The brand and its sex appeal

 
Branded Entertainment On June 13, Sawi is offering a premium seminar on advertising with entertainment value. The course will be led by Manuel Nappo from the Creative Assets agency.  
WW: In times of advertising overload on the TV screen, new and entertaining concepts are in demand. What can the course at Sawi offer here? Manuel Nappo: Our offer is an in-depth look at successful cases from the field of branded entertainment. What is this anyway? Where does the trend come from? What does it involve? How does branded entertainment differ from sponsorship, media and PR? What can a company use for itself? We show that ideas are already being realized not only in the USA, but also in Switzerland. What's going on in Switzerland? Even though Switzerland is a small show nation, there are already some great successes to report. "Beck&Bondi" is a great example. Likewise "Supermodel" on 3 Plus or "Joya rennt" with its various product placements. One very successful example was the film "Mein Name ist Eugen", which was supported by Mobiliar. The insurance company got involved because in this comedy - due to the youthful pranks - the topic of damage was addressed in a very original and likeable way. A more personalized form of branded entertainment is repeatedly presented to us in various campaigns involving Melanie Winiger. At Creative Assets, we launched Fiona Hefti as the first ambassador for the Swedish fashion label Filippa K, placed Maserati in films and set up a YouTube channel for the luxury club Saint Germain.
I am delighted that we have been able to engage two prominent and very competent guest speakers for the premium seminar. Adrian Brugger from Swiss television wants to show what opportunities there are for SMEs too. Nägeli removals, for example, had a placement in the program "Tapetenwechsel". What is the benefit for such companies if they are featured in a national program? How can such a commitment be exploited? There is much more than the popular option of inviting customers to a set. The second speaker is Antoine Monot Jr, former program director at the Zurich Film Festival. He will explain the benefits of a local flower shop sponsoring an international film festival. The benefits for L'Oréal are clear. But what, for example, can a Baur au Lac hotel gain from such a commitment? The surprise guest from the world of entertainment will answer more exciting questions.
How interested are such celebrities in working in advertising? Of course, it has to be right for the celebrities. You can't turn them into shooting gallery figures. Some will do anything if the money is there. But the majority think carefully: what's in it for me apart from a few thousand francs? You have to look at it in this context: Even Madonna, the Queen of Pop, can hardly find her way to the public today without branded entertainment. She has teamed up with a mobile provider for her latest CD. Verizon makes billions with music downloads and ringtones. So it only makes sense for prominent musicians to tie up with these channels. I find it very symptomatic. It's profitable for both sides.
An example from Switzerland? personally, I think Stress does it very well. He was a successful rapper. But it's only thanks to his credible partnership with Coop that he's in a league where he can pursue a professional career on a broad scale. Thanks to the Coop commercial, even my mother now knows who Stress is. Conversely, Stress is achieving a lot for his honest cause of environmental protection because he has entered into a partnership with the right brand for his commitment.
Which industries is branded entertainment suitable for? If there is no way, it's because you haven't found one yet. Industries that have to do with lifestyle are certainly predestined. Luxury goods are well suited to testimonials. Consumer goods and the automotive industry have also come a long way. But I believe that the future belongs to pharmaceuticals and service providers.
Certain rules must be observed for sponsorship and product placement. Will the course also provide legal tips? The new RTVA is relatively friendly for developments in the area of branded entertainment. Product placement is possible if it is declared accordingly. We will address the issue, but it is not a focus. We are more interested in the creative side. We want to take a very "American" approach to this. At the end of each chapter, we define a few important points to remember. Everyone knows this situation: at the end, you end up lugging home a thick folder that is then stored somewhere and never looked at again. We want our participants to leave with a few focused answers that they can apply.
Is there already a lot of literature on the subject of branded entertainment? A lot has been written. But you can sense that this area of communication is still young. There are still no official definitions or clear values such as the four Ps - product, price, place, promotion - in marketing. I find it very exciting. We can define the boundaries ourselves. Until a clear standard has been established, we can only show the cases in training. Everyone has to work out for themselves what makes sense for them. There is also no recipe, because every brand is different. Every market is different, every integration option is different. It therefore makes little sense for potential clients to want to do "something like Mobiliar" with us. This cannot simply be adapted to another product. This is where the specific know-how and network of an agency can help. They can reinvent the win-win situation in each case.
You have been teaching sponsorship at Sawi for two years now. What is the difference between this and branded entertainment? But there is an overlap. We define everything as sponsorship where there is a cash flow, service flow or barter deal between a company and any format. The main idea with branded entertainment is that you think about how you can credibly influence the content. If Migros sponsors an open air festival, that is pure sponsorship. However, if Migros puts its own retort band on the program for this festival, for example, the commitment becomes branded entertainment. The Fan Championship M'08 was also branded entertainment - an entertaining TV format was created especially for Migros' advertising and sent with content via the channel.
How do you experience the recognition from customers - do you already see a useful tool here? Yes and no. Customers find us interesting, they want to get to know us. They want to use this new area before the competition. But there is still a lot of potential for brands in this area. That's a bit of a problem in Switzerland. There's Omega, Nespresso with Clooney, IWC with Kevin Spacey or Jura and National Insurance with Federer. They do really tangible branded entertainment. Brands that operate in a smaller environment, on the other hand, are hardly making use of the opportunities in their media mix. Although the costs are much lower compared to traditional advertising and the impact is sometimes much greater. This is where we want to raise awareness, for example with this course at Sawi. Here we can show who branded entertainment can be good for and how it can become a success factor in its own right.
 
Interview: Andreas Panzeri
 
 
Stars and brandsSawi premium seminar "Branded Entertainment - Give your brand sex appeal". Does your brand already have the necessary entertainment value to stand out from the crowd? Or are your expensive advertising customers flickering towards empty sofas?
Friday, June 13 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with Manuel Nappo, Managing Partner Creative Assets (seminar leader), as well as Adrian Brugger, Head of Sponsoring Swiss Television, Antoine Monot jr, Head Development Condor Films. Info and registration at
(premium seminars).