As the viewer's tolerance for "disruptive TVCs" begins to wear thin, is it branded entertainment's turn in the spotlight?
Taking things to the next level in pursuit of a better bottom line doesn't necessarily mean doing something completely new and radical. It could also be about using traditional methods to create new avenues for brands to connect with consumers. Branded entertainment is one such reinvention.
Most will recognise its earlier, more simple, guise in the form of product placement. There are some, however, who consider product placement as part of branded entertainment, while there are others who strongly argue that the one is completely separate from the other.
Aujan, for example, has worked on several branded entertainment opportunities but stresses that product placement is not part of its strategy.
The company co-produces a segment called Hadi Hayati - the slogan of its Barbican-brand malt drink. The five-minute show has attracted young viewers - especially in Saudi Arabia - to tune in to watch their favourite football stars talk about their lifestyles. There are no logos or products shown during the show, just a 10-second opener. Each episode can be uploaded online. The first episode registered 320,000 views in less than 24 hours.
As Sharif Badreddine, MBC's commercial director, says: "Branded content is much more than a logo on stage. It must be a collaborative effort from the brand and the content producers to entertain and engage while delivering brand value and message."
Regardless of how you categorise them, the resemblance between branded entertainment and product placement is slight. Product placement and, in general, branded entertainment both encroach on the editorial or content space, but there the similarities end. Product placement focuses more on quantitative product or branding exposure, whereas branded entertainment works better without it, focusing instead on creating an emotional association between the brand and the content, which is then, it is hoped, transferred to the viewer. While content in any media platform can be branded, the most common cases are seen in movies and TV. The focus of this article, therefore, will be on these media.
Gaining traction
In the Middle East, branding opportunities on the silver screen are still unexploited. And, according to a number of agencies and clients, there are a number of reasons for this lag.
First is the intimidating prospect of investing in such large-scale production.
Second, since movie production calendars can run longer than a year, brand propositions have to stay unchanged for the duration of the production and still be relevant when the movie airs.
Third, considering that measurements in branded entertainment are mostly qualitative, brand owners find it difficult to justify the spending without conventional quantitative measurements to back it.
Lastly, there are too few pan-Arab movies with a wide appeal.
There are some notable exceptions, including Pepsi's "Bahr Al Nujoom" ("Sea of Stars") campaign last year. The company produced a musical that featured major Arab celebrities such as Haifa Wehbe and Ahmed El Cherif.
Further refinement
A number of regionally produced TV programmes, on the other hand, already deal regularly with brands for such projects. MBC's Sabah Al Kheir Ya Arab (Saya) is rated as one of the top morning shows in the region and enjoys collaborations with a variety of brands, from Galaxy and Panadol to Johnson & Johnson and Kraft.
Content producers often create separate segments within the show for a particular brand. A segment within Saya, for example, was created specifically to talk about sensitive teeth - its causes and preventative action. The segment wasn't particularly branded, though it was supported by Sensodyne.
"We needed to move to a new level of communication," says Mohammad Otaibi, senior brand manager for Sensodyne at GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare MENA. Branded entertainment, he says, provides a new avenue to extend their conversation from selling a product to addressing a personal issue like proper oral care.
Saya was chosen for its positioning towards women.
"But it [the segment] had to of course be within the context of the show," Otaibi continues. A segment like this is created to satisfy the criteria of both the show producers and the brand owners. It must still remain in line with the context of the TV programme - seamless integration.
Easy integration
Women-oriented Al Aan TV and Dubai Media Inc-owned Dubai One are just two examples of channels intended to capture ad dollars outside of the conventional 30-second spot.
During the launch of Dubai One's new programme line-up, Najla Al Awadhi, deputy CEO of Dubai Media Inc, said the new studio productions were designed to, among other things, attract advertiser investment. The company's Twenty Something, for example, has been designed for advertisers to capitalise on the show's youth-oriented slant.
And on Al Aan's TV fitness programme, Khaleek in Shape, the show hosts act as unofficial endorsers when they wear branded activewear while working out.
"According to several studies, we found evidence that creative strategy and product category factors are important determinants of viewer response to TV advertising," says Zoya Sakr, head of sales and marketing at Al Aan TV. "Branding a certain programme that aligns with the product is now the future."
Al Aan TV's programmes cover a gamut of topics including fashion and beauty, fitness, social and family issues, and healthy cooking. The channel recently collaborated with the likes of Kenwood, Clorox and Korea Sparkling.
"We find that people even seek out the brands that have been used in a show that they trust - particularly in our fitness and cooking shows," says Sakr.
Content: missing in action
The readiness of broadcasters to take on branded entertainment projects doesn't mean advertisers have been pouring in with collaborative ideas.
The response, in fact, has been muted, as MBC's Badreddine puts it: "From a broadcast company's point of view... the client response is still average. We made two models/shows on prime time and spoke to clients, but the response was lukewarm. I'd like to think it's only because they are just too cautious and don't want to take risks in advertising."
Even were advertisers completely willing to venture into this potentially complex arrangement, the content is still not as varied as advertisers and their agencies would like.
"The more local the entertainment, the better, but right now the only way I can do it in this region is if the production is in the Levant or North Africa," says Wael Hattar, division head of Publicis Groupe Media's dedicated branded entertainment unit, Core.
On the growing number of UAE-based production houses, he says the content tends to be too specific: "The UAE is a small market, and the content clients look for has to be relevant across the region, especially in Saudi Arabia - as the bulk of this region's audience is there."
Numbers reinforce this point. This year's Ramadan ratings showed 28 million people were watching TV in Saudi Arabia, 4 million in the UAE and another 4 million across the rest of the GCC (source: Aujan). The general population spends more than four and a half hours a day in front of the TV (source: Al Aan TV).
