BOBCM: Expert Predictions Report - Best of Branded Content Marketing Volume II

Last year, I asked a number of experts to

help me with some crystal ball gazing

that resulted in the Expert Predictions

chapter of the first edition of the Best of

Branded Content Marketing ebook.

This year I asked a far broader group of

marketing practitioners from around the

world what they expect to see change in

the next five years, and what they expect

will remain the same. The question was

prompted by comments made by the

analyst, author and founder of Altimeter

Group, Charlene Li, who’d pointed out

that despite the many different sites,

technologies and business models we

have today, “the fundamentals of

marketing have remained the same as

have the challenges.”

The question brought a seven-fold

increase in response with a mixture of

description, prescription and prediction.

Because the term ‘content’ straddles so

by Justin KirbyVP, Strategic Content MarketingTenthwave

The Future of Branded Content MarketingPlus Ça Change, Plus C'est La Même ChoseThe more things change, the more they remain the same

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many marketing and other disciplines,

the responses highlighted the need for a

shared lexicon which we hope the

industry can move towards. The recently

BCMA commissioned research

undertaken by Oxford Brookes University,

in partnership with Ipsos MORI, which

has resulting in the following overarching

definition of branded content:

"Branded content is any content associated with a brand in the eye of the beholder”

This is helpful first step by describing

what branded content is generically, but

it doesn’t explain the ‘Why’ (in what is the

marketing problem it attempts to solve?),

nor ‘What’ the branded content specifics

might be for the different variations of

‘Whom’, ‘Where’ and ‘When’. There’s also

the important question of ‘How’ any

success might be measured.

We hope what follows, and the case

studies we have featured in the Best of

Branded Content Marketing: 10th

Anniversary Edition, will start to address

some of these issues. No-one has all of

the answers yet, but we also hope the

responses and points raised will also

provide a frame of reference for

marketers to better navigate a path

through the many challenges ahead.

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SECTION 1

The Yin Yang of Branded Content MarketingJan Godsk of ideatakeway and Chairman, BCMA Scandinavia,

believes that branded content and content marketing may be

two different categories. He uses the term ‘branded content

marketing’ as we have done with the title of this ebook to point

out that it has brand on one side, marketing on the other, and

content in the middle.

Jan GodskChairman BCMA Scandinavia

“Talking about branded content

and content marketing, I think

it’s all about one word that

connects both, and that’s the

word content.”

Branded Content

On the brand side, Jan suggests we think

of this as being more irrational and

focused around our impressions, such as

whether we like a brand or share their

values. Branded content campaigns are

more likely to be conducted upstream as

part of an engagement approach rather

than to just drive awareness in the

traditional AIDA funnel. The term is often

associated with longer-form video-based

output from more creative advertising

disciplines where audiences are engaged

with entertainment-type content that

resonates emotionally. This helps shift

brand preferences and consumer

behaviours. In theory, the less USP-

focused you become, the more your

branded content will emotionally involve

people.

Content Marketing

On the marketing side, Jan proposes we

think about this as being based around

the product/service USP, with the content

being more rational and informative.

Content marketing campaigns are often

conducted downstream in what

McKinsey & Company call the customer

decision journey, with ROI more focused

on lead-generation and sales. Looking at

content marketing in this way helps

explain why some prefer the term ‘brand

publishing’, why it is often used within a

B2B context, its close connection to

Search Engine Optimisation, and the

formats most commonly used:

• Blogs• E-newsletters• Case studies• Press releases• ebooks• White papers• Infographics• Webinars• Podcasts

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And Branded Entertainment?

The term ‘branded entertainment’ is used

by some to describe branded content

marketing campaigns where the product

is more integrated into the content. That’s

why the term is often used in connection

with formats such as advertiser funded

programming (AFP) that use more

traditional media like TV, radio and even

film and often overlap with product

placement and sponsorship.

This type of approach is evolving as we

have showcased with the case study in

the Best of Branded Content Marketing:

10th Anniversary Edition where Unilever’s

Surf brand borrowed the attributes from

ITV’s ‘The only way is Essex’ (TOWIE) TV

show to extend their association with it

by creating exclusive, engaging and

entertaining content.

Branded Content And Content Marketing: Two Sides Of The Same Content Coin

The Yin Yang image is a simple way of

illustrating that the two approaches are

two sides of the same coin, but

seemingly based on different intent that

shapes the output, engagement and

distribution approaches.

As Mark Welland explains, it also shows

how other disciplines can be

accommodated as part of the mix.

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Mark WellandFounderNew Media Works

“In the future, I’m sure, as

within most disciplines,

branded content marketing will

begin to fracture and divide

into more specialist areas. New

platforms and ways of

engaging will drive the process

on the back of services that

users wish to be a part of. This

will need new language to

describe the areas and will

hopefully lead to better ways of

describing the broader

discipline.”

SECTION 2

Strategic ConsiderationsSome of the response from experts focused less

on the future, and more on the strategic

considerations that brands need to be thinking

about with regard to branded content marketing.

We’ve grouped these in themes to provide a

context for the predictions in the following

sections.

“I often hear the cry “We need

a social media strategy” when

what is really needed first is a

customer engagement strategy

based on content.”

Dave ChaffeyCEOSmart Insights

The 3 Circles of Branded Content

Marketing diagram on the right is a

helpful prompt to start thinking about

practice more holistically. The diagram

was inspired by the Three Pillars of

Connected Marketing model developed

by Idil Cakim, the analyst and author of

Implementing Word of Mouth Marketing.

As Dave Chaffey at Smart Insights

explains, content and social media

marketing have become the de facto way

of explaining customer engagement

approaches and so it’s “unfortunate” that

these are too often considered

separately. He says what is needed is a

“customer engagement strategy based

on content”. Idil’s model shows how

these can be unified.

I’ve adapted Idil’s model to provide a

prompt for thinking through the following

questions as part of developing a

branded content marketing strategy:

• What kind of branded content is

created (or co-created) by ‘Who’ and

for ‘Whom’?

• How is engagement managed?

• How is content distributed? (i.e.

‘Where’ in the converged landscape

of earned, owned and paid media,

and ‘When’ in the customer decision

journey?)

• How is the success of the different

parts and their sum measured?

