Commentary

Branded Entertainment Deals Seek Proactive Metrics

The cancellation of the product-placement-fueled action series "My Own Worst Enemy" should trigger broadcasters and advertisers to seek additional metrics and options for "make goods" on product placement. Brand managers are mandated: Only what gets measured, gets bought! It's as simple as that.

There should be no exception for branded entertainment deals. Given these economic times, we need to cut the luxury fat of having metrics just as a passive aggregate of information. Advertisers need metrics to help them proactively do better business on future deals.

The "Enemy" partnership was well thought out--having started at NBC's "infront" for advertisers last spring. Ben Silverman is guiding his network toward branded entertainment on all of its programming, which is, given the industry climate, the way to go.

Nielsen revealed that the combination of product placement and commercials increase brand awareness by 20%. Advertisers are working with broadcasters to strategically package and maximize their branded entertainment opportunities.

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Some current and upcoming shows that have product placement include TNT's "Leverage," which will be presented by Hyundai Genesis on Dec. 7, and Bravo's "Inside the Actor's Studio," which recently debuted its 15th season with Infiniti as its exclusive sponsor.

In addition, MTV recently teamed up with IT Company Hewlett-Packard to create the reality series titled "Engine Room," while Nickelodeon followed that trend by signing a deal over the summer with AT&T to put branded entertainment on the hit show "iCarly." Similarly, Dodge has sponsored episodes of Fox's "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," while Bravo mainstay "Top Chef "kicked off its new season Nov. 12 with various sponsors, including Toyota, Clorox and Quaker.

As for NBC, in addition to "Enemy," the network has ordered a full season of "Knight Rider," a show whose star is a talking Ford Mustang. The network will also launch a highly anticipated mid-season drama with Ian McShane called "Kings." That show will boast Liberty Mutual as a key sponsor.

The trend is growing on the Web as well, with CBS Interactive set to launch "Novel Adventures" with Saturn as a sponsor. ConAgra is partnering with MSN on a new branded online sketch comedy series called "The Working Lunch." Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers brand will be featured in the series. Furthermore, TNT has a new micro-series titled "RPM," which has the automaker's Lincoln MKS as a key component of the show.

Marketers are moving forward with branded-entertainment opportunities; proactive accountability and limited risk is the driving force to closing these deals.

2 comments about "Branded Entertainment Deals Seek Proactive Metrics ".
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  1. Kay Kenyon from Global Revenue Resources, LLC, November 28, 2008 at 1:30 p.m.

    Uh huh. Really, you should hang out your shingle as a comedian, your comentary was so amusing. W

    How can you not take into account that the pathetic "Enemy" show just killed, was a total piece of crap, from the concept to the execution, thereof? The bozos behind this show should be stood up in front of a brick wall in front of a firing squad and shot Take no prisoners!

    All the shows being axed this season are also crap.
    Most of what is on broadcast TV is crap.

    Crap, crap, crap!

    Another glaring hole in your idiotic branding strategy theory, is that all abvertisers care about is having some eyeballs watching quota to measure pricing against. Are you crazy or just stupid?

    This is certainly NOT what I have been hearing from l the many corporate heads I have been speaking with, recently, about my own personal vision, for the "UN-Commercial" as opposed to the UN-Viewed commercials advertisers used to pay dearly for that nobody watches, or fast-forwards or talks over or through, because nobody cares, because they know it is all B.S.

    What these big wheels have been telling me, is, they are concerned about the lack of quality of content, foremost, and lack of ROI, second, because they are paying the freight, literally, for the cost of developing and producing these shows, with their sponsorship and they are sick of the crap that is out there, too.

    Crap, crap, crap!

    Broadcast and cable TV media so-called "pros" really need to stop deluding themselves, and take a long hard look at their skewed and outdated metric system, and make adjustments accordingly, not wail about the way things used to be---when ad revenue was something you could count on, because the fact is, that always been bogus business model is D-E-A-D, and unless The Crap Factor is addressed, all the long suffering Sugar Daddy sponsors are going to pick up all their marbles and go play somewhere else, entirely, and TV will become nothing but 24/7 infomercials.It is already on its way there!

    And that is straight from the horses' mouths.

    So, put that in your pipe with whatever else you've been inhaling and smoke it.

  2. Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, November 28, 2008 at 6:20 p.m.

    Dear Mr. Crap,

    You should learn how to write a complete sentence before you criticize.

    Dear John,

    Just because there is a product placement, does not mean people notice it. Example - a car placement is usually the most ignored. There are too many cars that look alike, sound alike and move from here to there alike. Of course, there's that lovely tongue in cheek model that is used in Psyche. A bottle of "brand" ketchup on a table with other products is just a bottle of ketchup. Next time you need ketchup, you'll buy what's on sale. Meanwhile, look how many jobs have been created talking about "nothing".

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