This abridged edition of the Best of Branded Content Marketing: 10th Anniversary Edition book is the first of two Special Previews that we’re releasing. It contains six of the best examples of award-winning case studies from leading brands and expert practitioners around the world. We hope that you enjoy this excerpt from our new book and that you’re inspired to create your own best-practice branded content marketing work. You can download the full edition of the book at http://thebcma.info/best- practices/ebooks/ from 19 March 2014.

2. CONTENTS
Introduction
Volvo Trucks ‘The Epic Split’,
Forsman & Bodenfors
Sony Xperia ‘Vs The Northern Lights’,
DigitasLBi
Terra ‘Penetras de Luxo’,
Wanted Agency
Unilever Surf TOWIE ‘Summer D’Reem’,
ITV
Chivas Regal ‘MASHTUN’,
Somethin' Else
Unilever Dove ‘Real Beauty Sketches’,
Ogilvy
About the book
About the producers
Copyright 2014. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in
part without the written permission of the publishers (BCMA, DMC,
New Media Works) and the relevant copyright owner. Please
contact online@dmc.co.uk in the first instance to request such
permission. All trademarks and registered trademarks
acknowledged. All rights reserved.

3. INTRODUCTION
2013 was the year that branded content marketing truly came of age.
We are delighted that the Danish Marketing Association (Huset
Markedsføring) has agreed to partner with the BCMA to help launch the
Best of Branded Content Marketing: 10th Anniversary Edition ebook in
March 2014.
This abridged edition of the book is the first of two Special Previews that
we have released. It contains six of the best examples of award-winning
case studies from leading brands and expert practitioners around the
world.
We hope that you enjoy this excerpt from our new book and that you’re
inspired to create your own best-practice branded content marketing work.
Andrew Canter
CEO,
BCMA
©BBPMedia/GiuseppeToppers
Special Preview Edition:
Case Studies Part One

4. Campaign : Live Test Series: The Epic Split
Client : Volvo Trucks
Agency : Forsman & Bodenfors
CASESTUDY

5. The solution to both the targeting and
budgeting challenges was to embrace
the new media landscape.
Forsman & Bodenfors’ idea adhered
to Volvo Trucks’ communications
strategy in which innovation plays a
key role. The agency devised an
online marketing campaign using
branded video content presented on
Volvo Trucks’ YouTube channel.
Called the ‘Live Test Series’, the
campaign consists of a group of
online films, each showcasing a
different new Volvo truck feature
being put through its paces in a live
test.
4
CHALLENGE
The trucking industry is a traditional business-to-business
environment in which it’s quite a challenge to introduce a radically new
communication approach.
In addition, the target group of truck purchasers is scattered and
difficult to reach. There are many influencers around each buyer,
ranging from drivers, family and friends to trade press journalists.
Volvo Trucks and their Swedish independent agency partner Forsman
& Bodenfors knew that the most obvious way to reach their core
target group would be a ‘catch-all’ broadcast marketing approach. But
‘reaching’ doesn’t equate to ‘connecting’, plus there was no allowance
for the huge media budget needed to conduct a global advertising
campaign to launch their new truck models. SOLUTIO
Live Test Series: The Epic Split

6. However, this was not going to be any
ordinary product review; the live
experiments had to test the chosen
features in informative, astonishing and
entertaining ways, designed to focus on
the trucks and catch the attention of the
widest possible target audience. The aim
of this creative strategy was to generate
viral hits and a subsequent wave of (free)
media publicity, effectively driving
positive word of mouth about the film
content that was relevant to both
trucking and non-trucking audiences.
5
'Pyramids in the Wild'

