Toeing the Fine Line of Branded Content

Ansoo Gupta is COO of Pinstorm – India’s pioneering digital brand communications firm. Pinstorm uses a mix of technology, creativity and above all, sound marketing principles to formulate communication strategies that work for brands and consumers both

- Ansoo Gupta

Branded Content is as important for a brand today as its commercial ads. Every brand, irrespective of its product category, is looking for ways to create content to integrate their brands in. Some are able to do it with finesse while some others come across as an out-of the-place plug.

From commercial-spots to product-placement to now branded-content, brands were forced to take this journey because of the continued apathy that consumers started showing to the commercials about a decade back. The 30-sec ads which had thrived in the ‘interruption marketing’ era of the magazines, newspapers and TV, started facing an existential issue with the advent of premium DTH services, TiVO and now the internet, where the viewer is truly becoming the king.

It has now become necessary for the brands to hide the commercial imperative, and even the brand altogether, so that readers think they're consuming a familiar newspaper or magazine. This is supposed to make brands seem more reliable, familiar, and indispensable. But it can easily come across as a sham—a short sighted attempt to trick consumers into opening their wallets. Consumers are not as naive today.