The Neurological Impactof Branded Content
A joint case study examining how thebrain reacts to branded content.
Presented by+Table of Contents+

Sections
Executive Summary

3

Understanding Neuromarketing

4

Findings and Insights

10

Creative Deep Dives

17

Conclusion

27

About Brainsights

28

About Pressboard

29

Executive Summary+

This study started out by asking one really big question: what is going on inside
the brain when consumers engage with branded content?

Some key takeaways for advertisersand content creators from the study:

We all know by now that branded content works. At Pressboard, our platformcollects thousands of data points every day that proves it. We wanted to knowwhat was happening on a neurological level behind all of those clicks, views, andconversions. What is it about branded content that consumers find engaging, andhow does that compare to other types of media?

• Branded content is particularly strong incommunicating lifestyle and value
aspects of products. Moments involving
saving money on gas and environmental
friendliness drove positive spikes inbrainwave activity

As a first step in answering those questions, we teamed up with the experts at
Brainsights to analyze neurological reactions to sponsored video content createdthrough Pressboard’s platform for Toyota BC Dealers, and compare it withreactions to top TV programs and advertisements, as well as social performancedata. Using EEG scans of sample audiences, Brainsights measured brainwave
activity that signals alertness/attention, emotional connection, and encoding tomemory.
The tests studied videos sponsored by Toyota BC Dealers that were created andpublished on Facebook by three media properties and found that from aneurological standpoint, the branded content performed on par with top rated
TV shows like This is Us and big budget ad campaigns from Apple. In comparing
the brain scans to actual performance data from Facebook, there was a direct
correlation between drops in alertness/attention and the video’s average watch
times.

• Advertisers should deliver the premise of
the spot early• Branded content plays by the same rules
as other storytelling, and performs bestwith rising action and conflict at its core.
Audiences were willing to spend 40%75% more time with content that
followed a traditional story arc.

3

Understanding Neuromarketing+Who Is Brainsights?

Brainsights is a technology and human insights
company that turns brain data into insights thatgrow businesses.

+

Brainsights turns brain data into business insights

It was founded in 2013 with two fundamental beliefs
in mind: First, by illuminating our unconscious biases
we can better understand one another, make better
decisions, and lead healthier and more productive
lives. Second, individuals’ data is valuable and shouldbe meaningfully and materially compensated.
With these beliefs in mind, Brainsights built ameasurement technology platform that records the
non-conscious response of people to stimuli - news,
ads, programs, education, products - to surface theunconscious biases that influence behaviour.
Customers like media companies, educators,
researchers and advertisers, work with Brainsights tobetter understand the thoughts and feelings ofpeople in order to solve problems.

5How It Works+

Brainsights measurement platform uses
electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain
activity. Brain cells (neurons) communicate via
electrochemical transmission, and are tracked
and recorded using EEG.
Inobtrusive headsets with small metal electrodeson the scalp measure that electrical activity,
which is recorded, amplified and displayed aswaves. Waves are characterized by theirrespective frequency and amplitude.
The power/presence of differing frequencies
have been associated with various mental statesand processes ie. increased observation of beta
band frequency (13-30Hz) during increased
attentional tasks.
By measuring the unconscious brain activity of
consumers as they view branded content, andmarrying this with behavioural data, we canidentify the neural correlates of content success.

6

What Was Measured+

The study measured consumer’s non-conscious brain activity in relation to
three key metrics: Attention, Connection and Encoding

METRICWHAT IS IT?

WHAT DOES
IT ANSWER?

STRONG ASSOCIATIONWITH:

ATTENTION

ALERTNESS &ATTENTION

IS THE STIMULICAPTURING MY
ATTENTION?

BREAKTHROUGHCONNECTIONHIGHER-ORDER
THINKING

IS THERE A DEEPERRELATIONSHIP WITH
THE STIMULI?

CONSIDERATION,INTENT

ENCODING

ENCODING TOMEMORYIS THE STIMULI
BEING COMMITTEDTO MEMORY?

BRAND/PRODUCT LINK

7

Toyota BC Dealers’ Sponsored Videos+

The tests studied three videos sponsored by Toyota BC Dealers that were createdand published on Facebook by British Columbia based media outlets

Taco Road Trip

8 Reasons to Buy a Hybrid

Prius Insanity Test

Click to play video in browser

8Methodology+

Sample Content Tested Alongside theSponsored Content

100+ participants making up a general population sample
were scanned while watching a 1 hour reel of video content
comprised of TV clips, commercials, and Toyota BC Dealers’
three sponsored videos. The content was viewed by the
sample audience on TV, Desktop and Mobile
We chose the top content and advertising in the world tounderstand how branded content compared and competed,both from a commercial and entertainment perspective.

