Branded content, when well-crafted, is a hugely effective way for travel marketing teams to raise awareness and reach new audiences. Rather than being a pure sales pitch, branded content takes its lead from a publishing model, where the focus is on creating content that would interest the target audience in its own right. As this content is aligned to users’ needs and interests, it builds brand trust, helps to mitigate the effects of ad-blockers, and cuts through in the increasingly competitive attention economy.
We’ve worked with Sykes Holiday Cottages, one of the UK’s leading holiday rental specialists, on a range of video content and recently we were asked to create a series of branded content. In the format of a travel show, rather than an advert for their cottages, these videos are badged with the brand name but offer genuinely useful information that keys into audience intent and offers travel tips for unusual activities across the UK.
Brand video inspired by TV travel shows
Collectively, our team’s experience in making TV programmes means we understand the publishing model inside out. Our MD and Creative Director’s backgrounds are grounded in producing content at the BBC, ITV and Endemol. Combined with our in-house planning and marketing expertise, this makes us well-placed to develop just the kind of quality TV-style content Sykes sought. We worked closely with this travel brand to develop the right approach and chose the presenter-led travel show format.
Travel video production
Part of a series called “Experience more”, the videos were filmed in beautiful locations across the country highlighting the wide range of activities that are just waiting for tourists to experience. Our team wrote the script for the presenter and put the non-professionals at ease on camera resulting in natural performances. In one film, presenter and travel tipster, Bob Atkinson, reveals some off-beat activities in the Lake District – wild swimming, hanging out with alpacas and visiting a whisky distillery. At the end of the film, there is a link to the Sykes website, where users can discover more travel tips.
Watch the brand content for yourself:
The episode shown above is one of a six-part series. The two videos released so far have been hugely successful for Sykes, with views at around 20K and counting. They also generated great engagement as short-cut downs on Instagram.
What could your marketing team achieve with brand content?
Watch more of our If you’re interested in discussing how branded content could help your organisation reach and engage new audiences, do get in touch for a chat.