Friday, February 10th, 2012
While Branded Entertainment is rapidly growing, there are many questions about how to approach this method. For instance, if a brand decides to sponsor a show, doesn?t that compromise the creative integrity of the piece? Because big name companies have big wallets, they can but their influence on content. And this is not a good thing, because the show ends up an advertisement but is presented as a film, documentary, or a series. In a way this is deceiving, but then again, does it matter to the consumers?
Currently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been proposing to regulate marketing identification. FCC members believe that consumers should be informed and clarified about product placement and branded entertainment to protect them from deception. FCC simply wants to show consumers who controls the content, so that consumers can be wary of hidden agendas.
But ask yourself, as a consumer, does it really matter to you to find out about those things? After all, you watch a TV show to see the show (the plot, the actor, etc.) and not the brands.
Experts agree that branded entertainment is definitely on the rise, not just on TV but on multiple digital platforms. What?s more to that is content producers are looking for branded entertainment and product placement, as well. Why? Because it cuts costs significantly, most especially during serious credit crunch.
Viewers of today have a sophisticated eye and most of them can spot the bias content from the unbiased content. But still, FCC has a responsibility to let consumers know that some of the content is actually advertisements, i.e. chefs in ?Top Chef? don?t prefer Diet Coca-Cola over the original Coca-Cola.
