In an April 2014 study 70 percent of brands and 77 percent of agencies respectively – say they have used branded content for marketing or advertising purposes in the last year.

83 percent of brands said they’ve used it for their website or email. But more than two-thirds have partnered with content providers and agencies to create and distribute branded content beyond their own websites. And, it seems to be working, particularly as a brand-building mechanism. Brands are citing Branded Content as a most effective tactic, virtually tied with Video as either “most important” or “more important” than Social, Search, Email, Mobile or Display advertising.

Branded content is now as acceptable to consumers as editorial because they are aware of the biases within the media, regardless of the organisation that is producing the content. In fact the prevalence of partisan editorial has eased the acceptability of branded content into consumers’ media intake. One of the key components of this campaign revolved around the use of Branded Entertainment online and at private events in North America.

As the target audience for the California T tilted strongly towards new prospects, we needed to soften the commonly-held view of the brand as aggressive and racer-dominated. We needed to highlight the heritage, beauty and drivability of Ferrari and the California T. Our solution was to show the brand in a new light positioning the California T as a work of art showcasing pillars of design, innovation and performance. We needed to create a compelling story that prompted prospects to take a fresh look at Ferrari and the California T — a story that told the emotional side of Ferrari to complement the specs and horsepower. To do this we hosted events in dramatic art-focused venues and channeled Ferrari’s unparalleled automotive heritage to get attendees to interact with the brand via onsite social activations. Sound domes allowed attendees to experience the unique soundtrack of Ferrari and scripted presentations with accompanying videos allowed the Ferrari CEO to highlight and engage the audience with the unique aspects of the vehicle.

The campaign was enthusiastically received by both the press and our target audience. We surpassed the first stage lead target by almost +30% and have over 900 leads to date, an impressive result for a car company that globally produces only 7000 vehicles a year. The campaign generated over 48 million impressions and has been featured by over 250 international sites. Most importantly, the campaign allowed Ferrari North America to achieve their ambitious sales targets for 2014.