Q&A: Krystal Bowden, Director of BBC StoryWorks
This week, The Idea caught up with Krystal Bowden to learn more about BBC’s custom content studio. Subscribe here to our newsletter on the business of media for more interviews and weekly news and analysis.
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your role at BBC StoryWorks?
I am currently the director of BBC StoryWorks, which is the creative custom content studio within BBC Global News.
We help brands bring their stories to life and view ourselves as a revenue-generating arm of the business that allows BBC journalists to continue making high-quality content. We’re interested in striking that balance between what an advertiser wants while also providing value to our global audiences.
I head up the division of the content studio that covers all of our partner projects in North and South America. Most of my team is based in New York. We are a group of content strategists, project managers, editors, and designers. We work with partners looking to tell brand new stories to BBC digital audiences. We also work very closely with the BBC editorial team to determine if there are large-scale editorial initiatives that might make a good fit for a sponsorship program.
Additionally, since the BBC is a global media brand, our content studio is also global. We have counterparts that are based in London that work with partners across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, counterparts in Singapore that are covering all of the Asia Pacific, and another studio based in Sydney that covers all of our Australian and New Zealand market. We all work really closely together, which I think is one of the cool things about BBC’s content studio — we’re really global in nature.
We also approach storytelling with a global mindset, which means that we have the ability to reach small, local markets and launch large, global campaigns.
What recent initiatives has your team been working on?
Recently, we’ve been focused on thinking about measurement with regards to custom storytelling. Determining the ROI on content programming has always been very challenging. In response to this, BBC StoryWorks has done a series of custom research studies that delve into the efficacy of content marketing.
Our first custom study on content marketing was called “The Science of Engagement.” We brought in BBC audience members and exposed them to content that BBC StoryWorks created in partnership with a brand. We then used facial coding technology to record muscle movement in audience members’ faces while they’re watching the content.
This got past all of the filtered responses that people give in research studies. To an extent, respondents sometimes tell researchers what they think they want to hear. This facial coding technology really allowed us to get past all of that. We really wanted to understand how people felt and reacted as they engaged with our content.
We were able to draw a couple of really interesting correlations on the effectiveness of our storytelling and were able to pass along these takeaways to our partners. One of these takeaways was that it was more about the velocity of the emotion felt as opposed to whether it was a positive or negative emotion. Sad emotions, for example, were tied to more feelings of empathy which allowed audience members to form deeper emotional connections not only with the story but also with the brand as a result.
One of the videos we had research respondents watch was a video series we had done about two young girls launching a recycling initiative in their hometown. People reacted very negatively to images of trash on the beach out of a feeling of concern and feeling connected to the problem. So, when they came across the girls’ solution, that image and story really stuck in their mind and sparked a strong connection between the audience and company.
This was our first foray into measuring people’s reactions to content and and it was really interesting to find less obvious ways of measuring effectiveness.
The following year, we did another study titled “The Science of Memory.” We took all of the data from the facial coding technology and partnered with a neuroscience company to brain map how people responded to content. We were trying to figure out tell stories in a way that maximizes the ability to create a memorable impression on the consumer. Essentially, will they remember that they consumed and are they going to remember the brand afterwards?
These are the type of findings I tend to geek out over because it means that we’re not making our storytelling and creative decisions in a vacuum. We have numbers to inform our creative strategy which ultimately allows us to have more productive conversations with partners.
The latest study we’ve done called “Audio Activated” is in response to the rise of audio.
What were some of the most surprising takeaways that you came across in these studies?
Two main takeaways stood out to me.
One is the fact that brands should think more boldly when it comes to visual storytelling. They shouldn’t be afraid of dealing with serious emotions. Brands often think that the only way to connect with a consumer is to make them happy. The reality is that sometimes it is just as effective to tell stories that evoke strong feelings of empathy or concern — consumers understand the urgency of certain issues.
On the audio front, one of the cool takeaways we found is that since most people are listening to podcasts while engaging in a secondary activity like doing laundry or walking their dog, their barriers as a listener are lowered. This is interesting because when you’re scrolling through content online you immediately shut down upon coming across an ad. But, this isn’t the case when you’re listening to podcasts. If anything, you’re more receptive and open to brand messages, especially when they’re delivered in an organic way.
How do you differentiate between content marketing and advertising?
I think they’re highly complementary. I think content marketing, as opposed to an ad, is a deeper way of reaching people and forging stronger connections. It clicks more naturally for audiences.
What is the most interesting thing you’ve seen in media recently from an organization that’s not your own?
I find the rise of AI and what that can mean for storytelling, journalism, and the personalization of content to be so fascinating. On the one hand, news organizations are tasked with responding to consumer needs and serving them content that feels most relevant. On the other hand, these organizations also have a responsibility to tell audiences what they think they need to know. I’m really curious to see how AI technologies can help media companies strike that balance.
This Q&A was originally published in the November 25th edition of The Idea, and has been edited for length and clarity. For more Q&As with media movers and shakers, subscribe to The Idea, Atlantic Media’s weekly newsletter covering the latest trends and innovations in media.
