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Branded Content offers unique benefits for advertisers- delivering stronger engagement and deeper emotional connections through powerful storytelling. which should mean it is a highly valuable revenue stream for publishers. However, despite its high value, it represents a very low percentage of the $1tn of global client spend. What’s stopping it from reaching its full potential?
According to Luke Spano, CEO and founder of Avid Collective, several major barriers are preventing the branded content category from scaling. Speaking ahead of his session at Branded Content Days 2025 in New York, Spano shares his insights on the key challenges publishers and advertisers face—and, more importantly, how they can be overcome.
Avid Collective is on a mission to build "the global home of Branded Content," creating a tech ecosystem that makes branded content collaborations between publishers and advertisers more accessible, scalable and impactful.
Expanding from its roots in Australia to the UK and soon the US, Spano and his team are tackling the biggest obstacles preventing branded content from reaching its full potential.
The five major barriers to Branded Content growth
"When we look at the barriers, they exist at every stage of the branded content lifecycle," Spano explains. "From the sales process to campaign execution and measurement, there are fundamental hurdles that need to be addressed."
Spano outlines five major barriers that are limiting the adoption and growth of branded content:
1. Fragmented market and lack of standardization
"The first challenge is awareness, caused by a lack of easy discovery and ongoing salience," Spano says. "Advertisers struggle to navigate the fragmented branded content and publishing landscape. Publishers use different terminologies for similar products, and there’s no central marketplace to compare options. This leads to confusion and a slow and inefficient sales process - ultimately making the channel harder to invest in."
2. Complexity in proposing and buying Branded Content
Even when advertisers are aware of the opportunities, purchasing Branded Content remains a challenge. Unlike display ads, branded content is highly bespoke, highly visual and requires a lot of back-and-forth collaboration. Spano explains. "There’s no standardised process, which makes it difficult for advertisers to buy, and harder for publishers to sell."
3. Inefficient campaign execution
Execution is another bottleneck. "Branded Content campaigns are often managed through endless email chains, meetings, and old-school project management tools," Spano notes. These manual processes create slow turn-around times, and inefficiencies that frustrate both publishers and advertisers "Compare that to the seamless automation of programmatic ad buying—it's clear why advertisers sometimes shy away. We need better digital tools to manage the process efficiently."
4. Limited scale and distribution
Even when compelling Branded Content is created, its reach can be limited. "A lot of publishers pour resources into high-quality storytelling but don’t focus enough on delivering scale," Spano points out. "Without proper distribution strategies, branded content can fail to achieve meaningful impact and be seen as a high effort, low-volume investment - making it harder to justify ad spend.
5. Lack of strong measurement and ROI validation
Finally, proving the impact of Branded Content remains an issue. "Reporting and Measurement is slow, inconsistent, and doesn’t always showcase the full value of a campaign," says Spano. "If advertisers don’t have clear ROI data, or any actionable insights they’re less likely to invest in branded content at scale."
Accessibility is the key to unlocking growth
For Spano, the solution lies in accessibility.
"It’s not a sexy word, but accessibility is at the heart of overcoming these challenges," he states. "How easy is it to buy? How easy is it to collaborate? How easy is it to measure success? The more accessible we make branded content, the more advertisers will invest in it."
He argues that publishers need to modernize their sales and execution processes, adopting digital tools that allow advertisers to engage with branded content in a more intuitive way.
"Right now, branded content lacks the seamless buying experience that platforms like Google and Facebook offer. We need to change that."
Branded Content could be sidelined
The consequences of failing to address these challenges are significant.
"If publishers don’t make branded content easier to buy and scale, advertisers will continue to default to programmatic ads and commoditized media placements," warns Spano. "With AI and automation advancing rapidly, the industry could shift further toward low-effort, high-scale digital billboards, leaving branded content sidelined."
But Spano remains optimistic.
"Branded content has a unique advantage—it’s one of the few advertising formats that genuinely adds value for both audiences and brands. If we can remove the barriers and make it easier to access, it can thrive as a major part of the advertising mix."
At Branded Content Days in New York, Spano will take a deep dive into these five barriers, offering practical strategies and solutions for publishers and advertisers alike.
"My goal is to inspire action and give attendees concrete solutions they can start implementing immediately," he says.
With thought leaders like Luke Spano driving the conversation, Branded Content Days 2025 promises to be a must-attend event for anyone serious about the future of branded content and the growth of the industry.
Want to hear more? Join Luke Spano at Branded Content Days 2025 in New York City.