These are also useful questions for

analysing the predictions in the following

sections, as are these strategic

considerations raised by contributors:7

THREE CIRCLES OF BRANDED CONTENT MARKETING

DISTRIBUTION

CONTENT(CO)CREATION

ENGAGEMENTMANAGEMENT

MEASUREMENT

We are media

Chris Gorell Barnes at Adjust Your Set

suggests that we’re also moving from a

world where mass media ruled to one

where the masses themselves are the

media: “People not only decide what,

when and where they want to consume

media, but also whether or not the

message is passed on.”

Your brand is a social construct that you no longer control

That’s why Bjoern Asmussen at Oxford

Brooks University thinks that marketers

will increasingly realise that brands “are

best understood as socially constructed

organisms”. They will consist of “all kinds

of brand meanings, brand manifestations

and brand stakeholders, such as

consumers, employees, competitors,

suppliers, pressure groups and the

media.”

so get yourself invited, don’t just buy your way in

Blended Republic’s Chris Sice thinks that

right now, “too many brands follow an

outdated ‘push’ content model. They

create content and look to ‘buy’

audiences.” Chris Gorell Barnes adds

that “if a brand wants to be a part of this

world they must be invited in – you can’t

buy your way in.”

or just try and catch the next big wave

Branded content is also “no longer about

client strategies or wanting to be in on

the next big wave” according to

Vodafone’s Melissa Hopkins. She says it

is now “simply a news provider, a

conversation piece, a portal for

stimulation, with a brand discreetly

behind it.” Melissa believes only the

brave brands understand this.

and ensure that your branded content marketing strategies are truly consumer-centric

Chris Gorell Barnes predicts that “the

brands that will thrive in this new world

will be those that put the needs of the

consumer at the heart of what they do.”

Max Garner at Aegis Media adds that

“authentic and constant consumer-

centric behaviour from a brand will

always be the best way to aid success in

our rapidly changing convergent media

world.” For Patricia Weiss of the BCMA’s

South American Chapter this means

creating branded content in all formats

and platforms that are personally relevant

for consumers, so that brands move from

a media-centric approach to one based

on human context where the “consumer

is the protagonist and hero of every

story.”

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and that your branding is aligned with your branded content marketing strategy

Veteran advertiser turned brand

consultant Robert Bean explained that

what were once walls that companies

could control have now become windows

as a result of the digital explosion, and

anyone can see into an organisation from

any number of vantage points. As such it

“behoves brands or companies generally

to sharpen up their act and decide who

they are and what they’re about and be

true to themselves in a way that they’ve

never really had to before.” This means

branding needs to start from the inside

out, so that the people within the

business are aligned around what they

are trying to do and create a culture that

produces a commensurate product that

when managed properly results in a

commensurate reputation.

or you’ll get found out!

Put another way, Robert thinks digital is a

great way of exposing organisations that

are “disorganisations” for want of a

better term. Brands can no longer get

away with trying to project an image that

attempts to engineer a reputation. In

summary, brands cannot “fake” another

five years, believes Jan Godsk.

Welcome to the rise of the narrative brands

Robert Bean’s inside-out branding

approach is based on the alignment of a

brand’s culture, product or service, and

reputation around what he calls the

‘Single Organising Principle’. This

provides a clear sense of purpose of

what a brand does.

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PERSONALRELEVANCE

DRIVINGPURPOSE

CULTURALCONTEXT

WHERE SOCIALSHOULD LIVE

THREE TENETS OF NARRATIVE BRANDS

Purposeful content and alignment are

themes that are raised in the following

section, as is the importance of

storytelling.

My colleagues at Tenthwave produced

the diagram above that is helpful for

thinking about how branding can be

aligned with a branded content marketing

strategy. It’s based around the idea that

the strongest social brands are described

as ‘narrative brands’, i.e. brand

storytelling that combines the following:

Driving Purpose

As Tenthwave’s Gretchen Ramsey

explains, a purpose is simply a tangible

reason for being a brand (why the brand

exists): “It's that flag in the ground, that

rally cry that everything ladders to and

that is visible and visceral throughout the

entire consumer experience.” For

example, Red Bull's purpose in simple

terms is ‘adventure’.

Cultural Context

A cultural context ensures that the brand

is culturally relevant. Gretchen believes

that in practice this means capturing

macro and micro cultural trends. A

branded content marketing strategy must

be developed with these cultural factors

in mind. Another way of looking at

cultural context was highlighted in a

comment made by the dotcom pioneer

Joe Kraus of Excite fame in a BBC

interview last year: “If the 20th century

was about dozens of markets of millions

of consumers, then the 21st century is

about millions of markets of dozens of

consumers.” Unruly’s Barney Worfolk-

Smith talks about interacting with people

through “fractured passion centres.” The

Duck Tape ‘Race of Gentlemen’

campaign is a good example of how a

brand got itself invited to a very culturally

relevant ‘fractured passion centre’.

Personal Relevance

As Patricia Weiss explains, if your

branded content is interesting for your

audience, “they will be interested in it.”

Being personally relevant is behind the

‘passion’ in the fractured passion centres

that Barney talks about. Gretchen

Ramsey believes personal relevance is at

a “nascent stage” but a feed customised

for the individual user could include

helpful personal visualised data (think

loyalty programming and smart CRM),

geo-context as well as social graph

integration. (see more on this theme in

the More Platforms, Devices &

Personalisation section.)

We hope that you find this introduction to

the following predictions both interesting

and useful. The ideas presented here

provide a backdrop to our contributors’

thoughts on what they expect to see

change in the next five years and what

they expect will remain the same.

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SECTION 3

What Will ChangeBranded content at the heart of every marketing strategy

As the CIPR’s Stephen Waddington explains, “Content is the drum beat of

engagement between a brand and its publics”. But the ability of content

“to draw people in naturally through entertaining, emotionally engaging

messaging” is why Pereira & O’Dell’s creative chief PJ Pereira believes that

“branded content will continue to feature in more and more client

strategies” helping to “develop deeper relationships with audiences”.

Publicis Slovenija’s Uroš Goričan also thinks we can expect brands to put

“more emphasis on branded content in their marketing strategy.”

Andrew CanterCEO BCMA

“We definitely feel the future

of branded content is very

exciting. And if 2013 was

anything to go by we’re

going to see a rapid increase

in the number of brands

using branded content as

the core of their marketing.”

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Driven by digital and social

The BCMA’s Andrew Canter predicts that,

by 2019, branded content will be at the

heart of every campaign, driven by the

growth of digital technologies and social

media.

and stand-out examples

Romelle Swire’s Chris Smith predicts that

the stand-out branded content

campaigns we’ve seen during 2013 will

both increase industry awareness for the

approach and drive more examples.

