SNL's Broadway Video Charts the Evolution of Branded Content
06.08.2017
Branded content is the present and future of marketing, but its origins might take you by surprise.
It all began with The Bass-O-Matic '76 on Saturday Night Live. The ad parody starring Dan Aykroyd was an instant success, and planted the seeds for what would be the branded content we know today -- funded content to communicate with customers in a fun and engaging way.
Megan Callahan, Writer, "Saturday Night Live," Elaine Cantwell, CCO, Broadway Video Enterprises and Britta von Schoeler, President, Broadway Video Enterprises, charted the origins and evolution of branded content, revealing the formula that Saturday Night Live has used to perfection over 42 seasons.
While von Schoeler was initially worried about using real products for their parody ads, that is routinely dispelled, as was the case with the recent Lincoln car parody starring Jim Carrey.Â
After the parody, there was a 25% increase in car sales for the Lincoln MKC, which the company directly attributed to the SNL commercial. At the time, two million people had seen the actual commercial, and 13 million had viewed the SNL parody.
That led Pete VonDerLinn, executive creative director, Partners & Napier, to say the following: "The social currency a campaign can get from an SNL parody is marketing gold."Â
Callahan outlined Broadway Video's creative process to achieve marketing gold with their branded content. She recommends a large writing team that boasts diverse voices and experiences for a wide range of ideas. But before that happens, it all starts with considering and maximizing the demographic.
"We constantly remember we're on in Kansas," said Callahan. "We're mindful not to just get a joke in studio."
From there, authenticity reigns by embroiling creativity in truth and to speak from personal experience. When writing for News Update, Callahan will meet with Michael Che about a particular topic to get his thoughts, and imbue the segment with his own life experiences.
This also helps to be original, SNL's biggest challenge with the rapid news cycle. You need a unique take, eliminating duplicative ideas while trying to stay in the zeitgeist. If something big hits on Monday, by Saturday, almost every joke has been made, so they have to either make sure they have a fresh take or POV, or tackle something different. Callahan's constantly on Twitter, following trends, and continually going around the building, outside of the writer's room, to test jokes. When an intern doesn't get a particular joke, or the frame of reference, it's nixed (which goes back to maximizing demographics).
Lastly, they have to make it "sticky" -- by identifying a truism, creating catchphrases or a jingle. The "Debbie Downer" character worked because everyone knew someone like that. Catchphrases get ideas across quickly, and what's more, are easy to share.
"Musical parodies are always going to get the most hits for SNL," said Callahan.
Plus the lyrics are often short and shareable.
Boiled down, branded content is product integration, subtly (or purposefully not so subtly) into an entertainment format.
Integrations work through the halo effect -- where we experience emotions from the shows we're watching, and they're automatically transferred to the products we see -- as seen with IFC's Portlandia Subaru spot (above).
Subaru saw a brand lift after the ad.
"It was personality making for them," said Cantwell. "A personality we like is the #1 motivator for sales."
This was also seen with Snapple on 30 Rock.Â
The scene makes fun of paid placement, but it was successful because it made audiences feel like they were in on the joke, von Schoeler said. Like Subaru, this was a personality definer for Snapple -- viewers walked away thinking Snapple was a cool brand. It created a conscious thought provocation, far more effective than a passive ad placement.
Broadway Video identifies a direct correlation between the more you like the show or content you're watching, the more you're going to like the product integrated into it.
Which is why it works -- it leads to higher brand recall (86% recall versus just 65% for advertisement). Publishing partnerships help drive impact even further. Broadway Video sees a 50% overall brand lift for pieces of branded content published on partner sites rather than the brand's sites themselves.
When predicting the future of branded content, Broadway Video believes there will be data led creative, more limited commercial interruptions and content pods.
That future is already here. Mashable and many other digital brands blend data and creativity, while everyone and my Grandmother is working on content pods. Limited commercials has already shown success in keeping viewers through the commercial breaks, increasing ratings, CPM's  and creating more competition in the marketplace.
Whatever way branded content will evolve from here, it's clear it's not going anywhere, and that Broadway Video and Saturday Night Live will be around to take part.