TV Shows + Entertainment

Big Budget Advertisements
9Findings and Insights+

Key Findings+

Quality branded content performs on par with
top ad and entertainment programming

Prius Insanity Test performed best of the branded
content spots when analyzed for average watch time

Toyota BC Dealers’ sponsored videos performed at parwith some of the highest rated content on television, andsome of the most celebrated commercial content.

+ 20% better than average for Attention, Connection and
Encoding, compared to all other content tested.

Taco Road Trip performed best overall of thethree videos tested

Branded content is particularly strong incommunicating lifestyle and values aspects of products

The video was above average in Attention and Emotional
Connection, and just below average for Encoding.

Moments involving saving money on gas and being good for theenvironment can double Attention, Connection and Encoding
values among consumers.
11

Topline Data+

Engagement

8 Reasons to Buy a Hybrid

Prius Insanity Test

Taco Road Trip

Reached

8,712

193,577

112,084

Views (3s)

4,839

88,093

41,227

Views (10s)

1,520

38,882

11,727

Average Watch Time

10s

14s

8s

Neural (Indexed against study average)
Overall Attention

-3%

-4%

+3%

For average time watched

+3%

+20%

+8%

Overall Connection

-7%

-4%

+1%

For average time watched

-8%

+26%

+20%

Overall Encoding

-5%

-19%

-2%

For average time watched

+8%

+24%

+3%

12

Toyota Prius Insanity - Summary+

Average Watch Time: 14s

Average Watch Time ACE Scores

+20%

+26%

+24%

14s

What the neural data tells us:- Strong emotional Connection,
particularly for the average watch
time (and also carries to 0:20)- Introducing premise and key conflict
early engages consumers- The balance of familiar andunfamiliar (Stanley Park vs. Insanity
challenge) is a proven tactic foronline video content effectiveness

Key Campaign Data
Reached193,577

Views (3s)

88,093

Views (10s)38,882Average Watch Time

14s

Reactions, Comments, Shares

1826- Product and product benefit
mentions/showcases within the
average watch time deliver on brandobjectives and lift ACE scores

13Taco Road Trip - Summary+

Average Watch Time: 8s

Average Watch Time ACE Scores

+8%

8s

+20%

+3%

What the neural data tells us:- Strong opening emotional
Connection helps in driving
consumer reaction and behaviour- Opening joke and close up of host’s
face garner immediate lifts in ACE
scoresKey Campaign Data
Reached112,084

Views (3s)41,227

Views (10s)

11,727

Average Watch Time

8s

Reactions, Comments, Shares

329
14

8 Reasons to Buy a Hybrid - Summary+

Average Watch Time: 10s

Average Watch Time ACE Scores

+3%

10s

+8%

+8%

What the neural data tells us:- Familiar setting of a family’s homehelps to pique Attention. Encoding
levels are also above average during
this time.
- Tepid emotional Connection resultsin fewer audience engagements

Key Campaign Data
Reached8,712

Views (3s)4,839

Views (10s)

1,520

Average Watch Time

10s

Reactions, Comments, Shares

8- Premise is not introduced in time, orin any meaningful way that would
connect audiences and extend
average view time15

Characteristics of Success for Branded Content+

The Prius Insanity Test video had the highest engagement on Facebook andperformed best on key neural metrics for average watch time. So, what can thevideo teach us about best practices for branded content?

3 Key Takeaways
Deliver the premise early

Striking the familiar/unfamiliar balance

•

•

•

Unfamiliar premise in a familiar setting (e.g.
Prius Insanity Test in Vancouver’s beloved
Stanley Park) is a proven tactic to capture
the brain engagement of audiences. It
intrigues, draws in and disarms theaudience and invites the storyteller toproceed.
Previous Brainsights analyses finds
converging evidence of the success of thistactic, particularly in online formats.

•Prius Insanity Test shares its premise rightaway. It’s clear from the start what the pair
are attempting to do, and the audience isunder no illusion as to what might follow.

•

Furthermore, stylistically, it’s direct. The
two characters are in full view speaking
directly to the camera about theirendeavor.

•

Contrast this with both Taco Road Trip and
8 Reasons to Buy a Hybrid. With Taco Road
Trip, the piece starts with a joke about ahybrid taco, which engages audiences at
the unconscious level. But it’s anotherseveral seconds before the hosts introduce
the premise, at which point audience
Attention and Connection are dropping.

•

Brainsights has found that even ads that
introduce the brand in the first few
seconds perform on average better thanthose that do not - both from a neural andview time perspective.

While Taco Road Trip had a similar balance,
it wasn’t as clear or delivered as quickly.

Branded content plays by the same rules asother storytelling, and performs best withconflict at its core•

Both Taco Road Trip and 8 Reasons to Buy a
Hybrid had protagonists, but only Prius
Insanity Test had established a core conflict
upfront, and it had two (the couple versus
standard gas mileage and couple versus
themselves). There was no such conflict inthe other spots.

