Branded entertainment done badly....

First, watch Brawny's execution at online branded entertainment at ‘The Brawny Academy’:
http://www.brawnyacademy.com/episode1.html

Now, it is easy to criticize others....so right off the bat, I would like to tip my hat to a brand willing to take a risk along with it's agency. Efforts like this will get us there...eventually!

Not that I have said that...what were they thinking? Gratuitous branding within branded entertainment will kill any attempt at connecting on an authentic level with the consumer. You need to entertain & bring value first and let the branding almost come off as an afterthought.

Did the agency forget that the shows that are watched most on the tube are things like The Sopranos, Lost & The Apprentice? Did they forget that the consumer has evolved along with entertainment. Why does it look like we are watching a poorly written, badly staged, reality show from the 70's? "You can call me Brawny Man!" Please!

Who knows what happened here? Perhaps the agency did present something edgy and the client just watered it down - or made the agency put in another logo, or perhaps this proves that agencies are not yet ready to create a provocative narrative. (Advertising is really VERY different from the entertainment business!). Whatever the case, attempts like these, while they may bring us closer, may eventually kill the immediate opportunity as brands get burned in the immediate future - and retreat until another, hopefully well planned idea, gets executed.

Because change is scary and we all sit on the fence, we need to stay there until we are ready to stand up and take a risk. We must present and execute bold ideas that are authentic to an audience. Stand up to our clients, and clients need to trust the people they have hired.

Make no mistake, our future depends on it.

An example of a well executed online piece of branded entertainment comes from Nike.
"The Longest Soccer Chain" is so simple it is brilliant. Nike invites users to upload a video of themselves kicking a soccer ball around and passing it to 'someone' else. This is accomplished by cutting one piece against the next. What we end up with is a world-wide community of soccer fans, all playing around with the ball - connecting with one another. A forum for the game's collective creativity that takes advantage of social networking. I first wrote about this as part of ‘Brands...The New Executive Producers’. You can see the Nike site here:
http://nikefootball.nike.com/nikefootball/siteshell/index.jsp#,us,0;jogatv,,0,0,0

The New Channel Guide...

Many of you have asked me about the different online video websites I have been tracking. Things are moving so fast, even with a certain amount of selectivity I add several new sites each week to my list. The networks never imagined consumers to be uploading content as much as downloading. Over 57% of teenagers are creating content for the net. We have entered an age of cultural richness and abundance of choice that we have never seen before. Consumer driven content aside, talent is definitely the new limited resource. I have divided the list below into 4 areas that I hope are helpful to everyone: 1.Online Video Search, 2.Branded Channels, 3.Network Channels with closed content & 4.Open Channels allowing anyone to upload content.

( I apologize beforehand to all of you who are unable to read embedded links within your browser, but this would have been too onerous a post without doing so...)

1. Online Video Search: The best search engines for online video content are not necessarily Google or Yahoo. These sites may turn out to be the best online TV-Guides of the future.
TVEyes-Search
Podscope-Search
PODZINGER-Pod & Videocast search engine
blinkx video search
Video Detectiver: Find Movies and DVDs Fast

2. Branded Channels: Brands that have started their own channels are popping up all over the place. Not many of them are executed well. If brands want to become a destination they need to come from a place of authenticity and offer value & entertainment 1st and sell 2nd.
Welcome to Scripps.com: Scripps Web sites
Living.com-GMC
Progresso Soup: Home Sweet Cube
Dentyne.com : Home Page
IBM ForwardView Showmail
ABSOLUT.COM - ABSOLUT TRACKS introduces Lenny Kravitz
CBS & Coke.com
GE Picture a Healthy World
StageSide(tm) - Coke
HGTV Bath Design: Bath Design Ideas, How-To, Shop, Instructional Videos
P&G: Home Made Simple on TLC
..:: Dove Calming Night ::..
National Lampoon -- TOGA!
nike :: NIKEFOOTBALL
Jeep: Meet the Mudds
Nordstrom Silverscreen Home
MountainDew.com -
mycokerewards - home
MyCoke

3. Network Channels (Closed Content): Online channels started by an existing 'old world' network like ABC, NBC & CBS or new world channels like HEAVY. Network channels are generally closed to consumer generated content and tend offer their own programming despite the fact that they may encourage or host contests for users to send in their own content.

