Branded content design demands

Matthew Packwood writes on the integration of sponsors into programmes.

Branded content is here to stay, that is for sure. So what does that mean for designers?

Having a sponsor on board means that you have to create composite logos, which is quite challenging; essentially you need to create a logo that holds another logo.

As a designer, you need to build the ability for the logo to have different levels of importance and weighting. You need to create a hierarchy of importance from the company's logo to the sponsor's logo. The complexities of which also mean due consideration needs to be given to the variety of potential future sponsors - and their logos and colours.

The bottom line is: logos of branded content are built in a different way and need to have the ability to efficiently remove one logo and put another on, which requires testing and experimentation.

Colour is key. Advertiser-funded projects’ graphics, such as The Hoyts' Insider, Take 40 Live, Shannons Supercar Showdown and Castrol Racing Heroes, are either design genius or design challenge, based on the colour palette of their supporting sponsor.

In traditional design, you consider first the colour palette, the weighting of sponsor vs title, design as if you were designing a complicated logo or typography title and use the logos as another element. Then it's all about getting the balance right and creating the look and feel that suits the brief.

I think that, even though these logo designs are big and bulky at times, it allows you to apply design skills from other areas of composition and layout to logo development.

The other important consideration in the design process is that the logo will usually be used on the web. Web-designed broadcast brand needs to be less intricate to be legible online.

The sports industry has been effectively using composite branding for decades because there is a level of expectance amongst viewers. Now in reality TV and drama genres, viewers are also becoming more used to seeing composite brands - and with this comes acceptance.

Overall, there is a fine line between the benefit of the association and the brand detracting from the story.

From a design perspective, the objective is to ensure the sponsorship is beautifully integrated, almost subliminal, and therefore the benefits are equally appreciated by the viewer.

There are other benefits of doing sponsor-integrated projects. When sponsors are updated, the graphics need to be revisited. Therefore there is a flow of work. However, the down side is that sponsor-driven projects often have less budget than commissioned projects.

No doubt, advertiser-funded content and its associated benefits will continue into the future. For designers, we are now geared with the ability to design composite broadcast brands that engage even with their new sponsors.

Matthew Packwood is the creative director of Popcorn Creative.