•

Audiences were willing to spend 40%-75%
more time with Prius Insanity Test than theother spots, as well as commit up to 16%
more Attention, and 21% more to Memory.
In large part, it’s due to its inclusion of acore conflict.

16

Creative Deep Dives+Toyota Prius Insanity - Summary+

Summary
Consumers engage early, both with theunique premise and with the relatablecharacters, showing strong lift in
Attention, Connection and Encoding.
The opening 15 seconds are theequivalent of a world-class 15s
commercial from a neural perspective.
Several key moments illustrating thecontent’s purpose - demonstrating acore product unique selling point likemileage - also show lifts across thethree metrics.
Softness in middle and final 20s due torepetition of premise and little
additional useful information or
narrative pivots to engage.

18

Toyota Prius Insanity - Top Moments2

1

3“This goddam car” exasperation as the gas has
not gone down and the
product benefit isreinforced once more.

Close-ups on the gas tank
and an explanation of how
long they’ve been driving
weave the product benefit
in meaningfully, and neural
ACE scores rise as a result.

Prius Insanity Test premise
is introduced to great effect.
The characters are
straightforward with theirendeavor, reference theproduct and introduce theircore challenge. These values
are the equivalent of aworld-class 15s ad spot.

1

+

2

Max Observed Values

1

+49%

+47%

+78%

2

+29%

+22%

+46%

3

+33%

+31%

–

3

19

Toyota Prius Insanity - Soft Moments
1

2Connection and Encoding
drop considerably during
the ‘did you burp or fart’
scene. Consumers arelooking for information(hence Attention spiking)and gag payoff, but don’t
receive it.

3Sped-up transition
following “we have literally
so much time in this car”
catalyzes sustained
underperformance. The
extended plunge into
‘insanity’ results in double
digit drops for 30s, withsteep observed troughs.

1

+

2

The test ends as a result of
the girl threatening to
break up with the guy.
This leads to a pit, and thelowest point of Encoding.
Consumers are likely
disappointed that they
didn’t get the stunt payoffand that the couple quit.

Min Observed Values

1

-8%

-27%

-56%

2

-35%

-61%

-74%

3

-44%

-46%

-86%

3

20

Taco Road Trip - Summary+

Summary
Consumers engage early with thecontent, and the subtitles help toprovide context to fill information gaps.
The spot engages quickly, and is wellpaced throughout to maintain audienceengagement.
The subtitles also provide meaningful
information to consumers about where
to focus their attention, and what theyshould be taking from the content.
Audiences engage with the hosts andtheir light-hearted banter. The tacoroad trip concept is intriguing, andaudiences enjoy the taco shop scenes
on the whole.

21

Taco Road Trip -Top Moments
2

1Opening joke
resonates, hooking
audiences.

+3

Banter between
hosts leads torises across all
three ACE metrics

Product feature - quiet ride - benefit
from the subtitles here as audiences
are cued about what matters. Woven
within the light banter of the hosts,
this results in sustained lifts across ACE

4More engagement with the specificities of the taco joint

1
2

3

4

Max Observed Values

1

+19%

+32%

+105%

2

+34%

+30%

+87%

3

+44%

+34%

+70%

4

+31%

+48%

+38%

22

Taco Road Trip - Soft Moments+

1
Connection drops when “Share the Wealth in the Form of Tacos” is on
screen. Perhaps because the accompanying visual is a steering wheel. A
preview of people enjoying tacos given to them by the hosts may havebeen a more suitable visual.

2
The hosts chat about how good the tacos are, and hand them out on
the second shop visit, pointing out where the taco shop is. ACE scores
sink during this segment. Perhaps there’s confusion as to how thisgiveaway relates directly to the Prius. The hosts appear to bepromoting the taco joint.

1

Min Observed Values

1

-26%

-16%

-55%

2

-30%

-44%

-71%

2

23

8 Reasons to Buy a Hybrid - Summary+

Summary
After a tepid start, consumers engage
with the lifestage questions anddecisions around family and legacy.
The core premise around making better
decisions to lead their best possible life
is meaningful, and when new
information or lifestyle aspects are
introduced, this spikes consumer
interest. However, the video has somepacing challenges which result inunder-indexing neural ACE scores.

