Fallon Wins at Cannes but Loses Client

June 27, 2007 - Product Placement News

Branded Entertainment - Does ROI to the client matter?

Brawny Academy is now winning awards and is considered one of the best examples of Branded Entertainment - but Georgia Pacific (the client) has defected from Fallon to DDB. How good can it really be if the client leaves and there is no return on investment.

Fallon did a wonderful job on the show, but besides a couple of press releases, there was no apparent effort to get women to watch the show

But both Fallon and G-P executives conceded in interviews last year that while the series produced a marked improvement in brand image among women who watched it, not as many women watched as they'd hoped.

A branded entertainment effort can be wonderful, but unless the agency can demonstrate a return on their client's investment, media dollars will keep flowing towards traditional media buys.

'Transformers' Roots Can Be Traced To Care Bears, My Little Pony, In Rewind

Jun 26 2007 - MTV.com

Merchandising has become one of the most important elements of mainstream filmmaking. Before a studio commits to bajillions of production dollars, it usually wants to know what kind of ancillary markets are available for income no longer guaranteed by ticket sales. Walk into any Target right now, and the only aisle that doesn't have something with Jack Sparrow, Shrek or Spider-Man plastered on it is probably the adult diaper section (and give 'em time). Toys may well be the most common type of movie merchandising. But what happens when the marketing plan is reversed? "Transformers" may be the biggest-budgeted film to originate as a cheap chunk of plastic (see " 'Transformers' Stars Dish On Sexy Robots, Kissing Scenes In Virtual World"), but it's certainly not the first.

Nielsen Ratings - 60% of DVR Viewers Not Watching Commericals

July 5th 2007 - Product Placement News

Nielsen Media Research and their team of 10,000 households have launched its commercial ratings service - just in time to help brands negotiate rates as part of the current upfront season.

Nielsen's Press Release is filled with a bunch of numbers, certain to confuse the average CMO and even the experienced media buyer. The 'New' six "streams" of viewing data (backdated to April 30) will cove live, live + same day and live + 1, 2, 3, or 7 day viewing.

Thank god the networks have researchers to explain this data. The LA Times is quoting David Poltrack, CBS chief research officer as stating:

"The average commercial is seen by about 40% of people who play shows back on DVR."

That still leaves 60% of DVR television viewers not watching commercials. Neilsen does state that within DVR households, 58% of broadcast primetime viewing still takes place live, with 42% occurring through DVR playback.

Another new finding: 95% of recorded programs are viewed within three days of the show's initial airing.

Networks are hopeful that the method of tracking viewership for three days after a show's airing could become the standard adopted by the industry to account for the people who record programs and watch them later.

The Neilsen "People Meter"
How good is Neilsen's measurement system? Neilsen measures viewers through "people meters" installed in 10,000 homes throughout the country. The company 'asks' people in the sample households to log out of the system when they leave the room or are no longer watching the program.

The Upfront Effect
Last year, advertisers committed $8.75 billion for network prime-time commercial spots during the "upfront" sales season.

Early industry sources expected that figure to be lower this year, but with Branded Entertainment experts like Ben Silverman at the helm of NBC and independent studio Buzznation, we expect to see more integration deals over the next 24 months with an overall increase in advertising revenue.

Branded Entertainment - Consider The Buzz, Not Just The Price

July 5th 2007 - Product Placement News

Branded Entertainment - the involvement of brands in the early stages of both film and television content can be an expensive game - with results counted not only in ticket sales, but in brand buzz generated in the target demographic and in the press.

"First Descent" - the snowboarding documentary, produced with $4 million from Mountain Dew, was designed with reaching a specific demographic (snowboarders) and not with pulling profits.

The film grossed less than $1 million in ticket sales. That translates into only 125,000 viewers, but Mountain View as a brand gained tremendous buzz in the snowboarding community.

The trend appears to be catching on. The LA Times is reporting that Dove has just signed on with an early investment of $3 million for a new film called "The Women" from the maker of "Murphy Brown" and according to the Wall Street Journal, Medicis (NYSE: MRX), the manufacturer of wrinkle-filler Restylane, has funded the reality-show 'Hottest Mom In America', from independent studio Buzznation.

In the same arena as Mountain Dew, Gatorade, has put up $3 million in production funds for "Gracie," the Shue-family story about a girls soccer team that is coming out this weekend. It appears as though Gatorade appears in both the film and in the trailer seen below.

Advertisers are starting to find television a turn-off

Advertisers are starting to find television a turn-off

May 14, 2007 - Branded Entertainment News

This is the Age of McKinsey, the US consultancy thatsays what gets measured gets managed. The latest evidence comes from the world of advertising.

The world's biggest advertisers are terrified that television commercials are losing their punch and are searching for alternatives - on the internet, outdoors, in stores and even by creating entertainment content themselves.

Read the article: www.ft.com

American Express Does Social Media Right

May 17, 2007 - Random Culture

American Express has launched an interesting foray into social media with the launch of the Members Project. It's an impressive idea... card members register on the site, with the ability to submit an idea for a social project, such as rebuilding a school in New Orleans. The ideas are voted on by members of the site, and for each member that joins, American Express kicks in money (up to $5 million), with the winning idea getting funded!

Kudos to American Express for doing something that's actually engaging, and paints the brand in a positive light. Unlike most advertisers, they actually are putting some real money behind the effort, in a way that makes sense, and certainly provides some incentive to participate.