February 26, 2008

IGA Battle Looms for Sony PS3

An all out in-game advertising battle is expected this week, after PS3 video game console maker Sony reportedly announced its intention to open its video game platform to third party in-game ad serving networks, sparking a fierce battle for the ad space.

Sony reportedly will offer an open platform, meaning all three in-game-ad-serving companies Double Fusion, IGA and Google-owned AdScape all will be able to sell ads in games that run on PS3. A fourth company, Massive Inc, owned by Microsoft exclusively brokers deals on the Xbox 360. All three companies will need to strike deals with the major game publishers creating PS3 games, such as Electronic Arts, Activision and Ubisoft as soon as possible.

Let the games begin.

KateModern Signs Toyota

Producers of the online hit Webisode series KateModern have done it again, this time signing a branded entertainment deal with Toyota. Toyota's Aygo Platinum will make a cameo appearance in the February 25 episode of the show. KateModern's cast and crew will also drive Toyota cars as they film in the coming weeks.

Toyota ranks highest in retaining new-vehicle buyers, potentially because successful online advertising efforts have made Toyota a gateway brand for Gen Y. KateModern's fanbase shares it roots on UK-based social networking site Bebo. The show averages 1.5 million views per episode and has generated 35 million views to date.

February 25, 2008

Xbox Live Community taps Wikinomics

If you build it they will come, right? Well, yes and no. Then what about, if you let them build it, will they come? Yes and in droves was the consensus all round at last week's Xbox 360 Live Community Games unveiling at the GDC in San Francisco.

With Xbox Live Community Games, the Xbox 360 will essentially become the YouTube of gaming consoles, allowing for the first time ever on a console platform, the ability for punters to share their own game creations. If you thought in-game advertising in MMOGs was huge, consumer generated gaming just got even bigger.

If you've read Don Tapscott's bestselling book Wikinomics, you'll know exactly what we mean and why Microsoft's Xbox Live Community Games strategy is a sure fire winner.

Google's Adsense for Video

Following last year's second quarter announcement, search giant Google has begun its InVideoAds pilot scheme which will allow advertisers to embed ads within videos.

The system, dubbed AdSense for Video, is currently being tested with selected US publishers and is the same system adopted for its own YouTube site.

Foxtel Pushes EPG Advertising

It's good to see Aussie pay-tv provider Foxtel advancing into EPG advertising. The network announced last week it will market its electronic program guide (EPG) as a premium advertising medium as soon as it moves to a HD set top box and new EPG service that will include re-transmission of the Seven free to air network. Which is kind of puzzling given Seven's Engin joint venture stake with TiVo. Our bird at Seven can't tell us anymore on the rollout, so we'll just have to wait.

Like TiVo and BskyB's early attempts at EPG branding, Foxtel's EPG unit led by Patrick Delany will create a new, advertiser-only space on its EPG that will house long-form entertainment content for brands.

Opt-in branded water-marked logos will enable a viewer to request sponsor information or pause a program to access long-form advertising content by pushing the red button on their remote control.

The data trail and analytics of its customers will ensure contextual and targeted advertising in the EPG.

February 18, 2008

Belstaff Converts with Product Placement

One thing marketers often ask me is, does product placement convert to sales? I mean, how can you prove that product placement actually works? Well, I'm here to tell you it does and will do more than its fair share of retail sales in the future. Just ask Belstaff.

Stockists of Belstaff say sales for the brand will continue to turnover long after the tills fall silent following this month's annual Dubai Shopping Festival.

As any globetrotter will tell you, no stopover in Dubai is complete without a visit to Boutique 1, which sells Belstaff clothing exclusively in the region, most recently launching the Trialmaster Legend jacket in the city, the same jacket Will Smith wore in his latest movie, I Am Legend. The jacket has proved to be tremendously popular.

So popular in fact, Belstaff sold 15,000 Trialmaster Legend jackets around the world following the film's theatrical release.

Belstaff clothing has been featured in more than 70 movies in the last three years, and no other fashion brand has had such great success in the history of product placement in movies.

Collaborations with movies benefit Belstaff a lot, especially in terms of the image of the brand and not just the sales. Belstaff also provided apparel for Sweeney Todd, which recently recieved a nomination for Best Costume. They even rugged Cate Blanchett in the Dylan-opic I'm Not There.

Belstaff's track record in the movies is first rate, hitting the big time supplying wardrobe for Leonardo Di Caprio and other players in The Aviator, creating 80 jackets in five days. Two of the company’s most popular jackets have come courtesy of Tom Cruise, whose War of the Worlds' Hero jacket sold 25,000 units. Meanwhile, the jacket Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt wore in Mission Impossible III, the M Blouson, sold 20,000 units.

Numbers like these are only going to get better for product placement. Why? Why do you think Yahoo! acquired Maven Networks last week for $160m? Because Maven, amongst other technologies possesses the killer hypervideo "clickable" app. Why is Microsoft testing and unveiling it's dynamic product placement technology? Because it knows that the value of online video will eventually rival search. That's why it wants Yahoo! Why is Google further developing it's own In-Video Ad technology. T-commerce, which we'll talk about later is another application being lab tested. The reason is because nearly all future screen based advertising will be found in content!