24

8 Reasons to Buy a Hybrid -Top Moments
2

1“Having a family is one of
the big decisions that makeyou think about the
future….. Making decisions
that align with theenvironment, and also allow
you to save more money, tofund education”

1

+

3

“Looking ahead, driving a
hybrid will help set Indy up
to lead his best possible
life”

When the voiceover kicks
back in, after extended
absence, it’s associatedwith key lifestyle
information: “And if we as afamily get to spend less on
automobile ownership,parking, gas - we feel better
about what we drive”

2

3

Max Observed Values

1

+38%

+36%

+64%

2

+55%

+16%

+58%

3

+29%

+15%

+42%

25

8 Reasons to Buy a Hybrid - Soft Moments
12Opening takes 7 seconds toeven start to introduce
what’s happening. That’s
too long for most people.

1

+

3

The disconnect between
audio about the fundamental
decisions in life and visual ofvarious shots of car driving
results in falling engagement
across ACE. Extendedmontage of slow-music andcity driving, with close ups of
product but without premiseor purpose, results insustained under-performance.

2

No new story elements are
introduced.

Min Observed Values

3

1

-12%

-31%

-57%

2

-31%

-43%

-44%

3

-39%

-45%

-63%

26

Conclusion+

We started out by asking one really big question: what isgoing on inside the brain when consumers engage withbranded content?

Branded content offers storytelling
options that are neurologicallycompetitive to traditional
entertainment content

This case study is a first step in determining what it is aboutbranded content that consumers find engaging, and how it
compares to other types of media. Toyota BC Dealers’sponsored videos created through Pressboard’s platform
demonstrated that branded content has the potential toperform at high levels of effectiveness from a neurologicalperspective, both as a form of entertainment and as a
medium for brand messaging.
However, as with any research, there are questions answered,and more questions raised.

Branded content performs well above
average in demonstrating key lifestyleand value product benefits

Are lifestyle aspects of branded content as high-performing inother industries as they are in auto? Also, do these insights
hold across specific audience segments? Our aim is to answer
these questions and others through additional research.
Pressboard would like to thank Brainsights, the Toyota BC
Dealers and Elevator Strategy Advertising & Design Inc for
their collaboration in bringing this case study to life.
27

About Brainsights
1

2

Marketers must understand the consumer’s unconscious in order tounderstand what drives decision-making

Brainsights measures each, but are unique in how we tackle neural
measurement, delivering scale, speed and actionable insights with arobust community of participants% Influence on Decision-Making

5-10%(Conscious)

EEG-Based
Platform

Explicit Response(Surveys, focus groups and other statedresponse)

Key Brainsights Benefits & Differentiators• Naturalistic (non-Lab) Environments for
Accurate Results• Comfortable/Accessible Tech for
Consumer Comfort• 15,000+ Community Advocates for Quick
and Comprehensive Research Execution• Large Mineable Database with over 5B Brain
Data Points, 10K+ Brains Recorded and 10K+
Hours of Content Analyzed

Implicit Response

90-95%(Subconscious &Unconscious)(Behavioural testing - implicit association,eye- tracking,etc)

Neural(fMRI,EEG,etc)

Captures data at
30X scale/speedof competition

3

4

Brainsights reports consumer Attention, Emotional Connection and Encoding
to Memory every two milliseconds, syncing at the millisecond level to thecontent stimuli across any environment for any consumer segment

Activating on the insights provided by the Brainsights brain measurement
platform, clients report significant increases in key business metrics
Insights

ATTENTION
CONNECTION

Consumer

How to engage/persuade specific targets?

ChannelOptimize content by screen, placement,format

Content

Optimize messaging to breakthrough and connect

ENCODING

Connection

Brain-led innovation in product,messaging, media

ImpactDouble-digit % upliftacross all key brandmetrics for top
Canadian bank

Double-digit %consumption gains
for market-leading
rum brand

66% increase inmonthly donations
for Torontocharity

Double-digit %increases in trial
for new consumer
care product29

About Pressboard
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platform for buying sponsoredcontent. Brands use ourmarketplace to get theircontent published by top media
properties.

Whether you’re interested in working with the mostpopular business, technology or lifestyle sites in the world,
you’ll easily find top media properties to partner with in thePressboard Marketplace.

Once selected, simply upload yourbrand’s content and your publishingpartner will get it ready for their site.
They can also help suggest the best ways
to showcase your brand to theiraudience, whether it's through anarticle, video or infographic.

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Once approved, your brand’s content goes live
for the world to enjoy! All content lives on yourcontent partner's website and is shared throughsocial media, e-newsletters and native ads.
Pressboard's platform tracks the number ofpeople viewing your stories and measures theirlevel of interest and engagement, allowing you
to optimize your sponsored content programs inreal-time.

Ready to tell your brand’s story?
info@pressboardmedia.com | pressboardmedia.com

Pressboard@pressboard

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Crush the Benchmarks

Data and insights from over 1,300 pieces ofcustom branded content created bypremium advertisers and publishers inNorth America.
http://get.pressboardmedia.com/brandedcontent-benchmarks-2017

Free Download:2017 Branded
Content
Benchmarks
Report28