What is a branded series? A guide to vertical series for brands

Branded series vs. commercial

A commercial is one idea, one message: it says something in 15–60 seconds and ends. A branded series builds a story and carries the audience from episode to episode. The product is the place where a scene happens, an object a character uses, or the theme of the story. It is not a message that interrupts.

They are not alternatives to each other. A commercial for a launch, a series for a lasting bond; many brands use both.

Why vertical, why short episodes?

Part of series viewing has moved to the phone. Micro-dramas told in vertical episodes of around a minute have become an industry of their own through apps like ReelShort and DramaBox, and the same language works in Reels, TikTok and Shorts feeds.

The format has three rules:

1. The first second is a hook. A moment that holds the viewer before they scroll on.
2. Every episode ends on a question. The cliffhanger calls for the next one.
3. One frame, one clear face. On a vertical screen, close-ups and clear emotion work; crowded scenes don’t.

How does the product enter the story?

There are three ways; a good series often uses two at once.

• As a place. The story happens in your hotel, your shop or your development. For a hotel, for example: a couple who return to the same table every year, told across the years.
• As an object. The product has a natural place in the character’s life: their car, their perfume, their morning coffee.
• As a value. The brand’s promise is the story’s theme: trust, courage, a new beginning. The product is barely on screen, but the story tells the brand.

The one thing to avoid is turning the series into an ad spot, episode by episode. Viewers notice in the first episode and leave.

How is a season planned?

Cinela’s starting package for a branded series (excl. VAT):

The plan comes together in this order:

1. Brief and goal. For whom, on which platform, with what feeling?
2. World and characters. The main characters and where the story happens; the brand’s place in the story is decided here.
3. Season outline. One-sentence summaries of the five episodes and how each one ends.
4. Episode-by-episode production. Each episode’s script, frames and edit are approved separately.
5. Publishing plan. Spacing between episodes, cover frames, subtitles.

The most critical issue in AI series production is character consistency: the same face has to stay the same in every episode. If you want to work with your own actor, a photo or a video is enough; you must hold the usage rights.

From our own productions

Before we propose a series to a brand, we test the same format with our own stories. The Works section on the home page shows the first-episode shot lists of two of our series: one thriller, one drama.

The first episode of our drama takes place at a rainy funeral: Grace holding a folder, her look straight into the lens, and a sealed letter. Three frames are enough to set up the question that makes you watch the next episode.

What to measure

A series is measured differently from a single ad. Look beyond view counts:

• Completion rate: the share of viewers who watch an episode to the end.
• Episode-to-episode carry-over: how many people who watched episode one moved on to episode two?
• Saves and shares: a sign that the story is being talked about.
• Profile visits and follows: how much traffic the series brings to the brand.

What to watch out for with AI series

• Labelling: every episode should state clearly that it was made with AI.
• Rights: faces, voices and brand assets should be used with permission, and full usage rights to the final episodes should pass to you.
• No deception: AI-made content should never be passed off as real.
• Data: briefs and materials should never be used to train models, and should be deleted when the project ends.

These are Cinela’s standard promises. If you’re not sure whether a film or a series is right for your brand, we decide together based on your goal.