Mike Wiese of JWT: It’s crucial for brands to embrace tension and try to create something that stands out

At the Best of branded content marketing panel, executives of JWT, Mashable and Piro gathered to talk about how the lines between advertising and entertainment continue to blur and how this can impact both brands and audience. In the meeting, executives debated about the best strategies to create branded content. “It’s crucial for brands to embrace tension and try to create a story that stands out” said Mike Wiese, Head of Content & Entertainment at JWT. “I think we try to make it (branded content) too nice, too vanilla, too safe. We should try and make the client uncomfortable so it can go beyond boundaries and make a difference regarding content.” He added that most people don’t really care if something is branded or not, “they just want to be entertained.” David Berkowitz, MRY’s Chief Marketing Officer explained at the panel the importance of marketers being clear that when creating branded content there must be a clear reason for creating it in the first place: help a company meet its goals. Stacy Martinet, Chief Marketing Officer at Mashable said that companies need to make sure they have an authentic message to send before creating content. “Everyone is rushing into branded content but it’s expensive so if you don’t have something to say, you don’t have something to make” she said. “Authenticity is the new relevancy on the internet.”