GTM Dictionary

The Go-to-Market Dictionary: Advertainment

Learn all about Advertainment in our comprehensive Go-to-Market Dictionary.

Are you tired of traditional advertising methods that fail to resonate with your target audience? Look no further than advertainment – the fusion of advertising and entertainment that engages, entertains and informs potential customers in ways traditional ads can't. In this article, we'll explore what advertainment is, its benefits and different strategies that can be employed to make your brand stand out. Additionally, we'll examine some of the most successful advertainment campaigns to date.

Understanding Advertainment

Advertainment is a type of marketing that focuses on providing entertaining and engaging content that customers want to watch, read or interact with. This allows brands to create a connection with their audience and foster a positive relationship that can ultimately lead to increased sales and brand loyalty.

The Concept of Advertainment

The focus on entertainment in advertising is not a new concept. Brands have been entertaining customers through commercials, jingles, and billboards for decades. However, with the advent of digital media and social networking, the methods used to entertain customers have expanded immensely. Now, brands can create YouTube videos, podcasts, social media campaigns and interactive websites that capture their audience's interest and attention.

For instance, a brand that sells hiking gear can create a blog on its website that features interesting and informative articles about hiking. This can include tips on how to choose the right hiking gear, the best hiking trails, and the importance of taking care of the environment while hiking. By providing this helpful content, the brand can connect with its audience and establish itself as a reliable source of information. This can ultimately lead to increased sales and brand loyalty.

The Evolution of Advertainment

Advertainment has come a long way since the first music jingle played on the radio. Brands have gotten creative, and the technological advancements of recent years have helped them create immersive and interactive experiences for their customers.

For example, a car company can create a virtual reality experience that allows customers to test drive their cars without leaving their homes. This can be a fun and exciting way for customers to experience the car and get a feel for its features and capabilities. This type of immersive experience can create a lasting impression on the customer and increase the likelihood of them purchasing the car.

Advertainment vs. Traditional Advertising

Advertainment stands out because it is not intrusive or interruptive like traditional advertising methods. People are more likely to engage with, remember and share an ad that is entertaining, funny, interesting, or informative rather than one that interrupts their TV shows, music, or current online browsing or video experiences.

For instance, a brand that sells cooking supplies can create a funny and entertaining video that showcases its products in action. This can be shared on social media and can go viral, reaching a wider audience than a traditional ad would. This type of content can create a positive image of the brand and increase its reach and sales.

In conclusion, advertainment is a powerful tool that brands can use to connect with their audience and establish a positive relationship. By providing entertaining and engaging content, brands can create a lasting impression on their customers and increase their sales and brand loyalty.

Benefits of Advertainment

Advertainment is a term that refers to the blending of advertising and entertainment. It is a marketing strategy that involves creating content that is entertaining, engaging, and informative, with the goal of promoting a product or service. Advertainment has become increasingly popular in recent years as brands look for new and innovative ways to reach their target audience. In this article, we'll explore some of the benefits of advertainment.

Enhanced Audience Engagement

One of the primary benefits of advertainment is increased engagement with potential customers. When customers enjoy the content, they will stick around to see what the brand has to offer. This engagement can take many forms, from watching a video to playing a game or participating in a social media campaign. By creating content that is fun and engaging, brands can capture their audience's attention and keep them interested in what they have to say.

Moreover, when audiences enjoy the content, they are more likely to follow the brand on social media, share it with their friends, and ultimately develop a positive association with the brand, whether buying from them initially or not. This improved engagement results in more conversions, which means more sales and revenue for the brand.

Increased Brand Awareness

Another significant benefit of advertainment is increased brand awareness. By creating content that is both creative and enjoyable, brands can capture their audience's attention and create a lasting impression that can lead to brand recall. If the consumers remember the content, there is a likelihood that the brand's name and logo become a fixture in their mind. As a result, these customers will be more likely to recall the brand the next time they are in the market for a particular service or product offered by that brand.

Creating content that is memorable and shareable is key to increasing brand awareness. By leveraging the power of social media, brands can reach a wider audience and generate buzz around their products or services. This can lead to increased traffic to the brand's website and more opportunities for conversion.

