• by Erik Sass , December 3, 2007

Parade is moving into branded entertainment with the appointment of Debra J. Menin as vice president for that discipline. Menin's appointment, announced this past Friday, promises more product integration and sponsored content opportunities in the nation's largest newspaper-insert magazine.

Previously Parade's vice president and national entertainment director, Menin joined the publication in 2003 as an 18-year advertising veteran of daily and weekly Variety, Premiere and Rolling Stone. Most recently, before joining Parade, she worked at Viacom/MTV Networks, focusing on VH1 and CMT.

Few details were available on what shape branded entertainment will take in the pub, but common tactics included paid "advertorials," or purchased editorial space touting a product. More subtle tactics include paid integration of products into the publication's original content where appropriate.

Currently, branded entertainment is still dominated almost entirely by paid integration of products and brands in television, film and radio, with print media a distant fourth. However, marketers and publishers have shown increasing interest in bringing the practice to print--especially newspapers, where it could help turn around long-term revenue declines. As with television and film, branded entertainment is viewed skeptically by many editors, who fear the practice will undermine the perceived integrity of their editorial product.

A 2006 study of television ad spending by the Association of National Advertisers found that 35% of marketers were using branded entertainment--up from 18% the previous year.