Calibration
Programmes are usually not rated, however, the topic of measurement being a perennial thorn in the side for advertisers like Aujan. The Saudi-based company invests heavily in branded entertainment projects to reach their media and tech-savvy target audience, the youth.
"We would only consider branded entertainment opportunities with shows that have truly pan-regional coverage," says Clayton Buckley, VP-marketing of Aujan. "It also helps if you've got a close relationship with the media network.
"For the Wipe Out show, we did it in support of that show. It wasn't about getting them to use the product on screen."
Last year, Aujan sponsored the Dale' Sayaratak car show.
Brand owners often rely on reports from their agencies to measure the returns on such projects.
"The industry is used to measuring the GRPs but qualitative factors such as effectiveness of viewer engagement also need to be considered," says Christian Fedorczuk, director at Omnicom Media Group. He also leads the branded entertainment division Fuse and OMG's "thought-starter unit", Ignition.
Since 2007, Fuse has had an exclusive licence agreement in the Middle East with iTVX, the US-based branded entertainment/product placement valuation firm. The iTVX system delivers the "Q ratio", a measure that acts as a common currency between marketers, film or TV producers and broadcasters to help them derive the most value out of product placement and branded entertainment. From the Q ratio, Fuse then uses an OMG proprietary tool to look further into qualitative factors that gauge the success of a project.
Whether it's an agency's proprietary tool or conducting a brand health check pre- and post-show through focus groups, measurements for branded entertainment are more qualitative and focus more on the impact that the show has had on the brand awareness and recall.
"It's more about interacting with viewers," says Sensodyne's Otaibi, who has also had a long history marketing regional FMCG brands. "The number one priority for this kind of project is to make a connection with consumers, and if your aim is just to sell then use [the 30-second] spots. When you do an activity like this, the cost is justified by the long-term value you get from the connection with consumers."
Fedorczuk agrees. "When TVCs aren't working then you look for something else but don't look at this as a budget cut solution. It's still got to be a good fit for your brand."
For Aujan, measurements are done through an internal tracker focusing on, among other things, unaided versus aided brand awareness and brand recall, pre- and post-campaign.
"It's difficult to justify investment when there's no standard measurement or rating, especially with the high production cost," says Buckley.
Good results, though difficult to quantify, aren't rare. An example is when Dodge launched a car that it wanted to position as the choice for music-oriented individuals because of its souped-up sound system. The company helped produce a music video for an Arab DJ for a ballpark figure of $40,000. The company saw a 30 per cent increase in inquiries for the car used in the video. About 360 cars were sold in the first month.
Tipping point
Agencies are finding, however, that there are only a handful of advertisers that see it like Otaibi and Buckley. There are a lot more who are still trying to compare investment in a branded entertainment project to that of a 30-second spot.
"Most advertisers globally still think of it [branded entertainment] as a 30-second TVC, understandably because that's what they know," says Fedorczuk. "It shouldn't be about the length of brand exposure on screen but the impact it makes with the viewers," he says.
"Five minutes [of product placement and branding] doesn't compare to five seconds of effective emotional connection with the viewer."
So does all of this mean the end of traditional advertising? It's a resounding "no" from all parties. The traditional 30-second spot and title sponsorships aren't going away.
"The 15-30 second spot can't be replaced for this region. And for awareness, it's got to be a mix," says Buckley.
Hattar shares the sentiment, saying: "It shouldn't go away. It's just that people's appetite for content has changed and brands need to be open to adapting to different methods."
The tipping point, MBC's Badreddine says, will be in 2010, when more full-fledged packages on prime time will be offered to advertisers. "The option is there; we just need clients to get on board."
But before you jump on board, a final thought from Fedorczuk: "Advertisers need to find a show that fits with their values and then ask themselves: 'What can my brand add to the programme?'"
So go on, take things to the next level.
Product heroes
GM, led by Chevrolet's Camaro concept car, partnered with Michael Bay and Paramount Studios in 2007 to produce Transformers. The partnership was reworked with the sequel this year, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The movies, wherein the cars are the characters and ultimate heroes, are a unique opportunity for an auto brand. Samantha Kayruz, consumer marketing manager, General Motors - Middle East, talks about the idea behind the collaboration.
What are the benefits of product placement in movies?
Movies are very different from TVCs, as viewers are choosing to be receptive to the information, the plot and for what they hope will be two hours of viewing pleasure.
The best cases of product placement tend to be where the emotions related to the experience of watching the movie are lent to the product in a way that highlights a key function or emotional feature of the product. A movie can lend to a brand or instil in it the emotions of the scene, and ideally would highlight a feature of that product in a heroic way. For GM, seeing everyday cars be transformed into five metre-tall heroic robots meets both the objectives of the movie makers and the marketers behind our brand.
What better way to place your products in a movie, than for them to be the ultimate heroes? Product placement is great in terms of positioning a product in the target audience's mind, and for it to be successful there needs to be a smooth transition from the objective of advertising to entertainment without disrupting the viewing pleasure.
What are the criteria for movie placement?
The relevance and fit between the movie and the product. Are the brand owners looking for the product to appear at the back of the fridge when it's open in shot with 20 other products to allow a sneak peak or are they looking to have a more strategic role highlighting the product features? Product placement opportunities are hard to come by: brands sometimes take what they can get for the right price; others wait for the right opportunity.
What kind of products fit product placement in movies?
The state of mind of a movie watcher is to be entertained, whatever the genre. Therefore the best product fits tend to be aspiration products rather than mundane products.
Categories such as technology, telcos, fashion and cars, to name a few, are some of the more exciting product fits, as they can add to the movie and give it some added "wow" factor.
This interview also appears in Al Tasweeq Al Arabi.
© Gulf Marketing Review 2009
