• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, March 7, 2005

Branded entertainment's young legacy, as a still growing marketing tool, has never really been about increased sales results, millions of Internet hits, or loud product buzz. The one thing it has been about, is ownership.

Now Mark Burnett Productions, the major proponent of branded entertainment, is suing the young upstart branded entertainment agency Madison Road Entertainment. Burnett claims Madison Road has been selling something it shouldn't - as well as acting as the exclusive representative of some of Mark Burnett's shows, such as "The Apprentice," a show Madison Road worked deals for marketers such as Procter & Gamble and Levi Strauss & Co.

Who has the right to sell branded entertainment in "The Apprentice"? Would that be Mark Burnett? Not exactly. Listening to NBC's senior sales executive Marianne Gambelli at the recent Madison & Vine conference in Los Angeles, she implored marketers to work deals with NBC for branded entertainment. You see, NBC wants advertisers to buy not only branded entertainment, but also its lucrative TV commercial time.

Confusion exists in this new field, and Irwin Gotlieb, chairman of WPP Group's Group M issued just this warning at the same conference. Not only do some companies not have the right to sell branded product integration in a TV program, he said, some don't even know it.

Many branded entertainment agencies play both sides of the fence, claiming to represent both TV producer and marketer, both buyer and seller. But it always causes trouble. An agency can represent a marketer, and secondly a TV producer. Worse still, an agency could deal with your competitor as the next in line.

NBC's arrangement with Mark Burnett adds to the confusion. NBC sells some, and so does Burnett. As the creator of many reality hits, he has the leverage to demand not only full control of branded entertainment activities, but in some cases, such as in "The Contender," a piece of the advertising time.

And the confusion doesn't end there. Companies selling branded entertainment can include a marketer's many agencies: advertising, media, product placement, creative, and new-fangled branded entertainment agencies. And let's not forget other sellers -- TV network advertising sales divisions, TV production studios, and the TV producers.

In other news, the barista at my local Starbucks says he's doing deals for "Amazing Race 12."

Fuzzy marketing boundaries can only mean one thing: If business keeps running this way - with everyone wedging themselves into every deal -- it'll always be business run by apprentices.

Correction: In the TV Watch column, "Marketing in Indy Car Racing: Hebrew Readers" (TV Watch, March 3), an incorrect reference was made in the split-screen advertising/racing coverage. Race action will continue silently on the left of the screen, while the commercial will run with full sound and video on the right.