Chris specifically mentioned work by

Amazon, Chipotle and Heineken, but

other examples cited by experts include

Red Bull ‘Stratos Mission to the Edge of

Space’, Coca-Cola’s ‘Small World

Machines’, and Banco Popular de Puerto

Rico’s ‘The Most Popular Song’ (also see

Jan Godsk and John McDermott).

and more standardised procedures

Branded Entertainment Online’s (BEO)

Sandra Freisinger-Heinl thinks that there

will always be those stand-out du jour

examples, but it’s “more standardised

procedures” that will encourage the

adoption of entertaining branded content

marketing approaches.  

Moving across the spectrum, to become less isolated and more integrated

MEC’s Chantal Rickards sees the next

five years as an exciting time with

content moving “across the spectrum”.

Sky MEDIA’s Jason Hughes thinks we’ll

see a greater joining of the dots over the

next five years between the linear and

non-linear world to a point where

“branded content campaigns transcend

TV, online, social, POS with the overall

activation far greater than the sum of its

parts.”

and not just an afterthought

Red Bee Media’s Michael Reeves thinks

we’re still at the point where branded

content is being commissioned in

isolation as an afterthought once the

more traditional marketing has been set.

However, he thinks brands will learn to

plan branded content alongside other

disciplines in order to get the maximum

effect, so that it can lead to or become

the “central articulation of a brand or

communication idea.”

Becoming the communication norm across the organisation

Stephen Waddington believes the shift

will go further so that what he describes

as “content development” will move

beyond marketing communications to

“become the communication norm for all

operational areas of an organisation.”

but more risks still need to be taken

Jason Hughes expects “a tipping point

where the penny will drop around the real

value and power branded content

delivers way beyond traditional media

valuation”, so that it “becomes the norm

centrepiece of every campaign.”

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NEW (OPEN AND COLLABORATIVE) AGENCY MODELS WILL EMERGE

The social media strategist Jadis Tillery

predicts that “collaboration will be the

name of the game” in the brave new

world of branded content. Compelling

stories can be created that evolve

“dynamically thanks to the consumer

shaping the story itself.” Somethin’ Else’s

Steve Ackerman thinks we’ll also see

“content strategists and content creators

coming together to form new agencies.”

Here are some other predictions along

similar lines:

Publishers as agencies

Patricia Weiss who heads up the BCMA’s

South American Chapter thinks native

advertising looks set to “become the

starlet in the blurred lines between ads

and content”. She sees publishers

becoming more agency-like, working

directly with brands through the creation

of in-house “branded content divisions,

paid media operations, brand strategy

units and digital production services.”

Agency-facilitated brand alliances with publishers

Forrester’s Ryan Skinner sees brands

regularly building “quasi-official alliances

with each other and publishers, usually

facilitated by an agency, to collectively

produce a compelling digital experience.”

More and different kinds of celebrity partnerships

Sean ‘Diddy’ Coombes’ recent JV with

Diageo suggests that celebrity talent

partnerships will continue to play a key

role in branded content. For Jadis Tillery

this is not just about “the loyal and

sizeable fan base they can mobilise for a

brand, but as dynamic content creators

and media owners in their own right.”

That said, United Agent’s Joanna Scarratt

thinks that a social media following is

becoming an increasingly important

factor, and as a result we’ll start seeing

new highly paid social superstars.13

“Native Advertising will become the

starlet in the blurred lines between

ads and content, by reinventing the

business of publishing and snatching

the emerging markets. A growing

number of publishers will create their

own branded content divisions, paid

media operations, brand strategy

units and digital production services,

in-house. More often, they will be

hiring publishers to create content on

their behalf.”

Patricia WeissChairman and FounderBCMA South America

New (open source) business models

Crispin Reed at UK Fusion Learning

thinks we’ll see “more and more

interesting collaborations between

brands when it comes to content

marketing.” He cites Google’s acquisition

of smart thermostat brand Nest as a way

they can enter the “home through a

different door.” The convergent home is

not a new idea, but for Crispin it’s an

indication of a more “imaginative coming

together of brands to deliver branded

content”. BCMA’s Chairman Morgan Holt

thinks that the combining of

micropayments and user content channel

technology platforms would be

interesting.

so that lines will continue to be blurred until there are none left

The strategist Sarah Farrugia predicts

that “those who really understand social

media and the importance of truth and

human connections will increasingly use

the multiplying and diverse channels in

more and more interesting ways - blurring

the lines until there are no lines

anymore.”

BUT NEW SKILLSETS WILL BE REQUIRED

As the online revolution outstrips

marketing knowledge, Joanna Scarratt at

United Agents thinks that no-one quite

yet knows how to exploit branded

content properly. She thinks that this is

because the “speed of the online

revolution, and development of platforms,

has outstripped marketing knowledge.”

new skill sets required

Mike Arauz at Undercurrent recently

wrote about The New Digital Strategist’s

Skill Set that’s moved from the T-shape of

having to know a little about a lot and a

lot about a little to the square-shape of

now having to know a lot about a lot.

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“A platform (YouTube, for

example) could host brands

that were prepared to open

their assets to the general

public and see what people did

with them. This would give

creators license to rethink the

brand's meaning and create a

whole new presence for the

brand itself.”

Morgan HoltChairmanBCMA

to understand culture better

Gretchen Ramsey at Tenthwave mentions

how dramatically and quickly specialised

areas shift in digital, which is why she

thinks we have “a duty to understand

culture on a new level, as it’s intimately

tied with our ability to plan relevance.”

and social behaviour

OgilvyEntertainment’s Doug Scott thinks

that “agencies need to hire behavioural

economists and creative technologists as

well as individuals that truly understand

social interaction.” For him this goes

“well beyond the social media specialist.”

The dawn of the pi-shaped data storytellers?

In a recent interview by Renegade’s CEO

Drew Neisser with Econsultancy's CEO

Ashley Friedlein on PSFK, the pi-shaped

data storytelling marketer was discussed.

For Ashley the pi-shaped skillset isn’t

about expecting people to know about

everything (square) it’s more about

having a “wide breadth of skills and

knowledge across various marketing

disciplines, but crucially possessing both

left-brain and right-brain abilities”. As

Ashley goes on to explain, it’s about

being analytical and data-driven on one

hand, but also “understanding brands,

storytelling and experiential marketing.”

