LONDON — So far, The Guardian division that produces branded content for marketers has published that content only on The Guardian’s own properties. But that could change soon, MD Anna Watkins tells Beet.TV in this video interview.
“At the moment, we are looking to confirm one of our first global deals, which will mean Guardian Labs content created in London can be distributed across all of the media that are part and parcel of the Pangea Alliance,” she says.
That alliance is the Rubicon-powered programmatic system, announced in March, in to which The Guardian, CNN International, the Financial Times, Reuters and The Economist are putting their ad inventory. Whilst Pangea is designed for display ads, Watkins comments suggest she may try to scale branded content programmatically, too.
“It really does depend on the objectives of the campaign, whether we look to distribute that content off Guardian platforms,” Watkins adds. But, even if Guardian-produced branded content doesn’t end up published on Pangea partners like the FT, it may appear elsewhere: “One of the areas we’re going to move in to is white-label content production where we are creating content that solely sits on our clients’ owned channels.”
Having undertaken drinks brand Diageo’s first real-time content marketing campaign for Bailey’s in December, The Guardian will soon begin bringing real-time content to other Diageo brands, likely including Guinness, Watkins says.
At the upcoming Cannes Lions festival, she expects a refocus on the show’s awards track, demonstrating a fusion of technology and creativity.
We interviewed Watkins in London as part of the series the Road to Cannes, our lead-up to the Cannes Lions Festival presented by Coull. Please visit this page for additional segments.