Branded movies are videos produced by companies for branding purposes.
Corporate videos come in many forms, such as commercials, promotional videos (PV) and, in recent years, YouTube videos, with short videos being particularly popular for commercials and YouTube videos. With the rapid and dramatic increase in information content, the general idea is that if it is not short, it will not be seen.
On the other hand, promotional videos made by companies can fully explain brand, product and service appeals, but PV tends to be long to begin with and has many disadvantages, such as the fact that it cannot be watched and that it requires high advertising costs to get people to watch it.
Therefore, short videos, as typified by commercials and YouTube videos, could only convey the product/service description only at the top, in order to pack in too much information or prioritise sales.
So how should the underlying information of the product or service = the brand be communicated?
One answer to this question is a branded film.

The key to a successful branded film is ‘content that moves the audience’. If they want to watch it and find it interesting, they will at least watch it, no matter how long the video is or how much advertising budget they have.

By producing a branded movie, companies can benefit from

Through branded movies, companies can create positive awareness of their company’s existence. ‘Recognition’ is the first touch of customer contact for a company.
Increasing company awareness leads to proportionally more sales.

A positive image of a company, rather than a specific product, is a major business advantage. The more fans who feel that the company’s products are safe and that they want to actively use the company’s services, the more sales can be expected in the long term. As a company’s fan base grows, it can also expect to expand its customer base through word of mouth.

Branded movies have the opportunity to spread through social networks.
In recent years, branded movies have been nominated for international film festivals. Branded movies have the potential to generate unexpected cost-effectiveness.

Branded movies can also help increase employee loyalty. Once your branded film is complete, actively roll it out throughout the company. The more motivated your employees are, the more productive they will be.

The company is a housebuilder based in Chiba Prefecture. We were commissioned to produce a TV commercial, and we proposed producing a branded film alongside the TV commercial, which they readily agreed to, and this project was launched. 
After a series of interviews with the client, we decided to produce a branded film on the theme of tiled houses, as they wanted to respect ‘house building with tiles as the main feature’. Even though it was a branded film, the production staff employed film staff and the lead role was played by renowned actor Eiji Okuda. The branded film was positioned as a short film. 
For the commercials, production costs were kept down by utilising this film material. The TV commercial was designed to attract viewers to the film and promote the product, and to attract them to the CLEVERLY HOME website to first gain recognition. In addition, by offering free film viewing on the website, the film promotes the ‘house-building philosophy’ that CLEVERLY HOME wants to convey, and fosters a positive impression of the company. 

This project is not about a specific organisation or company, but a branded film that aims to appeal to the brand of not only the region but also Japan. The project started when our producer visited the city of Unnan in Shimane and came into contact with the ancient iron-making tradition of Tatara ironmaking. The idea was that the environmentally friendly approach to iron production in tatara iron making could provide a major clue to solving environmental problems.
After conducting a series of interviews with local people, we decided to produce a branded film respecting iron-making. Even though this film is also a branded film, the production staff employed film staff. Foreign actors were used for the main roles and famous bi-player Susumu Terashima was cast as the iron-making craftsman. This branded movie was also positioned as a short film.

By making it a story about ‘tatara iron-making’ as seen from a foreigner’s point of view, we have created a structure that can be sympathised with overseas as well. The film is currently being shown at film festivals abroad as a mechanism to get more people around the world to watch it.

We believe that if Tatara Steel becomes well-known, it will not only attract inbound tourism, but will also help the branding of Shimane Prefecture and Unnan City, as well as the organisations and companies that support Tatara Steel.

Now that you know more about branded movies, why not take a look at our branded movies? Strategic Partners is a company with strengths in video marketing. As well as video production planning, sinasio/storyboarding, filming and editing, we also provide tools for centrally managing videos distributed on social networking sites and tools for measuring the effectiveness of videos. We also have examples of branded movie production. If your company is considering producing a branded movie, please feel free to contact us.