The networks are also releasing traditional programming online, such as Warner Bros. Two and Half Men. They'll be selling both the small screen off-net rights and the internet rights.  In addition to the standard TV rights, stations who pick up the show will be able to stream episodes on their websites 5x week, after their initial airing of the episode on television. Stations will also have local inventory in the webisodes

Disney-ABC Television Group's Touchstone Television will produce Lost Video Diaries, original mini-episodes inspired by the ABC series Lost. The Lost Video Diaries are created for an initial release on mobile devices, and they will chronicle stories from the island inspired by ones from the broadcast series.
CBS.com - Innertube
IFILM - Video, Movies, Trailers, Music and Viral Videos
AtomFilms: Watch the best short films & animations -- free!
The Strand::Venice CA
Oxygen.com: Homepage
Oh! Baby: Homepage
(( Shipwreck Central ))
The ManiaTV! Network
JumpBoxTV-Gobi's friend
24 Mobile
[adult swim]
Heavy.com: Humor. Videos. Music. Games. Featuring Pimp My Weapon
tank.tv / now showing
Happy Tree Friends
Binary Revolution - The Revolution will be Digitized!
THE FIX TV
Rocketboom
mtvU.com
MTV Overdrive
AOL Television: In2TV
AOL Television: In2TV MAIN (BETA)
Roo TV - On-Demand Video Portal
Try URGE | Free Music Downloads For 14 Days
New Jersey Wildcats
Beeline TV - Watch Online Television - Free Internet TV Channels
xobile - Adult movies on mobile!
Making Fiends-Flash Animation
Ripe TV
CBS: TheShowBuzz.com - Breaking Entertainment News Headlines and Video
IGN TV: Episode Guides, Video Clips, Pictures and Previews for Television Shows

4. : Consumer generated content channels. With YouTube being the most famous and Yahoo & Google jumping on the bandwagon, there are dozens of sites offering to host and catalogue consumer driven content.
SelfMadeTV.com
Current TV - Al Gore Owns
AddictingClips – Related to Atom Films
IFILM - User Video
FireANT | Not TV
C H A N N E L B L A S T :: the future of internet television
NewzViewz
GUBA - Usenet Search - Easy access to Usenet Pictures and Videos
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.
Revver
Yahoo! Podcasts - Beta
Google Video
Channel101 - The Unavoidable Future of Entertainment
Official Google Video Blog
Welcome to Vimeo!
Myspace-Film
Break.com - Funny Pics, Hot Chicks, & Cool Flicks
GoFish - Watch videos, upload your own and share with friends
AddictingClips – Play and share habit-forming video, animation, and Flash games
Webcams around the world
OfficePirates.com
movie clips • viral clips • funny virals • funny clips • email attachments
Metacafe: Funny Movies & Videos
Zango – You’re Good to Go. Unlimited Free Games, Free Videos and Free Downloads.
Veoh - The First Internet Television Peercasting Network
Wallop
AOL UnCut Video
blip.tv (beta)
Buzznet: Blogs, Friends, Music, Video Sharing, Photo Sharing
Castpost: Web Video Solutions
ClipShack
Dailymotion - Share Your Videos
Jumpcut [Make Amazing Movies Online]
Ourmedia Homepage | Ourmedia
Streamload - Free Online Storage - Share Videos and Photos - Online MP3 Storage and Access
vpodtv
vSocial - The Video Clip Sharing Community
motionbox
PodShow

And if that is not enough info for you, related articles from the past 30 days that are worth a read:

TiVo Announces Revolutionary New Service, TiVoCast; Bringing Broadband Video Content to the TV
http://www.streamingmedia.com/press/view.asp?id=4874

Scripps Hammers Home Web Power
http://www.adageglobal.com/digital/article.php?article_id=109618

Video Consumption Up 20%
http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3608446

MySpace Aims To Extend Into TV
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=42343&Nid=19860&p=350414

Microsoft Teams Up With Hollywood to Offer Original Web Shows
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/03/arts/03micr.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

Are Five-Second Ads the Future of Web Marketing?
Metacafe and Other Video Sites Develop a Fresh Idea to Bolster Online Advertising
http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=108765

...Get Your World Cup Soccer Here!

Watch world cup soccer at your desk for FREE thanks to broadband online video access...

