So you're watching an action-packed movie and the lead actor leaps into a sleek looking car. The camera pans up from the bonnet of the car where the brand logo catches the flare from the sunlight. The actor gives a wry grin before zipping off into the horizon. You caught the brand of the car he's driving? Well, that is branded entertainment.
Brands are buying into entertainment. Just count the number of incidental exposures of products you've seen on television and movies. Take for example, American Idol. Judge Simon Cowell is often seen drinking from a cup with the Coca Cola logo. In fact if you watch closely, the logo is also seen on the plasma TV screens on stage. In other words, branded entertainment is about placing the product either subtly or prominently within an entertainment product.
Product Placement can be verbal, like a mention in the show or visual where the product is seen. It is increasingly a tool used by marketers to push their brands into the limelight and increase awareness through such exposures. What ticks for the marketing folks is that their brand is not just associated with the entertainment, eg. a blockbuster movie or a much anticipated television series, it is also seen being associated with a celebrity when the actor uses the brand in the movie or the television programme. The association has added value for the brand. But branded entertainment has its setbacks.
It can be a matter of too much too soon. If the brand exposure is too subtle, the audience may not see it. If it is too prominent, the audience may get brand fatigue and develop a negative perception towards the brand. That is something you don't want happen to your brand. Think about it. As an audience, you want to be entertained. The last you need is to have brands plastered all over your screen.
After all, there is a place for that in the form of commercials and advertisements. The key is to balance the exposure and the placement so that you can have an edge when it comes to promoting your brand without over-killing it.
Branded entertainment is here to stay. So the next time you're in the theatres or at home watching TV, see if you can remember the brands that caught your attention.
