Is the scope of native advertising really understood as an industry, and how does content at scale feed into what native advertising can offer and its evolution? ExchangeWire speak with Benjamin Potter, co-founder and creative director, CLICKON Media about how content at scale works, how technology is helping it to grow, and the opportunity it can present for both brands and publishers.

ExchangeWire: How does branded content at scale work? Where would the content typically be published?

Benjamin Potter: There has never been a time where video content needs to be created more efficiently and at scale. As Generation Y and Z continue to migrate to social media feeds to consume their content, the way brands market to them must evolve. We are taking brands into the future by ensuring that they are constantly relevant on social news feeds, not just once a year with a big commercial, but every day.

We are collaborating with some of the most forward-thinking companies to ensure that, not just their products - but their stories - are appearing on millions of social news feeds. We believe that each platform needs to be treated uniquely, and that one size doesn’t fit all. For example, a four minute video will need an entirely different strategy for Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

Is content at scale creating challenges for publishers? Is it a threat to them or more of an evolution to the production of content more generally?

It’s a huge opportunity for publishers to steal business away from creative agencies, who are typically stuck in the past when it comes to connecting with millennials and even Generation Z. Publishers with in-house studios like BuzzFeed, Vice and CLICKON can essentially do the same work that creative agencies are capable of doing, but leverage data from their owned-and-operated channels in order to create a data-driven, optimised campaign that can almost guarantee ROI for the client.

Brands are now seeing the value in going directly to the publisher and creating long-lasting partnerships. The challenge is that publishers need to be ready, and many are not. Investing in young creatives to fuel our content studio has been key. They understand the modern landscape of video because they are the ones that are spend hours a day consuming content on social media.

What benefits do brands get with content at scale?

The most important benefit is relevancy. The sole reason for creating video content at scale is to ensure that your brand is living and breathing on millions of social news feeds each day. It’s the biggest opportunity in the history of marketing to always stay relevant to your consumers and get them hooked on your story. This is why the likes of Red Bull, Marriott and Purina have had so much success - it seems like there isn’t a week when their brands aren’t circulating viral video content across social media!

Instead of spending a million dollars on a single commercial, brands are now starting to understand that a millions dollars can get you hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of videos.

How is it changing the face of how the industry typically perceives native advertising?

We always say to our brand partners that we are making them publishers in their own right. The ability to create compelling video content that people engage with and want to share is changing the face of advertising forever. The industry now realises that native advertising isn’t about tricking the audience into viewing an ad - it’s actually inviting consumers on a journey with their brand and giving them social currency.

Red Bull is a master of this. I don’t remember the last time their content ever mentioned beverages, yet people are buying millions of cans of Red Bull each year. Why? Because consumers can’t ever forget about the brand because their content marketing is so good. Once brands realise that it’s not about force-feeding your product or tricking an audience into reading an ad, they too have the potential to become a lifestyle brand like Red Bull.

How do you, as the content creators, grow your audience?

CLICKON grows its audience by delivering quality content to our global audience, and pushing the boundaries of storytelling a little bit further every time. We are constantly analyzing our audience’s feedback and consumption data to better optimise content for the future

What role does technology play in scaling content creation, distribution, and measurement?

Technology is massively aiding content creation. It’s becoming cheaper to shoot in 4K and 8K than ever before, and products like Adobe Premier Pro and Final Cut Pro X are streamlining the editing process.

We’re definitely seeing technology continue to help our distribution efforts. With the use of DMP’s, we are understanding our audience better than ever and can create bespoke content for their needs, meaning higher engagement and better retention.

Measurement is still an area where technology could improve on. While we can use the likes of MOAT and DoubleVerify on site for transparency on advertising campaign performance, Facebook’s video analytics are still very basic compared with what we would like to see.