7. True to this strategy, the first five online
films include one in which two trucks
race towards a tunnel while a woman
walks across a wire between them and
another in which a truck takes part in a
bull run. The former film generated nine
million views.
The sixth film in the Live Test Series –
‘The Epic Split’ – is an even better
example of the power of this strategy,
with the added twist of a celebrity
participant whose existing fanbase
helped drive word of mouth.
The starting point for ‘The Epic Split’
came from talking to Volvo’s technicians
about the film’s chosen feature: Volvo
Dynamic Steering. This system combines
conventional hydraulic powered steering
with an electric motor fitted to the truck’s
steering gear. The electric motor receives
2,000 signals per second from the truck’s
sensors, allowing for more precise
steering and a more relaxed and
ergonomically designed experience for
truck drivers.
To demonstrate this stability and
precision, the creative team worked
closely with film director Andreas Nilsson
to come up with the idea of a spectacular
stunt: actor Jean-Claude Van Damme
slowly performs a split while standing on
the side mirrors between two Volvo FM
trucks – that are driving backwards at 15
miles/25 kms per hour as they move
apart!
Filmed in one astounding 76-second take
after three days’ practice at a Spanish
airfield, the film was designed to work on
two levels: most viewers are expected to
think “Wow, Jean-Claude Van Damme”,
but the core target audience is expected
to think “Wow, two trucks are able to be
driven in reverse like this”.
6

8. 7
RESULTS
Within the first three months of its launch in November 2013,
‘The Epic Split’ achieved:
• 70 million+ views (10 million within the first 48 hours)
• 8 million+ shares
• Most shared video in the world within week one
• Most watched automotive ad ever on YouTube
• 20,000+ editorials globally online, in print and on TV (inc.
general press and all major automotive and trucking press)
• 5 million+ shares
• #6 in YouTube’s Top Ten Trending 2013, a list that draws from
all YouTube content across all categories, including babies and
music videos that tend to generate the highest engagement
• Earned media value of €126 million
"The media landscape is
changing. We have different
media consumption habits
today than a couple of years
ago. That’s why, starting with
the Live Test Series, we’re
investing in this cost-efficient
way of reaching out to millions
of people via online branded
content marketing."
Anders Vilhelmsson,
PR Manager,
Volvo Trucks

9. The Live Test Series has not used any traditional paid media – YouTube
is its only media channel. The relevance and power of the branded
content itself has kickstarted organic distribution, editorial coverage,
wider interactions and an upsurge in awareness of the Volvo Trucks
brand and product messages, both online and via the Volvo Trucks
global dealer network.
The Series has already won the Grand Prix award for Branded Content
& Entertainment at Eurobest 2013. And, in the ultimate evidence that
‘The Epic Split’ film has entered a wider cultural consciousness, it has
already inspired a raft of consumer-generated spoof versions, some of
which have racked up 50 million views themselves.
Volvo Trucks will continue to release more Live Test Series stunt films,
paving the way for future advertising and sales campaigns in local
markets.
8
OUTCOMES

10. Campaign : Vs the Northern Lights
Client : Sony
Agency : DigitasLBi
CASESTUDY

11. DigitasLBi developed ‘Xperia Vs…’,
an online branded content
programme that aimed to extend the
target audience’s awareness of the
new Sony Xperia Z and to encourage
them to find out more about the
phone.
The initiative consists of a series of
online video films in which
ambassadors from the creative
industries put features of the new
phone to the test in interesting ways.
For ‘Xperia Vs the Northern Lights’,
the first group of chosen
ambassadors – members of the
bands OK Go and Pyyramids, and the
photographer Martien Mulder –
10
CHALLENGE
Sony is a household name when it comes to consumer electronics,
however it’s a challenger brand in the relentlessly competitive
smartphone market.
In order to be among the top three brands people consider when
choosing a phone, it’s essential to spread the word online. This is
where people research ahead of purchase, and where brands earn the
right to be viewed as a credible option.
Supporting the introduction of the new Sony Xperia Z smartphone,
DigitasLBi was tasked with creating an initiative to keep building
product awareness post-launch – specifically online among the
curious-minded, technology-loving target audience.
The key challenge was to stand out from the existing plethora of online
branded content in a way that was true to Sony’s philosophy: inspiring
wonder and emotional response through technology. And all with
minimal paid media support.
SOLUTIO
Xperia Vs The Northern Lights

12. travelled to northern Sweden to capture the
sights and sounds of the Northern Lights
(Aurora Borealis).
They used Sony Xperia Z smartphones and
tablets to capture their inspiration, and then
used the Xperia Z's one-touch connectivity
feature to bring their work together, resulting
in a four-minute track ‘From Under Other
Stars’.
DigitasLBi also created a series of in-depth,
making-of films demonstrating the process
and the technology involved.
Designed to appeal to the motivations of
consumers with an interest in what’s new
and exciting, along with a love of
technology and its possibilities, the full
series of films from the trip was hosted on
Sony Mobile's YouTube channel.
11
'Making Of (From Under Other Stars)'
‘Damian Kulash and the sound of outer space'
'Pyyramids in the Wild'
'Photographer Martien Mulder on ice'

