he Association of National Advertisers (ANA) in the US released its findings on the rise of branded entertainment in the country. The term itself is hard to define. Paul Woolmington, co-founder of Naked Communications, said in an interview with Inside Branded Entertainment, "I think it's really built around entertaining, engaging and surprising the consumer in unusual ways with authenticity but in forms that are non-traditional." This means that branded entertainment involves more than just sponsoring a show or product placement.

The survey conducted by ANA found that 66 per cent of marketers are currently engaged in branded entertainment, of which 80 per cent do it through commercial TV programmes. Forty six per cent participate in branded entertainment through sporting events and venues, 45 per cent through theatre or movies, 26 per cent through magazines, another 26 per cent through video games, 15 per cent through internet films and the remaining through non-commercial television programmes. ... more