So, for some weekend & midweek fun, ESPN will be streaming 52 of the 64 World Cup soccer games live on ESPN360, the Disney unit's broadband video channel. However, ESPN360 is only available to a small handful of broadband providers--the majority of which could be classified as "local." Verizon is the largest national provider that makes the list, but no Cox, no Comcast, and--sorry, New York area folks--no Time Warner cable. Luckily, Wired Magazine is telling die-hard fans how to see the games on the Web. We have Chinese hackers to thank for "almost exclusively" pirating WC streams and rerouting them through servers in Israel - go figure! One shouldn't expect the commentary to be in English, however. To see BBC broadcasts--which purists who prefer English commentators will enjoy--GHacks.net offers a way to use public proxies to fool the BBC into thinking you're in the U.K. Wired mentions that it's unclear whether any of this is illegal in the U.S., but FIFA--the soccer's world governing body that's responsible for the massive show--would certainly "frown upon" it.

Either way, to learn how to enjoy the games FREE while you are at work in the coming weeks, follow Wired's simple instuctions here...
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/internet/0,71112-0.html?tw=rss.index

The agency model is dead...will we be able to reinvent ourselves?

Most of us cannot remember the 3 martini lunch, or the indicators of the industry heyday that surrounded it. While every industry goes through economic cycles, some never survive that era's industrial or technological evolution. Today's technological evolution is focused around communication & information and will effect the advertising & communications industry more than any other. This technological evolution - best associated with broadband access and the evolution of online search, places us in the middle of a revolution not seen since the industrial age. Think of what happened to the railway lines at the advent of the automobile and the building of roads.

While the income within our industry has evolved to include multiple revenue sources, it is grounded in the concept of the media buy. As a testament to that, accounts up for review are still listed based on the size of their annual media budgets. From an agency perspective this has to change.

Unless agencies are prepared to invest heavily in technology solutions to rival the likes of Google & Yahoo they will eventually be cut out of most media buying. It will not be long before fully automated solutions touch traditional media buys such as publications and television. These traditional media buys will then become as much of a commodity as the online media marketplace has become today.

Our position will be farther weakened as management consultants like McKinsey & Co, Accenture etc. start to chip away at an organizational level within our clients marketing departments...and marketing budgets. For example, Accenture has recently been engaged by Wal-Mart to better align their ad spend and help select an 'agency' or grouping of 'agencies' to service their needs.

The form of advertising will also change completely, with brands having to integrate their message more seamlessly into online and offline offerings. In other words, the messages will not take the form of advertising as much as content. Remember, this is driven by technology and the consumer is now in control. 'Advertising' will undergo a creative convergence within content. Authentically so. Few large agencies do this well.

Smaller shops with lab-like environments will harbor artisans that come together to create bespoke solutions within this new media content mix. Bespoke - not just in content, but in form. These creative shops will live and breathe within the new media solutions such as: wikis, blogs, RSS & mash-ups, as well as be responsible for inventing new ones. How many of you are familiar with Renkoo, Gahbunga, Ning, and Squidoo? If not, get cracking!

Brands will allow their agencies to produce content that offers value to consumers first and advertise second. To win back respect and take control of the market from clients, agencies must share in the risk. In order to bring about true partnership, agencies should be willing to take compensation risks for quantifiable solutions. Not being willing to stand behind your own work is not a good sign. Without this alignment, opportunity will fall by the wayside like more junk mail. The new agency’s role will essentially be that of the Brand's associate producer - with the Brand as executive producer.

There are signs within the industry that we are paying attention, and not just to the shifting media dollars online away from TV. This years Lion's television commercial submissions are down 3%, while online submissions are up by 30% - a good sign our industry is reacting to the future.

In order to take control of what it is we know how to do best, the following needs to happen:

1. We must partner with our clients in paying for the development of our branding & line extension ideas. We can do this by lowering our fees, while taking a piece of the back-end. By doing so we are essentially going into business with them and aligning our interest with theirs.

2. Get away from our traditional approach to media and it's fast approaching commoditized media marketplace.

3. Change our fee for service vendor mentality.

4. We must invest in, develop and monetize intellectual property.

5. Creative is king!

In a nutshell, creativity & shared risk...our last hope........again!

Management Consultants Push Further Into Ad Business
http://adage.com/article?article_id=109690

Honda Sponsors Internet Reality Show
http://www.broadbandenterprises.com/news/detail.asp?NEWS_ID=8

A Sponsor and Its Show, Intertwined
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/17/business/media/17adcol.html?ei=5070&en=883e48b6f64ad909&ex=1145937600&adxnnl=1&emc=eta1&adxnnlx=1145314394-XXiSK8AHcddL0V/9GqAiSg&pagewanted=print