These 11 Projects Are Setting The Tone For Branded Content’s Future

By Jordan P. Kelley, Content Director, BrandStorytelling

Branded content and brand-funded entertainment allow brands to tell their stories in a more authentic and engaging manner. Instead of relying on traditional advertising methods that can be perceived as interruptive or pushy, brands can create content that resonates with their target audience. By focusing on storytelling and creating content that provides value or entertainment, brands can connect with consumers on a deeper level. This engagement fosters a sense of trust and loyalty, ultimately enhancing brand perception. This content can take various forms, such as videos, films, series, audio storytelling, and more. And as more brands create work that seeks to enhance relevance and targeting, extend reach and visibility, and ultimately share authentic and engaging stories, there is more brand content than ever to engage with.

BrandStorytelling, the organization with the mission to support, educate and inspire brand-funded content, seeks out and celebrates the best of what is out there in the world of brand content. Its flagship event BrandStorytelling: a Sanctioned Event of Sundance Film Festival, will celebrate its third year of honoring projects selected by expert committee this January in Park City, Utah. There, eleven projects pulled from over one hundred submissions will be featured and celebrated for their excellence in the brand storytelling space.

The following projects not only exemplify the best of brand-funded content today by focusing on storytelling, pulling in the right audiences, and amplifying their visibility and reach, but they are setting the tone for the future of brand funded content. Check out these eleven examples of excellent work in the brand storytelling space:

109 Below, Arc’teryx

A tale of resilience and grit, 109 BELOW traces how an attempted rescue on Mount Washington in 1982 changed not only the course of two climbers’ lives – but also the lives of the rescuers who attempted to save them, and the future of prosthetics, forever.

DIRT: Ireland, Huckberry & Tourism Ireland

This travel show explores places through a connection to its food. Through the experience of seeking out local ingredients, viewers are ushered along an adventurous journey to harvest, hunt, forage, and fish, learning from the locals along the way. Dirt – Ireland takes an in-depth look from City to coastline at what makes the emerald isle so unique.

Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land, John Deere

In just a few decades after the end of enslavement, Black Americans were able to amass millions of acres of farmland. Today approximately 90% of that land is no longer in Black hands. Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land is a timely and stirring documentary that examines the causes, effects, and action taken to return land rights to the descendants of those stripped of their land, and how landowners are reclaiming their agricultural legacy.

Into the Mix, Ben & Jerry’s

Into the Mix is about joy and justice produced with Vox Creative. Season 2 of this Ben & jerry’s Podcast brings listeners stories of struggle and success from the everyday people at the heart of today’s most pressing issues — from voting rights to cannabis justice, to dignity for migrant workers, and more.

Own the 8 Count, Logitech

In a world where credit is given based on followers and not necessarily authenticity, Own The 8 Count reveals the highs and lows of creating viral dances. This film includes the voices of legendary choreographers as they navigate ownership in the ever-changing landscape of choreography and the creator world.

The Ballad of Tita and the Machines

In this unique work of fiction, Tita, an injured elderly strawberry picker, reluctantly uses an AI Humanoid to replace her at work, only to discover that the resilience and effort required to do her job are uniquely human traits. This film was produced as part of Indeed’s Rising Voices program, which focused on providing new opportunities to discover, invest in and amplify stories created by BIPOC filmmakers.

The Big Idea: Last Mile, MIT & HP

The Big Idea follows the lives of innovators who are brilliant, bold, and united by the desire to use technology, science and engineering to create radical, systemic change. While their innovations are uniquely their own, our subjects are united by a single life-changing opportunity.

The North Face Presents Groundwork: A Family Journey into Regenerative Cotton

This new sustainability film series features farmers in the North Face supply chain who are making a direct impact on the planet. This episode focuses on one family farm that is innovating by shifting from conventional farming practices to regenerative agriculture.

They Came From All Over, Meta

This film highlights the important role small businesses play within their local communities. A love letter to small businesses everywhere, They Came From All Over follows grocery store owner, Tom Mulholland, as he confronts the possibility of losing his family business and the impact it can have on his small Iowa town.

Vinfamous, Wine Enthusiast

This podcast dissects the underbelly of the wine world and what it means when a product of love and care becomes the source of greed, arson, and even murder, delving into the twists and turns behind the all-time most shocking wine crimes.

We Are Ayenda, WhatsApp

As the Taliban claimed power in 2021 and banned women and girls from participating in sports, the members of the Afghanistan Youth Women’s National Football Team needed to escape their own country or risk being captured. What followed is an extraordinary story of survival, sisterhood, and the human right to privacy.

Content like this applies craft, creativity, and great storytelling to offer consumers a more authentic and engaging way to connect with the brands they know and love. By focusing on storytelling, enhancing relevance, connecting with the right audiences, and extending reach and visibility, brands can interrupt less while simultaneously building stronger connections with consumers. This enables brands investing in quality story to not only help achieve their marketing objectives, but also to create a positive and memorable experience in the process.

—

The projects above will each be featured with commentary from the brands, producers, and creatives behind the work at BrandStorytelling 2024: a Sanctioned Event of Sundance Film Festival, taking place January 17 – 20^th in Park City, Utah. For more information on the event, visit brandstorytelling.tv/events.