Research "categorically proves" branded content effectiveness

The Branded Content Marketing Association (BCMA) secured cross-industry support to provide measurement for branded content activity via its Branded Content evaluation system (BCes) last year.

And according to the BCMA the completion of the first two BCes case studies categorically proves that branded content outperforms more traditional forms of advertising.

In one case study commissioned by ITV to evaluate Farm Camp, a children’s show funded by Morissons supermarket to support its Let’s Grow initiative, the BCMA was able to demonstrate that association of Morrisons with Let’s Grow increased by 24% in a test group who watched the show compared to those in a control group.

A second case study evaluated an HSBC campaign targeting high net worth individuals that included a two-minute clip on CNBC called 'Alternative Investing' during editorial time and a branded online guide. Between two-thirds and three-quarters of the test group recorded positive reactions to the branded content, with 67% saying "I’d like to see more of this type of thing in future".

Andrew Canter, BCMA’s managing director and CEO of contentworx, which developed the Bces with OTX and Pointlogic, said: "We are thrilled to have these two great case studies to kick start the process of ensuring the Bces becomes the industry standard and universally accepted measurement technique for branded content. The Bces has finally given us the evidence the industry desperately needed that branded content is an extremely powerful marketing solution and will continue to grow in popularity. Importantly it gives marketers the accountability and decision support system they require to sign off branded content campaigns."