REAL TIME AND AGILE

Unruly’s COO Sarah Wood sees new

tools emerging that will help support the

macro-trend of real-time content

marketing and allow marketers to

become more ‘agile’. This is where

brands become “newsrooms for their

niche” and invest to support “content

discovery, content curation and content

creation” to compete for consumers’

mind share on social platforms.

or something more additive?

Digiday’s John McDermott hopes that

“brands will move away from their real-

time marketing obsession and create

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“Agencies need to hire

behavioural economists and

creative technologists as well

as individuals that truly

understand social interaction.

This goes well beyond the

"social media specialist" who

claims to understand how to

evoke more tweets out of a

post.”

Doug ScottPresidentOgilvyEntertianment

something more substantive and lasting.”

He cites the “mesmerising” Volvo Trucks

‘Epic Split’ campaign with Jean-Claude

Van Damme as well as the “legitimately

helpful” Lowe’s ‘Fix in Six Vines’.

Evolving beyond real-time opportunism

Tenthwave’s Gretchen Ramsey points to

an “evolution from real-time opportunism

to the storytelling model”, but asks “how

many digital agencies are set up to

manage a meaningful narrative duty?”

She suggests what’s needed is a “new

model of strategic creative where teams

of (visual) storytellers lead brand tales,

not just ideas ‘with legs’.”

and being more creative, experimental and iterative

Being more agile doesn’t necessitate

working in real-time, or the setting-up of

newsrooms with staff and enabling

technology, it can simply mean being

iterative. For DigitasLBi’s creative head

honcho Chris Clarke, what is more

important than anything else is “creative

excellence, a fluid relationship with talent

and a willingness to experiment.” He

adds that brands can become “part of

culture rather than in the (ad) breaks

between culture”.

THE RISE AND RISE OF STORYTELLING

It's not really a prediction, but the

importance of storytelling was the most

consistent theme to emerge from expert

responses. As Mumbrella’s Sean

McKeown points out, “brands are already

seeing the value gained from this format

and will continue to invest more of their

marketing budgets in its development.”

More authentic, entertaining and engaging

Advertisers must find better ways to build

trust, as raised by Paul Bay at Citizenbay

in last year’s ebook. Paul pointed out that

the gap between promise and delivery is

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“I hope — that brands will

move away from their real-time

marketing obsession and

create something more

substantive and lasting. The

Volvo Trucks/Jean Claude Van

Damme video is mesmerising

and the Lowe’s Fix in Six Vines

are legitimately helpful. Seems

a lot more additive than

tweeting nonsense during the

Super Bowl.”

John McDermott Staff Writer Digiday

still wide, and that’s why advertisers are

still less trusted than politicians. ISBA’s

Mario Yiannacou thinks that one way of

building trust is to ensure that messages

are completely clear whatever format

they’re in. Stan Joseph of Ochre Moving

Pictures suggests the creation of more

authentic and entertaining story-based

content “will continue to be the hallmark

of great branded content.”

and purposeful content

For Tony Chow at What's your Story Inc

in Singapore it’s all about the creation of

purposeful content, and he sees more

and more brands using story-based

branded content as a key engagement

tool.

that resonates emotionally

In last year’s ebook, Sarah Wood

explained that testing what works and

optimising the performance of branded

content isn't just about using data to

make decisions and refine campaigns in

real-time, it's also about emotions. She

predicted that the brands that succeed in

the future will be the ones creating

content that elicits a powerful emotional

response from their audience.

In longer and more digital formats MEC’s Chantal Rickards sees more

traditional formats like advertiser funded

programing (AFP) being on the wane, at

least in the UK. But she thinks “digital

continues to offer myriad opportunities,

especially where the content can travel

across many platforms and engage

viewers in clever, dynamic and engaging

ways.” She also thinks we’ll see more

brands becoming more adventurous and

funding longer-form content like movies

and feature documentaries.

and more involving, less interruptive

Patricia Weiss believes that audiences

will become even more intelligent and

sophisticated as their lives become

increasingly social in a “hypermediatic”

world, and that this is becoming “more

visual and involving, and less intrusive

and interruptive”.

original content funded and distributed by brands

Stan Joseph sees brands becoming

significant funders and distributors of

original content over the next five years,

taking “their place at the table alongside

broadcasters, distributors and IP

owners.” Joanna Scarratt also thinks the

landscape will change dramatically. She

sees brands becoming both

broadcasters and content makers. She

cites other platforms like Netflix’s funding

of ‘House of Cards’, as well as film

competition initiatives like Grolsch's ‘Film

Works’, or Bombay Sapphire's’

‘Imagination Series’.

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Making good stories more important than ever to cut through the content clutter

Doug Scott thinks, “Great stories are

becoming critical. Right now I would say

that from an economic standpoint there

is an oversupply of content.”

But storytelling changes everything about how brands go to market

In my recent interview with UM’s Chief

Content officer Scott Donaton, he

explains how he thinks that brand

storytelling is a strategic, disciplined

approach to marketing that actually

changes everything about how brands go

to market.

MORE PLATFORMS, DEVICES AND PERSONALISATION

Experts discussed a whole host of new

platforms and devices that are either

already being used, or on the horizon,

including Google Glass with augmented

reality, other wearable tech, or perhaps

even the ports in our heads for faster

upload/download that Doug Kessler

predicts. Uroš Goričan thinks that these

will “enable brands to connect with

customers via content in an even more

exciting and creative way.”

It will become more personalised

Leo Burnett’s James Kirkham predicts

that in five years the content people

engage with will become more relevant

and tailored. He thinks that it won’t be

recognised as traditional advertising, but

“more as opt-in personalised content.”

Pulled not pushed, and more contextual

Doug Scott sees content being “pulled by

consumers based on their unique

preferences and habits.” ISBA’s Mario

Yiannacou also thinks targeting will make

a step change that will benefit brand

owners but also consumers by giving

them messages they want to receive.

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“Brands are going to have to

change their processes and do

something marketers don’t like to

do and don’t do easily. They have

to change the skill sets of the

people they hire. They have to

change the time frames they work

on. They have to change the way

they allocate and think about

budgets. They have to change

their definition of creativity.”

Scott DonatonChief Content OfficerUM

Doug suggests that the tailored content

will be “contextually related to a brand's

key product and/or core message”. For

Max Garner at Aegis, context is also key,

and the linking of “the right content for

the right device juxtaposed with the right

type of brand to consumer interaction at

the right time.”

