• by Wayne Friedman , February 13, 2008

Even against a slowing economy, branded entertainment is expected to maintain a healthy growth rate in the coming years. Stamford, CT-based researcher PQ Media says product integration/product placement entertainment deals will grow at nearly 14% to $25.41 billion in 2008.

Over the next five years, branded entertainment marketing will continue to grow at a double-digit pace, averaging 12.8% and exceeding $40 million by 2012.

Reality TV programming will remain one of the major growth areas, climbing nearly 25% to $3.5 billion this year. The survey also expects to see a 46% improvement this year in branded entertainment linked to Web-based video content, including full-length TV shows, as networks ramp up big marketing efforts online.

PQ Media said branded entertainment in 2007 climbed nearly 15% to $22.3 billion, its best numbers to date. Event sponsorship, the largest segment of branded entertainment, rose 12.2% to $19.18 billion in 2007.

Although they represent the smallest branded entertainment segment, deals for gaming and Webisodes increased 34.8% to $217 million in 2007 as marketers spent more to get younger entertainment consumers. PQ Media also noted that paid product placement grew 33.7% to $2.90 billion in 2007.

The research concluded the branded-entertainment business has virtually doubled in size over the last five years, as marketers shifted money to branded entertainment deals from traditional media platforms. Now, marketers spend eight cents of every marketing dollar on branded entertainment.