Related: See our branded content work · Start a projectMost branded content fails for the same reason: it's about the brand. The pieces that actually work are about the audience — the brand just makes them possible. After two decades of making branded films for national companies, here's what separates content people watch from content people skip.
Lead with the audience's problem, not the product
People don't share ads; they share things that made them feel something or taught them something. Start with what your audience actually cares about, and let the brand earn its place by being genuinely useful or genuinely moving. The product is the resolution, not the premise.
Story is the strategy
A clear story does more strategic work than any list of features. Tension, character, a turn — these are the mechanics that hold attention long enough for a message to land. If the brief has no story, the content has no chance.
Make it native to where it lives
A film built for a national broadcast and a video built for a vertical feed are different animals. The strongest branded content is designed for its platform from the first frame — the format, the length, the first three seconds — not resized as an afterthought.
Measure what actually matters
Views are vanity; behavior is truth. The right metric depends on the goal — brand lift, qualified traffic, a shift in perception — but it should be agreed before production, not reverse-engineered after. Great partners design for an outcome, not just a deliverable.
If you're planning branded content that has to do more than look good, we'd love to help you make something that works.