Branded content has emerged as a primary medium of online marketing. Films, television shows, video games and websites are a significant part of human culture and branded content tie-ins resonate with the audience. In fact, over 95% of the time, websites that feature branded content were more successful than websites featuring traditional advertisements, and are 24% more effective at increasing purchase intent.

The rise of social networks Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have opened the doors to reach billions of consumers in real-time and at any location. Branded content in social media is so powerful that brands are no longer asking, "should we be doing it?" But rather, "how do we do it best?" In social media consumers are most likely to engage with branded content that contains pictures (44%), status updates (40%) and videos (37%).

The most successful branded content programs are able to blend the advertising message in a seamless and transparent fashion, literally making it a part of the storytelling, while still getting the information across to the consumer.

In the United States there are no restrictions or regulations for online branded entertainment.

We crafted our distribution from the inside out to ensure reach and engagement. Our subjects were chosen not only for their life stories but for their social graphs and partnerships as well. In this way we knew we were delivering content to an audience predisposed to enjoy and share our stories. In addition to this baked in distribution, our partnership team went grassroots, reaching out to publications relevant to our subjects’ lifestyle communities where the content would be a good fit. In addition to this earned media outreach we incorporated advertorial content with Buzzfeed and Stumble Upon along with paid placements on YouTube.

While live, the campaign surpassed the video view goal of 2m with 2,445,491 views. The videos were teased and promoted on T-Mobile’s owned social and digital channels, achieving over 27m in social reach and 105,109 social engagements. Once released, each video was seeded across topically relevant blogs and sites, such as All Things D for Chris Pirillo and ESPN for Jamie Sterling. Custom, culturally astute articles on BuzzFeed such as “21 Parents That Are Doing It Right” for Andy Blackman Hurwitz’s video drove sharing and additional earned reach (2.4x viral lift off of paid investment).

Instagram influencers generated awareness of the content and spread the #LifeWithoutLimits hashtag. Over 1,500 images were submitted through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These photos received 370,527 engagements on Instagram.

Across the board sentiment was extremely positive, with fans emotionally moved by the vignettes calling them “inspiring” and “beautiful.” Additionally, the video planted the seeds of consideration among some viewers: “made me want to switch from Sprint to T-Mobile lol.”

All in all, the branded content produced in Life Without Limits opened the door for T-Mobile to play in the lifestyle space and demonstrated that the value of a network isn’t about what it does for you but what you do with it.