History and Purpose
Branded entertainment started with the advent of television in the 1950s, and many programs were sponsored and tied to one specific sponsor, like the early "soap operas". As advertisers began to shift to thirty second commercials, the practice began to fade until the late 1990s. However, branded entertainment, today is still the third most common advertising technique, it has become the way for advertisers to let their messages come across in a "not so commercial" way, e.g. product placement or Advertiser funded programming.
According to The Television Will Be Revolutionized by Amanda D. Lotz, branded entertainment marks a fundamental shift from intrusive advertisement pushed at audiences who are engaged in other content to advertising of such merit or interest that the audience actively seeks it out. Given that branded entertainment involves very different viewer behavior and perception of content than thirty-second magazine format advertising, the genre may well require a wholly different understanding of the psychological processes involved, as well as new terms for assessing market effectiveness. As far as advertisers are concerned, branded entertainment also requires a massive shift in where they commit their money. Advertising Ages Scott Donaton explains that in traditional advertising, the advertiser allocates 90% of the budget to distribution-or buying time or space-and 10 percent to content production.
Although branded entertainment had a slight decrease in 2009, PQ Media predicts a steady increase in 2010 and beyond. The recent increase in branded entertainment is one of the consequences of the fragmentation of media and the decline in the power of the traditional 30-second TV spot. Branded Entertainment changes the focus for advertisers in regards to where they allocate their funds; by incorporate the majority of funds (nearly 90%) toward distribution and the remainder towards content production. This marks a major shift in the way advertisers communicate to audiences, from intrusive advertising to having audiences actively seek out the information.
Traditional forms of advertising have become less and less effective in reaching consumers fragmented over hundreds of channels and with the introduction of new methods of delivering programming, such as internet streaming and digital video recording devices such as TiVo. Advertisers are going back to the branded entertainment methods of the early television industry to increase the exposure their advertising gets and to create stronger ties between the program and their product.
Branded Entertainment is not simply product advertising or product placement - branded entertainment is a piece of entertainment that perfectly aligns with the brand attributes, and is a reflection of the advertiser's brand personality. A piece of branded entertainment for Jack Daniels, for example, doesn't need to feature a bottle of Jack Daniels it merely has to fit within the entertainment preferences of its audience, to stick the experience of the entertainment to the brand, then it could be distributed on the Jack Daniels site - making it branded entertainment.
On a larger scale, the movie industry have embraced this new medium wholeheartedly, most recently with movies such as "Transformers". This has proven to be very well thought out effective Brand Integration. There are many people who say they are experts in branded content and while the Americas in particular are highly developed in this the UK and Europe lag behind - companies in the UK are often able to provide part of the solution but not all - in order to create effective Branded Entertainment a company must offer all the attributes of marketing agency and program maker - there are very few companies that offer this.
The difference between basic product placement and branded entertainment are the people behind the projects. If done incorrectly, "branded entertainment" is considered blatant product placement. But, if executed correctly, branded entertainment can be the most powerful tool in advertising. A good example of product placement is in Lady Gaga's 9.5-minute video for Telephone, which includes 10 product placements and generated more than 4 million views in its first 24 hours, as well as her video for Bad Romance, which also includes multiple placements and has been viewed over 230 million times. Producers must emphasize and understand the balance between entertainment and brand. First, obviously, the brand and the type of entertainment has to match. Entertainment ranges from podcasts to visitor centers and sometimes theme park rides. It has to designed in a way that attracts the consumer, not some giant logo in the corner of your TV while you're trying to watch a show.
Branded Entertainment is awarded annually in Los Angeles at One Show Entertainment where a panel of experts in the field select the year's most effective and innovative campaigns in events, gaming, film, music and TV.
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