MIPTV Wrap: Getting hands-on with Branded Entertainment

With partner Ogilvy, MIPTV has been tackling branded entertainment for five years now. But at MIPTV 2012, there was a real sense of TV and advertising execs alike truly getting hands-on with the subject.

Whilst The BCMA (Branded Content Marketing Association)’s Andrew Canter and Doug Scott of Ogilvy Entertainment discussed best practices such as Heineken’s Brand of Year Award-winning campaign with Tom Bowman of BBC Worldwide (photo) – lest we forget, the commercial arm of TV’s least commercial company – the beverage brand’s openness to these new forms of communication was also underlined at a session called “Audience Engagement with Brands” (liveblog), where Nick Bailey, head of agency AKQA‘s Amsterdam office, told the intriguing tale of Star Player, Heineken’s 2screen app for UEFA cup fans. Also discussed at the session was Gamer Commute, a Samsung YouTube film which generated 9.6 million views in 30 days.

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More concrete still was the story of how French TV veteran Alexis de Gemini – the man who brought Big Brother to France – managed to launch a kind of X Factor for make-up artists, sponsored by beauty retailer Sephora… in China, no less (liveblog). “This is a show created by foreigners… and it got through the censorship bureau and is on the air in China,” said Gemini. “I think that’s pretty amazing.” The show secured a more-than 30% share of the TV audience in its slot, with 25 million total votes for contestants on the internet, and 15 million episodes viewed online too.

Another straight-to-the-point panel dealt with how broadcasters are handling branded entertainment: input from ITV, Viacom and Virgin Media “drilled down” to this topic’s finer points, as moderator Kate Bulkley put it:

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The maturity of branded entertainment was also underlined in a session called “Branded Content in the Marketing Mix” (liveblog), where shows such as A&E’s Fix This Kitchen, which featured only IKEA furniture, were discussed. “This is not about making a long-form commercial… the number-one priority is having a compelling story,”said MEC’s Chet Fenster. And this story needs to be told as part of a long-term engagement with the consumer,  he added: “Brands are broadcasters, and they’re gonna have to figure out how to talk to the consumer and programme to the consumer.”

“They have rented audiences for years,” agreed Ogilvy’s Patou Nuyteman agreed. “Actually really owning them, and taking care of them throughout the year” is a significant change that comes with responsibilities that brands are not necessarily ready to assume.

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Last but by no means least, perhaps the biggest ‘practical’ branded entertainment news at MIPTV was the launch by Ogilvy of the first ever way to measure branded entertainment’s value, the Branded Entertainment Assessment Model (BEAM).

BEAM was developed because Ogilvy believes strategy drives measurement: programmes need to tie into overarching business ambitions and link specific programme objectives to measurable outcomes in planning, development and execution. “Our goal is to set forward some guiding principles… to promote brands to adopt, to feel comfortable” advancing in the nebulous world of branded entertainment, OgilvyEntertainment’s Abby Marks explained.

The session’s video is embedded below; and the session’s full report – the most-consulted liveblog of all of our MIPTV coverage, no less! – is here. It notably includes Ogilvy’s full white paper, explaining all you need to know about BEAM. Look no further!

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Read all of our branded entertainment live coverage from MIPTV 2012 here.

We are also proud to announce that OgilvyEntertainment’s Abby Marks has agreed to become a MIPBlog guestblogger. Stay with us for her monthly updates on what’s hot or not in branded entertainment!