But as DigitasLBI’s Chris Clarke points

out, “more than anything, just as it is

now, brands will need to recognise that a

set of marketing messages plays very

poorly alongside the latest box set.”

Content shifts triggered by mobile, shared by the second screen, and expanded through smart displays

For Doug Scott these shifts will be

triggered by mobile (which he believes is

now the first screen), and then shared on

the living room screen, as well as being

expanded through public out-of-home

advertising (OOH) smart displays.

Patricia Weiss believes the endless

willingness of audiences to participate

live in networked culture will “expand the

non-linear conversation around the

content”, and drive SocialTV, second

screen and real-time marketing initiatives.

This will in turn increase the production

of ‘event TV’ programmes, especially

reality shows where “the audience fully

participates and feels like the true

winner.” Samantha Glynne at Publicis

Entertainment also thinks “TV will have a

resurgence and new forms of live and

social events will become popular.”

Eventually moving off screen to become part of our branded life

James Kirkham sees branded content

moving off screen to become things “like

making a branded gesture mnemonic to

access the brand”, e.g. “tracing out the

Heineken star when you walk into a bar

to access content or order a beer.” For

James this is about thinking of the future

less in terms of branded content and

19

“I think one of the most

important changes in the next

five years is going to come with

the maturation of the millennial

adult who is going to quickly

become the most powerful

consumer, literally ever.”

Eric SchwambergerPartnerTenthwave

more about “your branded life.” This may

be more relevant to some generations

than others, particularly with the

maturation of the millennial adult,

according to Tenthwave’s Eric

Schwamberger.

Optimisation will become the norm

Katy Howell at immediate future explains

that “social will increase the volume, but

also reduce the size: as audiences (and

mobile) demands bite-sized, digestible

and continuous content.” As such,

“optimisation of content will be the norm,

as brands look to justify content

investment.”

Putting distribution at the heart of any strategy

Blended Republic’s Chris Sice thinks

brands place too much emphasis on

creating content, but are often ignorant of

distribution and the “boundary-less

nature” of platforms like Facebook and

YouTube. He thinks this presents huge

opportunities and so in future distribution

thinking will be at the heart of their

strategy. He adds that brands need to

learn to act like media owners to attain

the desired ROI. Samantha Glynne at

Publicis Entertainment adds that as

“confidence grows in the qualitative role

of branded entertainment, brands will be

braver in trying all platforms and media.”

and developing their own media

Mumbrella’s Sean McKeown thinks that

although “social media will continue as

an important distribution platform,

brands will need to invest in platforms of

their own that provide greater connection

with audiences.” Jadis Tillery agrees we’ll

see brands “fully embrace the multimodal

nature of the social web” while also

becoming “owners in their own right.”

Blurring the lines between earned and owned media with the rise of “fractured passion centres” and content curation

Barney Worfolk-Smith of Unruly sees

brands interacting with people through

what he calls “fractured passion centres”

that is discussed in the Strategic

Considerations section. Barney’s idea

provides the basis for more opportunities

of co-creation between brands and their

fans. It will also potentially blur the lines

between earned and owned media if

brands start to curate their fan content in

the way that Unruly’s Sarah Wood

mentions.

This very much tallies with the content

ideas around cultural brands that Daniel

Bô at QualiQuanti discusses, and informs

the thinking behind Tenthwave’s ‘Race of

Gentlemen’ campaign.

With customer stories becoming more important than brand ones

In last year’s ebook, Citzenbay’s Paul Bay

discussed how the democratisation of

content would change the media content

model. Paul predicted that branded

content marketing would become less

about pushing content and more about

listening to your customers’ stories and

20

amplifying these. He pointed out that

storytelling implies that brands or their

agencies are still the authors of the

narrative. He thought this downplayed

the increasingly important role that the

customer narrative plays.

and the need for earned media planning

MRY’s David Berkowitz highlights how

earned media planning might need to

consider the most cost-effective and

value-added alternatives to investing in

fully technology-enabled newsrooms.

Learn to make the most of wearable tech

When it comes to next-gen advertising,

Unruly’s COO Sarah Wood thinks brands

will need to navigate the opportunities

and challenges presented by not only

wearable technology, but also smart-

appliances.

and navigate through the Internet of things and hyper geo-location

Welcome to the world of the ‘Internet of

things’, and the possibility of hyper-geo-

located targeting. For example, Sarah

predicts “sausage ads as you open your

fridge, replaced by porridge oats ads if

your cholesterol reading is high, or an ad

for sunscreen displayed on your

smartwatch if the UV rays are high when

you open your front door. Relevance and

utility will be key to success.”

via mobile to an increasingly screen-less world

As Mumbrella’s Sean McKeown points

out, mobile will play an integral part in the

transition to “location-based marketing

and content distribution.” But Leo

Burnett’s James Kirkham predicts “an

increasingly screen-less world, less

about desktop computers and more

about an Internet of things.” James

thinks we need to be thinking “more

about how content will be engaged with

or interacted with wherever we are

whenever we want to.”

21

“Adapted, evolved content

tailored and personal to you -

just like we are recognised

through cookies - will instead be

you the user recognised through

talent talking to you, directly to

you as part of a pre-orchestrated

pre-determined image.”

James KirkhamGlobal Head: Social & MobileLeo Burnett

to interact with a brand construct

James Kirkham predicts a future where

the personalisation and tailoring of

content includes live conversation with a

brand construct.

Becoming more programmatic and marketing as service orientated

Doug Scott sees the evolving approach

to programmatic (and more algorithmic)

marketing “will engage consumers in an

ongoing dialogue with brands, providing

richer stories and greater insights -

ultimately leading to smarter data and

fuelling big emotional experiences.”

Drew Neisser at Renegade thinks “these

are the best of times for CMOs who

approach marketing as a service

opportunity rather than a messaging

one.” This customer-centric approach

“only gets better with the advent of big

data and programmatic media,” since it is

so much easier to provide personalised

and relevant content in real-time. 

and requiring a whole lot more computational power

Charlene Li points out that in five years’

time “we'll have the computational power

of IBM's Watson in a form factor that will

fit in our pocket - and we'll need it given

the explosion of data.”

to get back to where we started from

Meanwhile, older media such as radio

and book publishing have been going

through their own digital revolutions.

Folded Wing’s Karen Pearson highlights

“nine out of 10 people listen, engage and

interact with radio, and do so across an

ever-growing selection of digital

platforms.” This provides a whole host of

opportunities, especially as now

“listeners want to 'see' radio as much as

hear it,” which Karen points out offers

“additional exclusive visual content that

people can share with their friends”.

