Promo - February 2008 - (Page 9)

Foods for its current “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” series, which presents compelling stories about people in dire straits with homes in desperate need of repair. The sagas of reconstruction put Sears appliances in starring roles in an integration deal that Longest calls “the gold standard” for ABC. The perceived branding bonanza in “Extreme Makeover,” NBC’s “The Apprentice” and a host of other shows are making placement more enticing to advertisers. “Those kind of pro-social programs that are changing people’s lives have an effect on the brand opinion of products in those programs,” says Rachel Mueller-Lust, executive vice president of networks at IAG Research. IAG consistently sees measurable “multiplier effect” for ads run in conjunction with product placements, according to Mueller-Lust. She adds that reality continues to be TV’s “most placement-dense genre.” McCarter observes that there’s been markedly more branding demand. “What you’re seeing is fewer inconsequential placements and a focus on the deeper integration.” An integral presence on a popular series can translate into an immediate payoff for product profiles, as CocaCola and Ford have found through their connections with Fox’s “American Idol.” “Being involved in such a popular show helps to build the equity of the brand,” says Greg Downey, Coca-Cola group director of entertainment marketing. Coke also reaped benefits for its Avian brand by placing it on Bravo’s “Top Chef” series. “The platform is conducive to allowing us to talk about our product,” Downey says. “Top Chef” has been one of several Bravo reality hits that has transformed the market from a time when the cable network was trying to convince brands that buzz would follow branding. Bravo’s creativity in conceiving integrations, from competing chefs cooking on Kenmore ranges to wannabe fashionistas ferried around Manhattan in Mercedes-Benzes on “Make Me A Supermodel,” has helped tip the scales. “It’s a dramatically different discussion today than it was five years ago,” says Kevin McAuliffe, Bravo vice president of branded entertainment. “Today there literally is a branded entertainment marketplace that’s fairly pervasive in every category we’re dealing with.” Bravo is cooking up more inventive reality integrations for the current season. Next up is “Real Housewives of New York City” with a disparate cast of characters likely to yield a corresponding crop of placements. Consumers are drawn to less “canned” brand integration in reality series as their imaginations are engaged by the story lines—and extensions spawned in other media, according to Mark McIntire, VH1 senior vice president of integrated marketing. In VH1’s “America’s Most Smartest Model” series, Alberto VO5 played a personalize role through a hairdresser provided by the sponsor to help the contestants. VO5 eventually created an online ad featuring V.J., the series winner, and viewers would also see outtakes from the series online, where there were links to VO5’s site. “There was an ongoing presence of VO5 that made sense in the show, so we had this loop of communication with the audience,” says McIntire. Brands are exploring multimedia variations on the theme of integration. TNT aired a mini-drama series produced with Chase Card Services during a special presentation of the film “Castaway” that drew VO5 hairdressing viewers online to TNT.tv for the experts (styling hair) final installment. on “America’s Most Whatever the vehicle, Smartest Model.” the key is making an appropriate fit, says Linda Yaccarino, Turner Entertainment executive vice president for ad sales and marketing. “The network’s brand comes first. In terms of product integration, the overarching goal is to just make sure it makes sense for the story line.” Brands are also building their own platforms, on-air and online. CocaCola recently struck a deal to co-produce shows with on-demand network Exercise TV, integrating Enviga and other brands in shows to be aired on cable TV and segments to be screened on mycokerewards.com. Reebok produced “Framed,” a series of 30-minute athlete profiles with branding that’s been airing on the IFC. Ford recently produced “Kim and Seana,” a short-form reality series on MySpaceTV.com about two aspiring musicians. It featured Ford’s Sync wireless access technology during an extended road trip in their Ford Focus. The medium may still be the message. But in reality, branding is playing a broader role as unscripted programming proliferates at a breakneck pace. l P W For more articles on entertainment marketing go to www.promomagazine.com/entertainment Newsletter Web RSS Webinar Conference Podcast Promo / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / February 2008 9 http://TNT.tv http://mycokerewards.com http://MySpaceTV.com http://www.promomagazine.com/entertainment http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - February 2008

Promo - February 2008 Contents Editor's Note Reality TV Products Rebound - Soon? The Real World Young But Not Stupid Social Tease Health Quencher How Effective? Big Game in Big Easy Commentary Mailbox Marketing Q&A: Coke's Kruse Control Gift-Card Monte Room Service The Agency Center Resource Center Can't Beat Loyalty Index of Advertisers

Promo - February 2008

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