13. 12
RESULTS
Within a week of release:
• #1 most shared video on Facebook and Twitter in last 24 hours - UK
• #3 most viewed YouTube video in last 24 hours - UK
• #1 most popular YouTube video in 'Entertainment' - UK
• #1 most popular YouTube video in 'All Categories' - UK
Within seven months:
• 500,000+ unique views
• 1,000 new Sony YouTube channel subscribers
"The 'Xperia Vs' series is essentially
a product demonstration on
steroids. It's a chance for us to put
the device to the test in truly
surprising ways, and see if it
survives to tell the story.
Tech always forms the backbone to
these stories, and in this instance
we put the Xperia in the hands of
musicians and photographers and
sent them to the Arctic Circle.
Their mission? To create a one-of-
a-kind audiovisual experience,
using only the features of the
phone, especially connectivity.
A soundtrack to the Northern
Lights was born. The result was a
stunning, shareable piece of
branded content and was
supported by an innovation tale
that spoke directly to our tech-
curious audience."
Simon Attwater,
Group Creative Director,
DigitasLBi

14. With little paid media support, the Sony Xperia Vs
Northern Lights online videos spread the message of the
new smartphone to a vast new audience.
By understanding the audience, creating a strategy that
spoke to their interests, and developing branded content
that was new and innovative, DigitasLBi produced a
campaign that exceeded expectations.
13
OUTCOMES

15. Campaign : Penetras de Luxo
Client : Terra
Agency : Wanted
ASAS da Imaginação
CASESTUDY

16. Wanted Agency and ASAS da
Imaginação decided to create
branded content that featured
Generation Y and could be viewed
digitally, making it possible to
generate spreadability.
They came up with ‘Penetras de
Luxo’ (VIP Party Crashers), a series of
online films that uses Planeta Terra as
a backdrop to tell the story of a group
of friends that gatecrashes the
festival’s VIP area.
To shoot the series, the festival was
turned into a set where the storyline
and characters were fictional but
settings and surroundings were real.
15
CHALLENGE
Terra is a Brazilian ISP and media network that sponsors Planeta
Terra, one of the largest music festivals in Brazil.
The brand challenged Wanted Agency and ASAS da Imaginação to
come up with a marketing campaign that had two objectives:
extend the experience of the one-day Planeta Terra festival into
other territories; and connect with Generation Y to continue the
conversation about the festival long after the event ends.
SOLUTIO
PENETRAS DE LUXO

17. Live incidents that occurred throughout
the festival were used to develop the
story, grabbing the attention of the public
during and after the event.
Launched online and on digital TV after
the festival, six short episodes and one
short film presented the ‘Penetras de
Luxo’ characters and showed how they
gatecrashed the VIP area. Just like every
good work of fiction, a conflict was also
added: a mysterious situation occurs and
they all end up at the police station.
The idea of blending real life with fiction
was taken a step further with a celebrity
twist that started during the festival. One
of the characters was played by a
famous Brazilian actor and, in a PR stunt,
his character’s name reflected his real
name, Sergio. So when a fictional kiss
between him and another character was
shown on the big screens at the festival,
it generated tweets and impressions on
social media instantly.
16

18. 17
RESULTS
During the Planeta Terra festival weekend:
• c.65,000 festival attendees were exposed to
elements of the series
• The kiss scene received 600,000 social
media impressions
• The buzz became so intense that Sergio had
to publicly announce that the kiss was part of
‘Penetras de Luxo’, creating even more buzz
about the series
‘Penetras de Luxo’ subsequently became one of
the most watched national productions on
Terra’s digital TV platform, Sunday TV
Wanted Agency was founded in
Brazil in the age of participation, in
the midst of a culture of
convergence.
The Agency believes that fan culture
is the new reality in which
consumers participate in the
production of collective intelligence
about brands and products. In order
to succeed, the brand story needs to
connect with the broader
conversation and discussion of what
is happening in today's culture.
Wanted Agency specialises in
creating or developing brand culture.
It uses a proprietary methodology to
tell a consistent story throughout the
brand experience and initiatives,
connecting the brand to
contemporary culture and creating
tribes who actively participate in the
life of the brand.
Take a look at some more work from
Wanted Agency.

