Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012
New research shows the overall importance of branded entertainment continues to climb in the strategic planning of leading marketers with more than two-thirds of respondents (68%) investing in some type of branded entertainment as a means to reach consumers. TBA Global, an award-winning connective marketing and communications agency, today released a new whitepaper with the Event Marketing Institute (EMI) that gives insights into the challenges marketers face as they seek to attract and engage consumers with their brand across a growing number of platforms.
?There has been a lot of confusion in the marketplace regarding Branded Entertainment and its role in a brand?s marketing mix,? said Brian Murphy, EVP, TBA Global. ?This report clarifies the growing strategic role that Branded Entertainment plays by correctly defining it as the strategic and programmatic use of relevant content or entertainment as a focal point to attract, engage and influence targeted audiences. This is important to marketers because we have entered the Marketing 3.0 era where attraction rather than persuasion is how you win and retain customers.?
The study, conducted by EMI, also found that more than two-thirds of marketing executives (67%) are investing in live events as part of their branded entertainment strategies. Forty-four percent of the marketers surveyed said they are investing in Web content, while 29 percent said they are allocating resources to social networks. Custom Web programming, entertainment sponsorships and sponsorship activation spending all tied at 27 percent of investments.
?This report found that the overall importance of branded entertainment as an integrated marketing strategy appears to be increasing with leading marketers,? said Mike Westcott, Managing Director of EMI, ?with 67 percent of respondents stating that events were the largest part of their integrated programs.?
While event programming was the most popular branded entertainment investment, digital media is growing in importance as companies are turning live experiences into online content that is then distributed online via social networks and custom web programming.
In addition to research that addresses brand marketers interest and spending on branded entertainment, the whitepaper report also shows the benefits of branded entertainment, elements of successful campaigns, and outlines strategies for developing content and measurement.
TBA Global?s heritage is in entertainment. TBA Global EVP Brian Murphy created some of the earliest large-scale branded entertainment programs including Rockfest (the largest single-day ticketed rock event in the United States), Music In High Places, and MTV?s long running Hard Rock Live music series.
Last year, TBA Global?s branded entertainment marketing group won a prestigious Ex Award for McDonald?s Live, which combined both existing and new content with music and alternate delivery formats to launch a concert promotion that resonated with a targeted Young Adult audience.
The ?Branded Entertainment Comes of Age? white paper was develop 1f40 ed with the Event Marketing Institute (EMI). One hundred and forty seven marketing executives were surveyed, a full one-third ranked as President/CEO or other senior executive management.
A summary and the full report is available from TBA Global at www.tbaglobal.com/branded_entertainment.
