• AdAge, Monday, December 14, 2009 11 AM

While there are more than enough unique branding moments for American Airlines and Hilton Hotels to make their participation in "Up in the Air" worth millions in media dollars, not a penny was exchanged to secure either placement, writes Andrew Hampp. Instead, the companies provided locations and branding that helped defray what would have otherwise been incrementally massive production costs for Paramount and director Jason Reitman to shoot the film's many scenes in airports and hotels.

"If we were to go and rent an airplane for a movie, it would be very expensive. But if you can get somebody to loan you one as opposed to the production having to buy or rent it out of their pocket because they'd like their product seen in the film, it's a fair trade for that exposure," said LeeAnne Stables, Paramount's exec VP-worldwide marketing partnerships.

And as media fragmentation forces marketers to rely less and less on traditional channels such as 30-second spots that can easily be zapped or skipped using DVRs, brands such as American and Hilton are turning to entertainment properties to reach consumers who might not otherwise get the message.

Read the whole story at AdAge »