22

“9 out of 10 people listen,

engage and interact with radio,

and do so across an ever-

growing selection of digital

platforms. So branded audio

content of the future needs to

engage with audiences across a

wide variety of different

platforms, including DAB,

mobile, tablets, podcasts and

online platforms.”

Karen PearsonCEO and Founder Folded Wing

Brands have been slow to embrace the

ebooks publishing revolution, and

leverage distribution channels like

Amazon, iBookstore, or aggregators like

Smashwords, and social reading sites.

Enhanced media ebooks, like this one,

provide great opportunities to tailor

relevant branded content for platforms

like tablets in a format that can engage

people for longer periods.

MEASUREMENT, ANALYTICS AND THE RISE OF EMPATHETIC/EMOTIONAL MARKETING

There’s no shortage of industry measurement standard initiatives

The changing media landscape doesn’t

just have an impact on the way that

brands need to rethink the way they

conduct their marketing, but also how

they measure it, not least because of the

growing number of datapoints that are

now available and being used.  The

challenges this poses are highlighted by

the growing number of initiatives trying to

develop industry standards for social

media measurement.

We have also seen the emergence of

innovative new ways to measure branded

content, with the BCMA's proprietary

measurement tool, contentmonitor run by

Ipsos MORI, which demonstrates the

effectiveness of branded content. 

bringing rigour, but often driven by measurement tools

Kami Watson Huyse thinks these

initiatives, while bringing more rigour to

social media measurement, “will most

likely be driven instead (in the near term)

by the tools developed to do the

measurement.” This might put the cart

before the horse.

and so there’s a danger of measuring data for the sake of it

The CIPR’s Stephen Waddington thinks it

is easy to fall into the trap of measuring

things for the sake of it. For Stephen the

only real way of determining the value of

your investment is to measure outcomes,

“Everything else is a proxy at best, but

there are organisations, such as AMEC

with its Social Media Valid Framework

and Google with its Zero Moment of

Truth, that are doing some good work in

this area and helping us to grow up.”

rather than look at how the whole is greater than the sum of the parts

As Ian Wright at Tapestry Research

points out, “the fragmented media

landscape means that we’re faced with

this dual challenge of really

understanding at a micro-level how

individual channels or touchpoints are

working, but also at a holistic level, how

they all fit together.” This is a tough

challenge, but Ian believes “we’re getting

smarter at meeting it through a

combination of small-scale qualitative

insight, big data observation and survey-

based interpretation.”

23

More accountability and analysis required

Former Ipsos MORI Research Director

Stewart Thomson and others see a

growing demand “for rigorous

measurement of the impact of branded

content campaign elements on the goals

of the overall campaign. Essentially,

brand owners will demand to know if the

branded content pulled its weight and

justified their investment.”

Katy Howell also thinks we will see a

significant increase in the level of

analysis that will be expected,

particularly analysis “often in real-time

that identifies the content that travels on

trend, attracts attention and gets

shared.”

with new tools and skills getting more sophisticated

According to Uroš Goričan, we’re likely to

see more effort put into developing the

right set of tools to measure efficacy. And

here are some examples:

Improved semantic analysis

Minter Dial sees both listening tools and

skills getting more sophisticated,

particularly with regard to semantic

analysis.

Predictive modeling for a better sense of who wants what  

David Berkowitz sees brands employing

more sophisticated predictive models “to

determine what people want when they

want it.”

and understanding the value of what they share

But more importantly, David thinks

“brands will have a much better

understanding of the kinds of value of

what they share” as well as better sense

of what their audience wants and likes.

24

“One of the biggest differences

that we’re going to see is as we

get into more predictive fields

right. Brands and agencies trying

to predict what content people

are going to respond to and how

they’re going to respond. And

even predict which ways that

they’re going to want to respond

in turn.”

David BerkowitzCMOMRY

and the better targeting of ‘material’

Minter Dial predicts “better targeting of

the ‘material’ as marketers come to

understand better their audience and the

real influencers, and on which platforms

and devices they are congregating.”

and more creative scope for crafting messages

Mario Yiannacou thinks that deeper data

will also “make it easier to ‘dial in’ to

consumers’ frequencies, allowing more

creative scope for crafting messages.”

with emotional data becoming ubiquitous

As Sander Saar at AOL explains,

emotional data has already started to be

measured through facial recognition

software to understand emotions,

reactions, heart rate, gestures, etc, but

we have a long way to go. As

technologies advance, response could be

tracked live across different platforms

and devices, and mapped not just to a

particular demographic on a network, but

also to the available psychographic and

ultimately behavioural data.

and tracking through to purchase

Max Garner thinks “convergence means

that content and the point of transaction

are also moving closer than ever, so not

only do brands have to still inform,

entertain and delight with their content

but they also have to ensure that where

relevant a journey to purchase is easy,

smooth and importantly unforced should

the consumer so desire it.”

without requiring the capture of lead data

Ryan Skinner predicts that “businesses

will abandon the practice of capturing

lead data as enough non-personal

identifying data can be captured without

it.”

25

“The more that media can be

delivered on an individual basis

and therefore become

disaggregated, then that whole

way of thinking is going to be

challenged. It will become much

more about what people do than

what audience group they are in.

This changes everything in terms of

how media works and who should

be on the team to deliver and

evaluate it.”

Tim FoleyMDpointlogic

and valuing individuals based on purchase probabilities

Tim Foley at pointlogic thinks that market research will get turned on its head by the explosion of more data. He predicts we won’t be aggregating audiences around their demographics, but will instead be “valuing individuals based on purchase probabilities”; and as he points out “this changes everything in terms of how media works and who should be on the team to deliver and evaluate it.”

Brands will demand more bespoke metrics

More brands will want and be able to

develop bespoke metrics that are linked

to their specific brand challenges. This

will lead the industry into more

meaningful discussion than those

surrounding ‘working’ and ‘non-working’

dollars, and possibly away from the

preoccupation with reach-type metrics

that were designed for traditional mass

communications.

