ABSTRACT
With advertising’s move toward engaged time rather than clicks, companies have now sought longer immersive advertising content with the feel of an involving journalistic documentary video. The rise of content marketing directly caters to internet users’ demand for free content. Content marketers have thus invested in developing textured pieces ideal for immersive mobile phone and tablet viewing. Branded content now circulates through social media as sharable markers of prestige. Henry Jenkins’ framework on spreadable media informs the cross-platform marketing function of branded documentary videos that include Inside: Chipotle, Salomon’s On the Road, and ESPN/Disney’s The Evolution of the Lightsaber Duel.