19. The ‘Penetras de Luxo’ series of
branded content films became
such a hit for Terra that it has
now evolved into a sitcom with
a contract for an entire season
on web and cable TV.
18
OUTCOMES
"The key to the success of this
branded content marketing
campaign was creating
intriguing narrative content that
seamlessly incorporated the
product (the festival) with the
audience, as well as blurring
the lines between fiction and
reality. This created an appetite
for people to discover more, to
put themselves in the shoes of
the characters and to talk to
each other about the story
unfolding before them."
Patrícia Weiss,
CSO, Wanted Agency; SVP Strategic
Consultant for Branded Content,
Branded Entertainment & Transmedia
Storytelling, ASAS da Imaginaçaõ

20. Campaign : Summer D'Reem
Client : Unilever
Media Owner : ITV
CASESTUDY

21. Today, functional differences between
detergents are minimal. Personality is
the extra dimension that powerfully
and intimately connects brands with
consumers.
This insight led to a fitting solution:
extending Surf's multi-platform
sponsorship of The Only Way is Essex
(TOWIE) – the show with some of the
biggest and most influential
personalities on TV. The
entertainment show’s reach and the
buzz it generates represented an
excellent opportunity for Surf to get
its key audience listening – and
buying.
21
CHALLENGE
In 2012, Unilever’s Surf laundry
detergent found itself facing a
challenge. Washing detergent is a
low-interest category and Surf’s
competitors were aligning
themselves with the biggest event in
the calendar – the 2012 Olympics. A
big idea was needed for Surf to
resonate in customers’ minds.
SOLUTIO
Summer D’Reem

22. To deepen and personify the TOWIE/Surf
relationship, Unilever extended its TOWIE
licence to launch a brand new Surf
fragrance called Summer D’Reem,
featuring cast favourite Joey Essex. The
launch included:
• TOWIE branding on Surf packs and
across in-store design
• Social media-driven discussion
from TOWIE’s fiercely loyal and active fan
base
• Joey Essex starring in unique viral
video content ‘Fresh Out of Essex’
• Additional Surf digital advertising to
support the launch
‘Fresh Out Of Essex’ was an online mini-
series of exclusive content that lived on
the official TOWIE website, devised to
feed fans’ constant demand for
everything TOWIE. Bumpers on ITV
mobile and ITV Player, plus roadblocks
on ITV.com consolidated this activity.
Unilever also knew that competitions
were key in engaging Surf’s target
audience, and who would say no to a
free, glamorous trip to ‘Marbs’ in Spain?
Certainly not TOWIE fans.
22

23. 23
RESULTS
• £1 million+ gross retail sales value across the summer
• Talkability 51% (vs. 36% non-viewers)• Purchase intent 62% (vs. 51% non-viewers)• 1.3 million ‘Fresh Out of Essex’ video views across the year
• 61,501 visits to the Marbs competition entry page (297% vs. KPI)
• 19.9 million monthly total video requests and 18 million page
views online during the campaign

24. 'Summer D’Reem' was a very successful
branded content marketing campaign with a
massive influence on viewer response.
Surf’s TOWIE sponsorship awareness grew to
77% (22% above the norm) by the end of the
campaign. The campaign was viewed as
especially effective in terms of persuasion,
with 62% of viewers likely to say it made them
think differently about Surf and made them
more likely to consider that Surf’s image was
more positive.
24
OUTCOMES
"Sponsoring TOWIE was a
great chance to build brand
awareness and demonstrate
we are a fun brand with a point
of difference. The new
fragrance launch, aligned with
TOWIE, further helped extend
the sponsorship into retail,
leading to great business
results that helped meet our
objectives."
Katy Holder,
Surf Brand Manager,
Unilever

