• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, August 25, 2011

According to a new survey from the ANA (Association of National Advertisers), nearly 63% of client-side marketers plan to participate in branded entertainment projects in 2012, making branded entertainment a common marketing strategy for many companies.

Branded entertainment (also referred to as product integration or branded content) integrates a brand with an entertainment property (i.e., TV program, movie, video game, music and more), usually for a fee, to create an association between the brand and property. (Bill Dugan)

Branded entertainment is a fully integrated means of linking a product within an entertainment source.  The top three reasons why marketers are finding it beneficial are:

·      The ability to make a stronger emotional connection with the consumer (78%)

·      The ability to align their brand with relevant content (75%)

·      The ability to build brand affinity with a desired target group or demographic (73%)

The most popular forms of branded entertainment being used, says the report, include commercial TV, the Internet, and sporting events / venues.  Among these:

·      The number of client-side marketers involved with Internet films has doubled since 2006 (from 15% to 31%)

·      Companies involved in other Internet branded entertainment projects jumped from 28% to 55% over the same time period  

·      The use of commercial TV is trending downward, having decreased in popularity by 10% since 2006, the last time this survey was fielded  

·      Branded entertainment projects at sporting events / venues grew by 20% in the same five years

Almost two thirds of client-side marketers indicated that they are not satisfied with the quality of research available to measure the effectiveness branded entertainment in both 2006 and 2011.  Though 83% of today's marketers' companies are measuring the impact of their branded entertainment integrations, 63% find it challenging to do so.  While firms are spending more on branded entertainment, dissatisfaction with research remains high. For those companies not engaged in branded entertainment, the lack of measurable results ranks just behind cost as the reason for not getting involved.

The report says that respondents from companies that do not engage in branded entertainment cited reasons for not getting involved, including:

·      Cost (43%)

·      Lack of measureable results (37%)

·      Brand does not lend itself to meaningful integration (34%)

·      Lack of internal resources (31%)

Bob Liodice, president and CEO, ANA, concludes that "... branded entertainment... is an effective means to build deeper bonds with consumers... but the ROI of these projects needs to be made evident... it is up to internal researchers, media providers and agencies to better measure... "