Why are ad agencies veering towards branded OTT content?

India is home to over 500 million (50.3 crores) OTT consumers, although the number of paid subscriptions could be 5 crores, an EY report recently said. As per market estimates, these platforms are also fetching more than Rs 5,000 crore annually. This explains why brands are exploring new avenues to engage with consumers, particularly through branded content production on video subscription platforms. 

Branded content is produced or paid for by the advertiser brands. Unlike ads that talk about the brands’ USP, this content engages the target audience through emotive storytelling with a casual reference or a logo placement in the story.

A surge in this content has now led to top ad agencies tapping the potential of this form, and are likely to diversify their portfolio. This transition from the core competency of agencies in making 15-30-60 seconders to producing full-fledged serials, talk shows and films is interesting.

Sample this. Lintas C:EX Entertainment, the content arm of MullenLowe Lintas Group, is developing a premium unscripted series with cricket legend, commentator and coach Ravi Shastri. This will mark the debut of MullenLowe Lintas Group into branded content creation. The series is designed to appeal to a wide audience that goes beyond cricket aficionados and cuts across gender and age segments.

According to Virat Tandon, Group CEO, Mullen Lowe Lintas, “This large scale premium unscripted series conceptualised by our team will not only showcase Ravi in a new avatar but also disrupt existing format codes and set a new benchmark in its genre.”

Meanwhile, Havas Media Group India recently launched its specialized content division - Havas Content. “Our goal is to identify and create relevant content across platforms, which will drive better connection with consumers. Not just the TV, OTT, digital and social space, we aim to leverage the metaverse too,” says Uday Mohan, President & Chief Client Officer, Havas Media Group India.

Mediabrands via its unit - Content Studio - is also creating different content forms that can be categorised as Original, Branded, Campaign, Performance content, and Experiences.

From ‘Hum Log’ and ‘Ramayana’ in the eighties to 'Squid Game' and ‘Panchayat’ now, Indian audiences have noticed a seismic shift in terms of content. With the impact reaching various strata of society, brand marketers are also leveraging in-trend OTT content to drive engagement on digital media.

Some agencies have been early adopters of the trend. For instance, Foxymoron launched video content solutions agency ‘The Rabbit Hole’ way back in 2015. Glitch too launched a specialized new age content division called Flux in 2018.

The finest example of branded content has been Coke Studio, which was launched on MTV in partnership with Coca Cola. A huge success in India and Pakistan, Coke Studio is now going global.

Authentic & Meaningful

“Content is an authentic way for brands to relate to the world. It is not advertising, it is compelling brand stories. The brand purpose/philosophy is communicated in interesting creative ways,” explains Dhruv Jha, Co-Head, Mediabrands Content Studio, India.

“We have great examples of work in films like 5B and Dear Santa globally, The Punishing Signal, and The Plum Shelters most recently in India. This is the way to go as audiences are getting more real and relate better to real stories,” asserts Jha.

According to industry observers, branded content provides advertisers with a large and powerful canvas for engaging with the young audience that considers ads as intrusion and is increasingly using ad-blockers on digital platforms. They prefer content that entertains, enriches and inspires. Brands are now identifying their specific audiences and preferences. 

As for Uday Mohan, “Havas’s proprietary Meaningful Brands (MB) study provides us with category-specific content pillars such as Entertain, Educate, Inspire, Help. Our goal is to leverage this MB tool in identifying and creating relevant content across platforms, which will drive better connection with consumers through meaningful media experiences.”

Brands Making the Move

EdTech brand Unacademy took the opportunity to sponsor the web series ‘Kota Factory’ that revolves around the lives of IIT aspirants in India’s coaching hub Kota in Rajasthan. The brand is also associated with properties like IPL’s 'Kya Hum Live Hai’ show. 

Among the other brands are Ola Cabs, which was the title sponsor of ‘Permanent Roommates' on TVF, condom brand KamaSutra partnered with OTT channel Frogs Lehren’s Virgin Woman Diaries (season 2), Lakme tied up with Bang Baaja Baaraat and Tanishq Ladies Room, and Flipkart formed an association with The Aam Aadmi Family. Sugarfree and Honda Cars also created web series The Sweet Breakup and Honda Jazz.

‘Content more powerful than ads’

A 2019 study by The Brandgym points out that 84 per cent of netizens skip ads while watching content on mobile phones. They watch a 15-second ad for only 5.5 seconds and a 30-second ad for 7.4 seconds only, the study says.

On the other hand, branded content improves recall by over 59 per cent as compared to digital ads, and increases the chances of consumers exploring brands by 14 per cent after one impression of branded content, according to a 2016 report by Forbes.

Market Size

Over the next five years, premium branded content globally is expected to mature into a $20 billion opportunity for publishers, Greg Bella, VP, Marketing of technology provider for branded content, Polar, wrote in a blog.

The market size of branded content in India is unclear as of now because surveys put all video content under one category without any bifurcation for branded content, says Advait Gupt, Co-founder and CEO of Kulfi Collective, which started as a branded content company ‘Supari Studio’ in 2012.

“Since big agencies have ventured into this space, that means the market is quite big. All I can say is it is a sizable portion of the video market now,” Gupt remarked.

Brands are spending 5-15 per cent of their promotion budget on branded content, he added.

Agency heads also highlight that since they lose key creative leaders to the entertainment and film industry, coming up with a content platform is a way to retain talent and open up a revenue stream.