In the meantime, longer-term view may be required

The BCMA’s Andrew Canter accepts that

measuring the ROI for branded content

can be a challenge right now, but argues

that brands should take a longer-term

view and rethink what is being measured

and why. He sees branded content

marketing as an investment, that will

often pay back in the mid-long term

rather than having an immediate impact.

but you can start with a simple tracker survey

The analyst and author Idil Cakim

explains that “marketers can show the

value of branded content by keeping tabs

on how brand perceptions shift among

those exposed to such content.” She

points out that a “simple tracker survey

can provide this insight.” The key she

says is “to be disciplined about asking

consumer feedback and be ready to shift

gears depending on how such content

resonates with audiences.”

26

“Marketers can show the value

of branded content by keeping

tabs on how brand perceptions

shift among those exposed to

such content. A simple tracker

survey can provide this insight.

The key is to be disciplined

about asking consumer feedback

and be ready to shift gears

depending on how such content

resonates with audiences.”

Idil CakimAnalyst + authorImplementing Word of Mouth Marketing

SECTION 4

What Won't Change

Somewhat tellingly, experts have

significantly less to say about what they

think will remain the same in five years

than what they think will change. Here’s

the round-up of the responses:

It’ll still be all about relationships

Despite the brave new world of branded

content marketing that we’ve already

seen predicted, Altimeter Group’s

Charlene Li still thinks “marketing

fundamentals will remain the same,

namely that the relationship with

customers and clients will be built one

person at a time.”  We shouldn’t get

“blinded by the light of bright shiny

objects to ever, ever forget that

relationships are paramount.”

Strategy starts with the data

The BCMA’s Andrew Canter thinks that

what will still be of the utmost importance

is that “the strategy for any branded

content campaign is based on deep and

meaningful consumer insight strategies”,

and that means starting with the data.

Charlene LiFounderAltimeter Group

“We can’t be blinded by

the light of bright shiny

objects to ever, ever forget

that relationships are

paramount.”

But go beyond the desk to find real insight and opportunities

The advances in analytics and listening

platforms that have been predicted

suggest that it will still be the few that go

beyond desktop and dashboard. This

remains a missed opportunity for those

that don’t, because analytics might tell

you the ‘What’ and ‘Where’, but they

don’t tell you the ‘Why’. As Gretchen

Ramsey, VP, Strategy at Tenthwave,

points out, marketers must also give

people “what they don’t know they need”

and no amount of big data can deduce

that. What is needed is more

ethnographic-based, face-to-face

research to help foster empathy and

which leads to a deeper understand of

the customer.

and to help create content that resonates

Cutting through will always require

content to be distinctive, but as

mentioned by Bjoern Asmussen at

Oxford Brookes University, it also has to

“resonate with the targeted stakeholders’

needs, interests and/or passions.” As

Kemplewood’s Mark Wood points out, for

any form of branded content to work “it

has to be relevant, useful or entertaining.

Preferably all of those things.”

Brands will still be struggling to join all the dots

Uroš Goričan at Publicis Slovenija

mentions the continuing problem of

“developing strategies that are truly

aligned with the essence of the brand”

and maintain a common thread that runs

across all media. Perhaps, as Somethin’

Else’s Steve Ackerman predicts, the

brands who’ll succeed will be those that

are best able to define their personalities

as opposed to their marketing objectives.

People will still be sharing content, and caring more about themselves than brands

MRY’s David Berkowitz thinks the sharing

of content will continue, with branded 28

Drew RaymanManaging PartnerTenthwave

“Being customer-obsessed and

digging deeper allows brands to

out-innovate their competitors by

offering more authentic, relevant

and personal experiences.”

content being a “relatively small but a

relatively important part of the mix”

because “people care more about

themselves than they do brands.”

Where consumers go, brands will continue to follow

One thing that isn’t going to change is

the need for brands to connect with

people who buy their products and

services. At the same time, David

Berkowitz points out that people won’t

stop “shifting to new media properties

and platforms”, as we have seen with the

take up of Snapchat and Whatsapp.

particularly with video-based branded content

Leo Liang at Youku Tudou Inc in China

thinks that people will still enjoy more

user-generated content (UGC) and semi-

UGC content, but there will be more

possibilities for them “to watch, share

and even shoot videos at any time and

any place”.

This is a driver for the prediction from

Patricia Weiss of the BCMA’s South

American Chapter that branded video

content will continue as the main form of

branded content to reach audiences on

social media.

But old media habits will continue to die hard

Patricia Weiss also thinks traditional

advertising will still get the biggest share

of marketing budgets. She does,

however, think that advertising is likely to

become more entertaining and story-

based, even if it will still be used for the

most part to push products in the more

traditional way.

Pereira & O'Dell's chief creative officer PJ

Pereira reminds us that what also won't

change is “consumers' rejection of

irrelevant interruptive advertising.” But as

the strategist Sarah Farrugia points out,

this sadly won’t stop those who continue

“to blast branded content into the world

to bore/titillate people in ever more inane

ways.”

and we’re about to be deluged by more crap

In the digital domain, Forrester’s Ryan

Skinner still sees marketers obsessing

over Google and that the vast majority of

content marketing won’t be very good.

That’s more delicate than his former boss

Doug Kessler at Velocity Partners who

warns that as “every B2B brand turns to

content marketing, we're about to be hit

by a deluge of... “crap”.”

Experts will continue to disagree about what the future holds

Interestingly, the BCMA’s Chairman

Morgan Holt doesn’t imagine any

dramatic reinvention of the branded

content business model. He thinks “the

players know who they are, the value

they get from it, and how to work

together.” He also sees the model as

being “an extension of advertising”.

29

particularly whether we’ll figure out the secret of branded content success

Sandra Freisinger-Heinl from Branded

Entertainment Online (BEO) thinks we’re

currently living in a world of “branded

entertainment cocktails” with “a dash of

content, a splash of social media, a shot

of digital, laced with a pinch of music.”

However, Sandra predicts that on the

horizon is a basic formula available “to the

tastes of every single target group”. This is

similar to Joanna Scarratt’s prediction

about how the “art of branded content will

be as rigorously understood in terms of

effective consumer engagement as TV

commercials are now.”

That seems unlikely if, as Doug Scott at

OgilvyEntertainment predicts, “everything

we know today about branded content will

change; the only thing that will remain

constant is the desire for good stories.”

It’s a view supported by Michael Reeves at

Red Bee Media, who says there will be an

“essential need for branded content to

tell a gripping story, irrespective of the

gadgets and devices used to tell the

tale.” Tony Chow at What’s Your Story Inc

in Singapore, adds that what will also

remain “constant is the customer will

always be the hero of the story.”