25. Campaign : MASHTUN
Client : Chivas Regal
Agency : Somethin’ Else
CASESTUDY

26. Working with Havas, Somethin’ Else
took Chivas’ overall campaign
objectives and put their proven
design approach to work.
Somethin’ Else could have proposed
a perfectly suitable game where little
hosts barrel back and forth. However,
creating a game that actually makes
social gatherings go well was deemed
a far better plan: the game should be
a tool for hosts and should bring the
campaign to life.
Recognising that social gatherings
are affected by personal digital
technology, Somethin’ Else also
decided to embrace that technology
to turn the attention of party guests
towards each other. This called for a
26
CHALLENGE
Chivas Regal is a sophisticated, modern brand of Scotch whisky –
with over two centuries of history. Their ‘Art of Hosting’ marketing
campaign is sharply focused: Chivas makes the modern social
gathering complete.
Chivas asked their marketing partner Havas Worldwide London to
include a smartphone app in the campaign. Havas challenged
content design and creation company Somethin’ Else to come up
with a game that showcased the ‘Art of Hosting’, which is all about
creating an environment, a novel experience, and facilitating a
good time.
SOLUTIO
MASHTUN

27. social game that made players look at
each other rather than their devices.
Those two insights framed Somethin’
Else’s mission: to reinvent the parlour
game for the modern age; to make ‘real-
time social games’; and ultimately to
make you a better host.
The starting point for developing the
game was to look at the most successful
parlour games from history and capture
their essence. What made them popular
games? What was the central mechanic
that encouraged interaction?
The creative team tested them out (a lot)
and whittled the list down to around 20
games.
The next step was to test these ideas
against the central premise: the games
had to make smart, entertaining and
imaginative use of iPhone and iPad
hardware, such as the touch screen,
camera, gyroscope, accelerometer and
microphone.
A shortlist was then compiled and the
resulting games were prototyped and
tested to see if they fit the bill.
Scoring was an interesting challenge. The
aim was for scoring to be arbitrary,
something to be set by the party host to
demonstrate that s/he had the qualities
that Chivas was interested in fostering.
The results of several user testing
sessions with a target audience of
professional people aged 25-35 were fed
27

28. into the whole development process to
create the final app: MASHTUN – a suite
of five parlour games for the modern
host:
• Mashact: Inspired by Charades, this
quick-fire acting game encourages wild
team acting under pressure, with the
words selected by the opposing team.
• Mashjam: Players ‘jam’ by playing
sections of a track in time.
• Mashtip: Players complete physical
challenges while keeping a tower of
blocks balanced.
• Mashrelay: A head-to-head relay
race powered by your voice!
• Mashseek: Hide and seek for the
modern age. One team hides their
device. The other team uses their device
to find it.
The MASHTUN app automatically
suggests the number of teams and the
number of players on each team, based
on the guests and smartphones or tablets
in the room.
Launched in April 2013, the free app was
made available on the iTunes app store
as part of the wider ‘Art of Hosting’
campaign, and promoted via YouTube,
Vimeo and Facebook.
28

29. 29
Somethin’ Else designs and creates
content that millions of people
watch, listen to and play with every
day on their computers, radios,
devices and televisions.
Awarded internationally at the
highest level – they are 2013’s BAFTA
Production Company of the Year, for
example – Somethin’ Else has an
interdisciplinary team of media and
technology experts who work with
brands, broadcasters and content
publishers across four areas: digital,
radio, talent, and TV and video.
Their knowledge of strategy and
their obsession with audiences and
users help them to achieve difficult
objectives by creating content
people love.
Take a look at Somethin’ Else’s
showreel.
"This collaboration with Havas
Worldwide London shows why
enlightened brands and
agencies are instrumental in
the future of content. Together
we've created a parlour game
like never before – truly social
and sophisticated, challenging
people’s perceptions of
technology and gaming."
Paul Bennun,
Chief Creative Officer,
Somethin’ Else

30. The MASHTUN app has been nominated
for a number of awards (already winning
a bronze award in the Kinsale Sharks
International Creative Festival 2013 –
Digital category), and generated
significant interest from other FMCG
brands on how games can play a part in
their content marketing.
30
OUTCOMES
"Chivas MASHTUN combines
elements that we know modern
gentlemen love: games,
gadgets and, above all, being a
great party host. Chivas has
always been about bringing
people together, celebrating
friendship and generosity. With
this new venture, we wanted to
change the rules of gaming
technology, which can be
insular, and make entertaining
at home sociable, entertaining
and memorable."
James Slack,
Global Brand Director,
Chivas
©OliviaArthur/MagnumPhotos

