me excited to be part of this growing industry! Did I miss one of your favorite branded content partnerships of the year? Share it with us in the comments!