Branded content CAN BE FUN ! GERMANS BELIEVE BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT IS FUN, AND, WHEN IT’S HARNESSED TO GERMAN PRAGMATISM AND PERFECTIONISM, THE RESULTS CAN BE IMPRESSIVE. SANDRA FREISINGER-HEINL, OF BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT ONLINE (BEO) AND MA MEDIA, REPORTS More on http://brandedentertainmentonline.de/

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Branded content
Karolina Kurkova. Contestants who
succeeded in performing the 10 key
skills of modelling, such as walking
elegantly in high heels, were awarded
CAN BE FUN
Pandora charms. As a result, sales of
Pandora bracelets doubled and charm
sales increased by 50%, according to
Pandora. The campaign was rounded off
by Facebook, a prize competition, POS
initiatives and web videos on jewellery
GERMANS BELIEVE BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT IS FUN, AND, WHEN styling. In the case of the co-operation
between Adam Opel and Germany’s
IT’S HARNESSED TO GERMAN PRAGMATISM AND PERFECTIONISM, Next Top Model, market research into
THE RESULTS CAN BE IMPRESSIVE. SANDRA FREISINGER-HEINL, OF the impact of the show was equally
BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT ONLINE (BEO) AND MA MEDIA, REPORTS positive. Opel reported that
“sponsorship in combination with
product placement” had helped it to
“present the Opel Corsa Color Line, a
non-fashion product, attractively and
authentically to a female target group”.
The popular office comedy series
Stromberg featured Hasbro’s NERF
water gun in an amusing way, in the
process marketing the product to a new
demographic: young adults. The show’s
central character, Stromberg, divided his
staff into teams and used NERFs in a
game of chase across desks — a fun idea
that many young offices have gone on to
emulate in reality. The placement of a
well-known dairy company’s rice
pudding in the same show, however,
proved less successful. The pudding,
which triggered heated discussion
whenever it appeared in the action, was
featured far too frequently for many
viewers’ tastes. The rice pudding
controversy proves that there is still work
n The Hasbro Nerf to be done on clarifying and defining
P
RODUCT placement has Blaster featured in within the ProSiebenSat.1 Group and standards. A production can struggle
the comedy series
been making headlines in Stromberg, which has already completed around 50 when, for example, the tools used in a
inspired by the
Germany. First there was Ricky Gervais placement projects since the relaxation DIY soap are reclassified as product
the semi-final of the TV series The Office of the legislation. The view from the RTL placement, which means that a
format Germany’s Next Group is that product placement in contribution from the DIY-tool retailer
Top Model, which saw model Heidi Germany is still in its infancy but that its not only in equipment for the set but also
Klum present the four finalists with an early successes indicate a promising in funds for marketing becomes
Opel Corsa car. And before that there future. “Branded entertainment is necessary. A set of guidelines has been
were the hungry inhabitants of the already happening on many levels on all drawn up by the German Producers
jungle camp in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me our TV channels,” says Lars-Eric Mann, Alliance to help its members to negotiate
Out Of Here!, who were presented with managing director of RTL’s IP these new co-operations but, in reality,
a treasure box of Pick Up! chocolate bars. Newmedia. “Most often used are much still depends on the power and
The success of such strategies has been promotional stories or interactive leverage of the TV station and
proved by market research into brand competitions. The more logical the production in question. In the
awareness and readiness-to-buy. Media connection between product and meantime, everyone is scrambling for a
agencies are now adapting their format, the better the success of the slice of the branded entertainment pie,
approach to sponsorship in order to campaign.” Mann’s view is borne out by from the media agencies that
integrate all the parameters into a a number of recent campaigns. It seems traditionally administer their customers’
campaign. In the meantime, new German viewers prefer a 360-degree budgets and the specialised agencies
evaluation methods for branded approach to branded entertainment. A that work with producers and brands, to
entertainment, such as the Branded prime example of a successful holistic the marketing departments at TV
Entertainment Assessment Model campaign that orchestrated events, stations to the production companies
“
(BEAM) by Ogilvy, have been welcomed social media, advertising, PR and at POS that are actually handling the placement
by German marketers and advertisers. was Das Perfekte Model on VOX with — and sometimes even the actors who
Since April 2010, with the liberalisation hosts and models Eva Padberg and interact with the product on screen.
