• by Wayne Friedman , March 1, 2007

LAS VEGAS--It's no longer only about the brands and entertainment--it's much bigger than that. So the American Association of Advertising Agencies committee on "branded entertainment" will now be known as the committee on entertainment marketing.

But what remains are many of the same issues--the price entry, how to measure entertainment-marketing campaigns and what is the return on investment. These were some of the issues discussed here during a panel session of the 4As Media Conference and Trade Show called "Entertainment Marketing: It's Not Just for High Rollers Anymore."

Brian Terkelson, who is executive vice president and managing director of connectissue, an entertainment-marketing division of MediaVest USA, said the initial meetings of the committee were like a bad mating dance.

"We had meeting after meeting after meeting in the first year. We were like dogs sniffing each other's fire hydrants." Terkelson said that's because few executives wanted to share many secrets.

Eventually, the group got down to forming definitions and parameters, which resulted in this: 1) Have goals. 2) Do tune in. 2) Know what you are measuring.

"The reason you want to emphasize goals is so you know what to measure," said Frances Page, principal of strategy and business affairs of Magna Global.

Terkelson says it doesn't have to be big, pricey deals, like with NBC's "The Apprentice," but that smarter money could be placed on a long-term online strategic partnership that could pay dividends to clients over several months or a year.

Terkelson talked about one recent smaller entertainment-marketing effort by International Truck & Engine's new CMX truck on CMT cable network's show "Trick My Truck: Ultimate Tailgating Edition." The company donated an $80,000 truck to be made over during an entire episode of the show.

A part of this effort was an online contest, which 3.5 million unique visitors visited, and a live festival, attended by an estimated 100,000 people. This equated International Truck getting three times its initial $80,000 investment.

Magna Global's Page said entertainment marketing shouldn't just be learned from national success stories, but locally as well. "Home and Backyard"--a home-improvement show, airing on WNEP-TV in Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.--used products submitted through the ad sales department.

While that exposure would have been enough for some marketers, a local nursery offered up additional marketing support for the show, which helped tout the nursery owner as an expert. WNEP also did a podcast to extend the brand message.