So it looks like we’ll still have a lot of figuring out to do

In this book’s introduction the Best of

Branded Content Marketing: 10th

Anniversary Edition, Doug Scott talks

about the branded content industry being

in an adolescent phase. But it might be

worth thinking about the prediction by

Frank PR’s Graham Goodkind about a

time not too far in the future “where

consumers get so savvy, aware and cute,

that the only way to interact is via more

and more discontinuous thinking and

disruptive techniques.” Whatever the

future holds, I predict that there’s still

going to be a lot of figuring out to do.

30

Ryan SkinnerSenior Analyst – Content Marketing, Forrester Research

“Within the next five years the

world of content marketing will

be turned upside down, even if

businesses are still practicing it

(and to a greater degree than

today). Only 10-15% will regularly

practice content marketing really

well. And people still won’t be

really satisfied with the word

‘content’ or the expression

‘content marketing’.”

SECTION 5

About The ReportThis report into the future of branded content marketing will also be published as a standalone paper. It is part of an ongoing project that Justin Kirby started in 2002 when he set up an international discussion forum where hundreds of marketing practitioners and academics shared their knowledge, opinions and experiences of contemporary and emerging marketing and media trends over several years.

The forum activity led to the creation of the 2005 book 'Connected Marketing: The Viral, Buzz and Word of Mouth Marketing Revolution’, and it informed Justin’s ongoing investigation into the future of branded content marketing in collaboration with industry experts, which he curates annually in partnership with the BCMA. The first annual report was published in 2013 in the pilot edition of the ‘Best of Branded Content Marketing’ with the full contributions curated at Afluxstate.com.

Over 60 industry experts around the globe participated in the outreach from which this year’s report was compiled. You can read their full contributions and keep up with the ongoing report series at Afluxstate.com.

To participate in this series or send us your feedback about the predictions, please email Justin. ABO

UT T

HE R

EPOR

T

Steve Ackerman, Managing Director, Somethin' Else (UK)

Bjoern Asmussen, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Oxford Brookes University (UK)

Paul Bay, Founder, Citizenbay

Robert Bean, Founder, Robert Bean Branding (UK)

David, Berkowitz, Chief Marketing Officer, MRY (USA)

Daniel Bô, CEO and founder of QualiQuanti, and author of Brand Content, and Brand Culture (France)

Idil Cakim, analyst and author of Implementing Word of Mouth (USA)

Andrew Canter, CEO, BCMA (UK)

Dave Chaffey, CEO, Smart Insights

Tony Chow, Media Consultant and Chief Storyteller at What’s your Story Inc (Singapore)

Chris Clarke, Chief Creative Officer, at DigitasLBi (UK)

Minter Dial, Professional Speaker, Consultant & Coach and Brand & Digital Marketing Strategist (France/UK)

Scott Donaton, Chief Content Officer, UM (USA)

Sarah Farrugia, Thinker, Strategist, Progressive at Sarah Farrugia & Company (UK)

Tim Foley, MD, pointlogic (UK)

Sandra Freisinger-Heinl, Journalist at Branded Entertainment Online (BEO) and Managing Director at MA Media Agency (Germany)

Max Garner, Managing Partner at Aegis Media (UK)

Samantha Glynne, Managing Partner at Publicis Entertainment (UK)

Jan Godsk, Founder Ideatakeaway and Chairman, BCMA Scandinavia (Denmark)

Graham Goodkind, Founder, Frank PR (UK)

Chris Gorell Barnes, CEO, Adjust Your Set™ (UK)

Uroš Goričan, Creative director at Publicis Slovenija (Slovenia)

Morgan Holt, Chairman at the BCMA (UK)

Melissa Hopkins, Global Head of Brand MarComms at Vodafone (UK)

Katy Howell, CEO, immediate future (UK)

Jason Hughes, Head of Branded Content & Product Placement, Sky MEDIA (UK)

Stan Joseph, CEO, Ochre Moving Pictures (South Africa)

Doug Kessler, Founder, Velocity Partners (UK)

James Kirkham, Global Head: Social & Mobile at Leo Burnett (UK)

Charlene Li, co-author of the bestseller Groundswell, author of the New York Times bestseller Open Leadership, and Founder of Altimeter Group (USA)

Leo Liang, Senior Director of National Business Development, Youku Tudou Inc (China)

John McDermott, Author, Digiday (USA)

Sean McKeown, Commercial Director, Mumbrella Asia (Singapore)

Nick Mercer, Commercial Director at Eurostar (UK)

Doug Neisser, Founder & CEO at Renegade (USA)

32

REPORT CONTRIBUTORS

Karen Pearson, CEO and Founder of Folded Wing (UK)

PJ Pereira, Chief Creative Officer, Pereira & O'Dell (USA)

Gretchen Ramsey, VP, Strategy at Tenthwave (USA)

Drew Rayman, Managing Parter, Tenthwave (USA)

Crispin Reed, Managing Director, Fusion Learning ((UK))

Michael Reeves, Business Development Director, Red Bee Media (UK)

Chantel Rickards, Head of Programming/Branded Content EMEA at MEC (UK)

Sander Saar, Product Manager, AOL

Joanna Scarratt, Head of Brand Partnership at United Agents (UK)

Eric Schwamberger, Strategy Partner, Tenthwave (USA)

Doug Scott: President, Ogilvy Entertainment (USA)

Chris Sice, Managing Director at Blended Republic (UK)

Ryan Skinner, Senior Analyst - Content Marketing, Forrester Research (UK)

Chris Smith, Business development director at Romelle Swire (UK)

Stewart Thomson, ex-Research Director at Ipsos MORI, Media CT Division (UK)

Jadis Tillery, Social Media Strategist and Speaker (UK)

Stephen Waddington, CIPR President Elect, Director of Ketchum Europe and author of Brand Anarchy and #BrandVandals (UK)

Kami Watson Huyse, CEO, Zoetica (USA)

Patricia Weiss, Chairman & Founder, BCMA South America; CSO, Wanted Agency; SVP Strategic Consultant for Branded Content, Branded Entertainment & Transmedia Storytelling, ASAS da Imaginaçaõ (BRAZIL)

Mark Welland, Founder at New Media Works (UK)

Mark Wood, Partner at Krempelwood (UK)

Sarah Wood, COO, Unruly  (UK)

Barney Worfolk-Smith, Head of Creative Solutions, Unruly (UK)

Ian Wright, Managing Director at Tapestry Research (UK)

Mario Yiannacou, Media & Advertising Manager at ISBA (UK)

33