It's why we called ourselves InShot.

If you are a brand owner not currently partnering with content or creating your own branded content, be prepared to do so and do it quickly.

Jiminy Cricket's!

February 15, 2008

Branded Entertainment Head Turner

PQ Media Branded Entertainment Marketing Forecast: 2008-2012: Spending on branded entertainment marketing grew 14.7% to an all-time high of $22.3 billion in 2007, nearly doubling in size over the last five years as brand marketers continue to shift budgets from traditional advertising to alternative marketing strategies, such as product placement.

I just love Patrick Quinn and his research team from Stamford. Every February, for the last five years he's given us these fantastic and deeply insightful analysis reports on our industry.

This year, the wake-up call continues, albeit in the U.S, with branded entertainment expected to grow at a double-digit pace in 2008, driven by nearly $9 billion in event marketing, robust product placement spending, particularly on reality programming, at $3.5 billion, up nearly 25%, and here's a no brainer - growth in webisodes of 46%, as major networks begin to produce full-length online episodes to tap the youth market.

Although in-game advertising and webisodes, represent the smallest branded entertainment segment, they are afterall the new kids on the block, they also just happen to be the fastest growing segment, climbing at a 51.7% CAGR from 2002 to 2007.

Paid product placement spending grew 33.7% to $2.90 billion in 2007, and at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.8% from 2002 to 2007.

Overall, the outlook for branded entertainment marketing through to 2012 is for double-digit growth.

Beep-beep! Oh, there's my ride. gotta run.

Lauren
- happy valentine's to bluegrass at Fontainebleau

February 12, 2008

Jamie Cooks Up a Product Placement Storm

UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom's recent ruling, which found that Jamie Oliver and his Fresh One Production company breached British broadcasting regulations by making reference to his own kitchen utensil range in-program is an absurdity in light of the recent EU Parliament ruling lifting the ban on product placement in all EU member states.

Although the ruling comes a year after the Channel 4 series went to air, the matter is a serious case in point for the office to now review its existing guidelines in consideration of last year's EU ratification in Brussels.

Viewers allegedly complained to Ofcom after Jamie demonstrated and made repeated references to his Flavour Shaker in the series Jamie at Home, made by Oliver’s own company, Fresh One Productions.

Ofcom said in it's recent determination that two episodes of the series fell foul of strict guidelines that “undue prominence” must not be given to any product or service.

Broadcaster Channel 4 argued that the inclusion of the device was editorially justified (contextually) and said Oliver also mentioned other utensils such as a pestle and mortar or food processor that could achieve the same effect.

But Ofcom said Oliver had breached rules on product placement and Channel 4 had failed to maintain independence of editorial control over the programme's content, citing: "The focus on the product went way beyond the prominence usually given to a basic kitchen utensil."

The Ofcom ruling is out of touch. The European Parliament passed a raft of far-reaching broadcasting reforms, including a widespread easing of restrictions on product placement in TV programming in November last year.

The new rules state that even where placements are allowed they need to be clearly identified at the start and end of the program. Which may not have been the case here. Whereas disclosure in Australia is common practice for our broadcasters.

The European Commission introduced the new rules to meet the demands of a fast-moving and dynamic new media industry while protecting consumers. News, current affairs, documentaries and children's programmes are not affected.

Less regulation, better financing for content all designed to help European media businesses remain competitive in the digital era.

The European Parliament's directive on audiovisual media services, which covers product placement, will come into force in all EU member states by the end of 2009.

It was recently estimated by Freemantle Media that product placement on European television could bring in revenues of €150m (£107m) by 2010.

Like many of Hollywood's screenwriters, I suspect JO and Fresh One will shortly be investing in an IPTV platform of their very own.

Cheers.


February 04, 2008

Understanding Branded + Content

The race that is going to ignite the brave new world of online entertainment will be those practitioners who understand advertising as well as they understand content.

A totem which in fact became the very subject of day two at the NATPE Conference 2008 last weekend in Nevada which focussed on engaging the consumer in the digital age and looked at the various models that allowed advertisers and networks to do just that.

One way of communicating in the digital age through branded content in its different forms, absolute sponsorships, product placements and so on. Judging from these pearls of wisdom, the various global heads agreed, that unless done sensibly, the consumer today was smart enough to switch off from the content altogether:

Gayle Troberman, Global GM, Branded Entertainment, MSN

It has to be simple for it to work, and at least on the digital medium you can see the impact of the various moves instantly.”

"It is only the simple solutions that have stayed and delivered the impact. The challenge now is to take these and consider them in media plans in all seriousness.”

Matt Seiler, President and CEO, PHD North America

For any kind of communication, even branded entertainment, you should be able to chalk out the communication objective, and once you have done that, then that should guide you on the road that you want to take to achieve it.”

Laura Caraccioli-Davis, EVP, Entertainment Director, Starcom USA

The audience knows when you are just putting things in their face. You have to create a consumer experience, and brand integration with content has to be grounded in insights. There is no other way to doing it.”

This is hip pretty baby.