Improved Customer Retention

A third benefit of advertainment is improved customer retention. The content that the brand creates is not just a one-time thing; it can form part of a long-term strategy aimed at keeping customers engaged and interested. By keeping your customers engaged, you’ll reduce customer churn as your customers will view you as a partner who adds value in their lives not merely selling to them.

When so many other companies crowd today's market space, it is increasingly critical to stand out, creating brand advocates who will remain loyal to you and spread the word. By creating content that is fun and informative, brands can build a relationship with their customers that goes beyond the initial sale. This can lead to increased customer loyalty, repeat business, and a stronger bottom line for the brand.

In conclusion, advertainment is a powerful marketing strategy that can help brands reach their target audience in new and innovative ways. By creating content that is both entertaining and informative, brands can increase engagement, improve brand awareness, and retain customers over the long term.

Advertainment Strategies

Branded Content

One strategy brands use to create effective advertainment is branded content. This involves the brand creating entertainment that is relevant to its industry, products, or serves its target audience. The content does not need to be a blatant sales pitch for the company's products but should instead aim to engage, inform, or entertain its audience.

Branded content is an effective way for brands to build relationships with their audience by providing them with valuable content that they can enjoy and share. This type of content can take many forms, such as blog posts, videos, podcasts, or social media posts. For example, a sports equipment brand might create a video series that showcases different athletes using their products in unique and exciting ways. By doing so, the brand is able to showcase its products in a way that is entertaining and engaging while also providing value to its audience.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is another effective strategy for promoting advertainment. Brands work with social media influencers to create content to promote their brand message. Influencers have massive followings and veritably represent how to encourage conversions and brand recall. They help make a brand popular, create positive perceptions that translate to increased sales and customer loyalty.

Influencer marketing is a great way for brands to reach new audiences and build trust with their target market. By partnering with influencers who have a strong following in a particular niche or industry, brands can create content that resonates with their audience and helps to build brand awareness. For example, a beauty brand might partner with a popular makeup artist on Instagram to create a series of tutorials that showcase their products in action. By doing so, the brand is able to reach a wider audience and build trust with potential customers.

Interactive Experiences

Interactive experiences put the customer at the centre of the brand's advertising. This marketing strategy leverages technology to create environments where customers can interact with the brand in unique and engaging ways. This strategy gets them, invests them in the brand's message and allows the brand to gauge what messages or keywords resonate with their audience, and also allow the customers to feel part of a bigger community of people who share similar interests.

Interactive experiences can take many forms, such as virtual reality experiences, gamification, or interactive ads. For example, a car manufacturer might create a virtual reality experience that allows customers to take a test drive of their latest model. By doing so, the brand is able to provide a unique and engaging experience that helps to build brand awareness and create a positive association with their products.

Successful Advertainment Campaigns

Case Study 1: Red Bull Stratos

Red Bull Stratos is undoubtedly one of the most successful advertainment campaigns to date. In October 2021, Felix Baumgartner broke the record for the highest skydive in history, jumping from a height of over 24 miles. Red Bull provided the technical support and created an enormous advertainment platform through YouTube's live streaming. While celebrating his achievement as an adrenaline junkie, the initiative also linked him to Red Bull for years to come.

Case Study 2: LEGO Movie

The LEGO Movie took an effective and profitable twist on advertainment. It turned a beautiful toy wrapper into a feature film, brilliantly crafting a new way of telling a story and painted a wider customer base with creative colour. The clever use of the famous LEGO toys and subtle jabs at big brand corporations contributed for the film to be a massive success in the theatres, also in online media and on the merchandise shelves.

Case Study 3: Nike's "The Last Game"

Nike's soccer advertainment was an animated tale about saving soccer from boring play, featuring the world's best football players. The campaign attracted over 24 million YouTube views and started a conversation across social media channels. Nike achieved a well-crafted storyline, strengthened credibility with football fans and talent management, and helped reinforce their association with the sport.

Conclusion

Advertainment engenders creativity and a degree of freedom not seen in traditional advertising. Today, customers want more than just good products; they want to feel connected to the brand and share their values. Brands like Red Bull, Nike, and Lego have embraced this concept and used it to great success, cementing their brand in the audience's minds by creating experiences that are memorable and shareable. If you're looking for a way to create a message that people will remember, consider incorporating advertainment into your marketing strategy.