31. Campaign : Real Beauty Sketches
Client : Unilever Dove
Agency : Ogilvy
CASESTUDY

32. 33
CHALLENGE
From 2005, Unilever's Dove brand of
personal care products has celebrated
women's natural beauty in its 'Real
Beauty' marketing campaigns.
Market research suggested that only 4%
of women describe themselves as
beautiful, so the Dove Real Beauty
campaign for 2013, created by Ogilvy
Brazil, was tasked with raising the self-
esteem of the other 96%. No short order!
Real Beauty Sketches
"Unilever asked us to
make women feel better
about themselves. We
wanted to move women,
to find an idea that could
actually prove to women
that they're wrong about
their self-image. Hats off
to Unilever – they didn't
approve a script, they
approved a social
experiment that could've
gone either way."
Anselmo Ramos,
Creative Director,
Ogilvy Brazil

33. Ogilvy came up with the idea to run a
social experiment that turned on its head
the tendency of women to be critical of
their appearance. It involved women
being filmed going through a process of
self-discovery, seeing themselves
through their own eyes and those of
strangers.
For the experiment, FBI forensic artist Gil
Zamora sketches women he can't see on
different days – firstly based on their own
descriptions of themselves, then based
on a stranger's description, without Gil
ever knowing when the subject was the
same person. The resulting sketches are
then revealed to the subjects for
comparison, with the sketches from the
strangers' descriptions being the more
accurate and flattering. The women
reacted strongly to the sketches, some
with tears, as they realised that they were
doing themselves an injustice.
The campaign was presented on
YouTube as a branded, documentary-
style film (in six-minute and three-minute
versions) with the tagline 'Women: You
Are More Beautiful Than You Think'.
34
SOLUTIO

34. 35
RESULTS• 170 million views on YouTube
• Most-watched online
branded content of 2013
• 3rd most-shared branded
video of 2013

35. The Dove Real Beauty Sketches branded content marketing campaign
strongly reinforced Dove's ongoing Real Beauty strategy. It was
successful in tapping into women's emotions and making people think
again about how they judge their own appearance.
The film went viral very quickly (more than 15 million views within a
week of its launch) and inspired conversations, debate and articles in
media as diverse as Adweek, The Telegraph, Facebook, Bloomberg,
Mashable, New York Times, Forbes, Huffington Post, and Psychology
Today – as well as wider adoption of the concept, such as the 'Men:
You Are Less Beautiful Than You Think' spoof video.
36
OUTCOMES

36. ABOUTTHEBOOK The Best of Branded Content Marketing:
10th Anniversary Edition is the second in
a series of social media and branded
content ebooks produced by the BCMA
and its strategic partners DMC and New
Media Works.
The enhanced media ebook is an
international collaboration containing 13
of the best recent branded content
marketing campaigns from cutting-edge
brands and award-winning agencies, as
well as "what is," "how to" and "what's
next" features from leading practitioners.
These features include emerging market
reports from Brazil and Russia, an Ipsos
MORI and Oxford Brookes University
research review, tips on how to create
successful social video content, and
predictions about the future of branded
content marketing from 60+ experts
around the world.
You can download the full edition of the
book at http://thebcma.info/best-
practices/ebooks/ from 19 March 2014.

37. ABOUTTHEPRODUCERS The BCMA
Launched in 2003, the Branded Content
Marketing Association (BCMA) is the
global trade body for branded content,
with members throughout Europe,
Australia, Asia/Pacific, Scandinavia, South
America, Russia and North America.
It brings together and benefits a broad
spectrum of content creators and owners,
including organisations from the
advertising, brand development,
sponsorship, media, broadcasting, digital,
social media, programming and
entertainment industries.
The BCMA strives to promote best
practice, shared learning and grow the
branded content market to a wider
audience.
Digital Media Communications Ltd (DMC)
Founded in 1994, when the Internet was
just emerging into the mainstream, DMC is
a highly experienced digital marketing
communications consultancy that
specialises in using collaborative and
social marketing approaches. Co-founders
Justin Kirby and Greta MacFarlane are
responsible for the strategic planning,
project management, editing, publishing
and promotion of this series of ebooks.
New Media Works
Former AKQA creative head and co-
founder Mark Welland established New
Media Works in 1998. He has over 20
years of interactive design experience,
including the creation of ebooks and apps
for local and global brands and e-learning
organisations. Mark is responsible for the
creative development, design and
production of this series of ebooks.