of product placement on German Evaluating the size of the market, Petra
television, much more has been made “PRODUCT PLACEMENT IS NOT A Kroop, head of brand integration at
possible beyond mere product supply. SevenOne AdFactory, reports a deluge of
Commercial broadcasters are also
STAND-ALONE SOLUTION FOR US. IT’S requests from across the spectrum, “not
becoming involved. The current market ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED BY OTHER only from typical advertising customers
leader is SevenOne AdFactory, which is ADVERTISING FORMS” Petra Kroop but also from companies that have not
responsible for cross-linked concepts advertised on TV yet”. fff
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fff She adds: “The response has been
enormous. After two years, we see great
potential for product placement.
However, product placement is not a
stand-alone solution for us. It’s always
accompanied by other advertising
forms, such as spots or sponsorship. The
potential revenue is estimated at
approximately €200m annually.”
A number of agencies, along with BEO
are currently working on establishing a
product placement association for the
German-speaking countries.
Meanwhile, the German Product
Placement Congress in Stuttgart gathers
together most of the key players and has
done much to draw attention to the
complex issues raised by branded
entertainment. TV remains at the heart
of most German branded-entertainment
campaigns, with digital platforms,
cinema, video, music and games playing
supporting roles. But big budgets will
always as a rule require the involvement
of television. The central question is
what comes first — the platform or the
idea for a promising branded- n Print campaign
for Renault
entertainment campaign? Why not the larger stage of a TV quiz show? And Utilitaires Against this backdrop, creativity is
develop an innovative idea for content why not have news of the champions flourishing. Several innovative ideas
first and spin it out from there? As there and their prizes tweeted via the new have emerged, such as the integration of
are only a limited number of TV generation of TV sets — which of course a cinema into the game Farmerama, in
platforms in Germany, innovation is make exact user targeting possible?” which TV-spots and videos can be
essential but there are also a couple of Social branded entertainment, also, has shown. Over in German-speaking
emerging trends that are influencing the the potential to set trends and establish Austria, the energy drink Red Bull has
market’s evolution. The digital brands. Understanding this, Renault ZE successfully embedded its brand in a TV
platforms, for example, are becoming (zero emission) was one of the main station. Servus TV, owned by Red Bull,
more and more important in the media sponsors of ProSieben’s Green Seven delivers top quality sports-focused
mix. A growing trend among producers week, which featured a range of programming and covers an array of
is to use the digital platforms to kick- documentaries on ecology. sporting events, not limited to those
start a campaign before migrating it to Another key trend is video gaming. In sponsored by Red Bull. In conclusion,
TV. As Stephan Borg, department head addition to associating a brand with the Germany has embraced branded
of development and cross-media at ITV powerful pull of the gaming experience, content with enthusiasm and is set on
Studios Germany, observes: “Editors, video gaming offers “a potentially realising its potential via TV, the digital
who have been creating TV content for massive consumer base, huge media and at major events that are able
many years, are discovering a whole scaleability of reach — especially in to reach, connect, engage and involve
new life for their ideas on the web or as online gaming — and the possibility to the German consumer. ^
an app. There is a pioneering spirit and a track the user”, says Christian Hofbauer,
new desire to experiment and innovate. CEO of Branded Entertainment Online.
Why not design a quiz show as a web Not surprisingly, video gaming has
WWW.BRANDEDENTERTAINMENTONLINE.DE
game or as an iPhone app? Why not then become “a central focus of marketing is the news and knowledge-exchange marketplace for branded
invite the best players on the web on to decision-makers,” he adds. entertainment in the German-speaking territories
SUNDAY, JUNE 17,2012