“The next bounce of the ball” A fresh perspective on building brands in a time of austerity

As the dark clouds of global recession begin to sprinkle the first drops of icy rain on the ad industry our focus turns to the horizon and the industry’s longer-term prospects.

I started out in the recession of the early 90’s when we still had typing pools and microfiche. Within 5 years we’d been subjected to a binary makeover. We became ‘the digerati’; brave young turks at the cutting edge of electronic communication promoting unsustainable business models for absurdly well funded entrepreneurs.

We survived, some richer, all the wiser, and part of an industry that had undergone a fundamental shift, that would empower consumers like never before.

Invention is a product of necessity

If the digital revolution was a part bi-product of the last recession, then now’s the time to speculate on the next bounce of the ball. So where’s the next big opportunity.

My money is on branded entertainment. It’s why we’re launching Vivacity, a subsidiary of 23red, dedicated to brokering and bartering partnerships between brands and properties (content or rights holders).

Like the growth of digital revolution in the late 90’s branded entertainment is being driven by consumers. As consumers take greater control over what they interact with, brands need to respond to the desire for entertainment over communication.

Branded entertainment refers to marketing strategies that integrate brands into entertainment properties (experiences, content and venues) providing high levels of engagement and interactivity. This includes event sponsorship and marketing; product placement and endorsements; and increasingly ad-funded content, it’s about building lasting brand platforms not simply campaigns. Often the most successful branded entertainment can be achieved through barter, where the brand uses its marketing muscle to promote a rights holder’s content in return for a free or low cost association.

Branded entertainment may well be a recent invention but it’s not so much a new frontier, as in the last recession, but rather a new model. Brands would do well to consider investment in this space not as experimentation but rather as re-alignment.

5 reasons why I’m staking my future on this trend:

1. It’s what advertising is meant to be: engaging, entertaining and honest
2. Brands have always been pioneers of innovation with entertainment in media (TV soaps) and using content on the Internet and mobile will be no different.
3. Rights holders, from TV producers to sports federations, are actively seeking ‘gap’ funding from and partnership with brands.
4. Consumers are hungry for relevant and entertaining content across media with which they can interact, personalise and share.
5. Branded entertainment is such fun that all clients will want to play in this space.