9 months ago
Streaming Platforms Monetize with Branded Content Amidst Subscription Plateaus
Imagine your favorite TV shows or short videos are getting help from companies to be made.
Because fewer people are signing up for subscriptions and traditional ads aren't working as well, streaming services are asking companies to pay to be part of the shows.
This is called branded content.
It's like a company sponsoring a playground; the playground still exists, but the company gets its name on it.
For the streaming service, it's like getting money upfront to make the show.
For the company, it's a way to show their products in a fun way that doesn't feel like a boring commercial.
For example, a makeup company might have their lipstick featured in a short drama.
The trick is to make it look natural so people still enjoy watching the show without feeling like they're being sold something too hard.
This new way of making shows helps everyone: platforms can make more content, and companies can connect with people in a cooler way.
Streaming platforms are increasingly using branded content to overcome monetization challenges as subscriptions level off.
Companies are sponsoring shows, mini-series, and integrating products to provide funding and distribution for content creators.
Branded content offers a less intrusive advertising method, blending seamlessly into storytelling for better audience engagement.
Challenges include maintaining audience authenticity and credibility, and ensuring brands align with the show's narrative and ethos.
Experts believe branded content is becoming a crucial 'third leg' stabilizing the industry, offering a viable alternative to ads and subscriptions.
- Who
- Streaming platforms, content makers, and sponsoring companies
- What
- Exploring branded content as a monetization strategy through sponsored shows, mini-series, and product placements.
- Where
- Primarily in the Indian market, with platforms like aha Video, hoichoi, and Amazon MX Player.
- When
- Currently, with a visible rise in branded content shows and integrations.
- Why
- To overcome monetization challenges due to plateauing paid subscriptions and nascent digital advertising, and to provide a new revenue stream and engagement method.
Potential Challenges
Benefits and Opportunities
Audience Perception
Potential Challenges
Audiences may question the authenticity and credibility of titles backed by brands, potentially finding forced brand integration jarring.
Benefits and Opportunities
When done seamlessly and authentically, branded content can enhance storytelling and create a more organic and less intrusive way for brands to reach audiences, leading to greater acceptance.
Monetization Viability
Potential Challenges
Monetization hinges on entertainment value rather than direct promotional impact, and not all brands can afford the production costs, making it a less immediate choice for advertisers.
Benefits and Opportunities
Branded content provides an additional monetization stream, reduces dependence on ads or subscriptions, stretches budgets, allows scripts to be produced, and enables brands to embed themselves into culture.
Brand-Sponsorship Alignment
Potential Challenges
Finding the perfect narrative match that seamlessly aligns with a brand's ethos and persona is a significant challenge, leading some companies to be reluctant to invest heavily.
Benefits and Opportunities
Brands can achieve deeper engagement by aligning with audience interests, and successful campaigns show branded films performing on par with organic fiction content in terms of engagement.
Key facts
- Trend Adoption
- Platforms like aha Video, hoichoi, and Amazon MX Player, along with microdrama makers, are exploring branded content.
- Key Benefit for Platforms
- Reduces dependence on ads or subscriptions, shares production costs.
- Key Benefit for Brands
- Organic, less intrusive way to reach audiences, deeper engagement, cultural equity.
- Cost Estimate
- ₹5-6 crore, depending on the show.
- Key Challenge
- Maintaining authenticity and avoiding forced product placement.
- Example
- Pookie, a microdrama by Terribly Tiny Tales, powered by Maybelline New York.
Quotes
Ujjwal Mahajan
co-founder of Chaupal, a platform specializing in Punjabi, Haryanvi and Bhojpuri content
“Brand-sponsored content continues to play a vital role. It offers OTT platforms and producers an additional monetization stream while giving brands an organic, less intrusive way to reach audiences. Unlike traditional ads, sponsorships and integrations blend naturally into storytelling, enhancing authenticity and audience acceptance. This dual value makes it highly appealing to both platforms and content studios.”
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Jessica Rode
general manager of Maybelline New York India
“The emerging format of microdramas really helped us engage with young audiences in a way that went beyond traditional campaigns and established a real connection between the brand and the audience.”
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Siddharth Devnani
co-founder and chief operating officer at digital agency SoCheers
“Hybrid deals are the future”
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Ganesh Pareek
partner, executive producer and creative director at First December Films, an advertising production house
“Brand-sponsored content is becoming the third leg of the stool, the stabilizer. For platforms, it shares cost at a time when ad rates and subscriptions are volatile. For producers, it means scripts that would have stayed in Excel finally get made. For brands, it’s cultural equity. Instead of shouting for 30 seconds, they sit at the audience’s table for hours. The appeal is clear: platforms stretch budgets, studios keep creating, and brands embed themselves into culture.”
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Rajat Agrawal
chief operating officer and director of Ultra Media & Entertainment Group
“these companies offer comprehensive services, including social media management, video production, and influencer marketing, making it easier for brands to produce high-quality content.”
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Harikrishnan Pillai
chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of TheSmallBigIdea, a digital agency
“As for monetization, platforms may provide value-adds like actors shooting ancillary content, which can then be pushed in performance marketing, or integrating ad displays contextually with the show. Subscription-linked monetization is still very nascent, but it’s a potential opportunity.”
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Anuj Gosalia
founder and CEO of Terribly Tiny Tales
“That said, more brands are opening up to the idea because they’ve seen it work. We’ve had campaigns where a short, branded film performed on par with organic fiction content in terms of engagement. Monetization is feasible if the focus is on creating something watchable first, and branded second. If the content resonates, the returns for both brand and platform follow naturally.”
livemint.com
Sources
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