Influx

Advertisers looking for alternatives to conventional advertising are starting to experiment with the concept of brand television, one step beyond product placement. However, there are a few cultural and financial barriers preventing the early efforts from achieving success.

Orange, the UK wireless brand, has been one of the first, developing a music show for ITV. The idea was suggested by Orange’s media agency, as a way to promote ringtone sales. However, the show is hardly getting rave reviews from viewers, some go as far as describing it as the “worst music show on TV”.

orange develops tv show

viewer comments on orange’s show

It’s rumored that Audi is also planning some type of TV programming, again in the UK.

audi to develop tv network

The problem for advertisers is the expense; TV production is around $40,000 per hour, so to do it well, you need a large budget. Viewers are so attuned to quality, that trying to do programming on the cheap, could be a disaster for a brand’s image. It also requires a new skill set, one that’s very different from advertising; the show needs to be able to achieve the delicate balance of relevance, entertainment and brand communication.

Influx has yet to hear of any US brand programming developments, but it does seem that product placement is just becoming bigger. Allied-Domecq just announced that 7 of its spirits brands will be integrated into the “scripts” (?) of Spike TV’s new reality show, The Club.

allied’s deal with spike tv