Issued by: Stimulii


While independent aspects of branded entertainment have been applied with relative measured success, as a holistic brand vehicle it offers a bouquet of methodologies for marketing directly to the consumer without using high ad spend, hard-sell tactics. By assuming a subtler approach, the lines become blurred between advertising and entertainment. This may take various forms of subtle disruptive brand behaviour that could include tactical eventing, cinema, shopping for groceries or watching your favourite television program.

"Our job is to strategically place products in an environment so that they become accepted elements within a familiar landscape to the consumer. The objective being that the individuals themselves then respond to brands personally, creating relevance in their own lives," explains Samantha Adams-Moon, director of Stimulii.

Embedding credentials

Branded entertainment includes strategy-based product placement, entertainment property licensing and celebrity endorsement, supported by live activation events and campaigns among other tactics that embed brand credentials and awareness in the minds of consumers

Tactical product placement enables marketers to put their products in a highly visible but natural environment where consumers are accustomed to placing themselves. By merging the consumer's projected environment, in the form of a television show or film, the consumer is brought into a familiar and comfortable association with the product. This familiarity leads to the incorporation of the product in the consumer's own personal lifestyle and thus puts it foremost in their mind space and buying habits.

This tactic has been very successful for Clover, which placed products on the sets of 7de Laan and Muvhango and noticed a marked increase in the visibility and sales of its products.

Immediate credibility

Using familiar characters or entertainment properties, such as Shrek or other similar established contemporary cultural icons through licensing, creates immediate brand credibility, says Adams-Moon. Licensing is used to build strong relationships between brands and licensed properties to create a synergy between products and media.

Celebrity endorsement means adding value to products by placing them within the environment of well-known individuals. As consumers are often iconic in their buying habits, they aspire to match their lifestyles to those of their role models. By applying products to celebrity environments, the pool of exposure is widened, offering an opportunity for products to be photographed as well as seen in the celebrity context.

"The fact is that when a consumer goes to see a movie there are many other moments that happen within that space which create opportunities to immerse consumers in products that could become a part of their lifestyle," concludes Adams-Moon, "They buy popcorn, they buy tickets, they speak on the phone, they look at posters, they meet with friends."

Visit our PRESS OFFICE: Stimulii has been operating in the market for the past ten years and through our many evolutions we have done as diverse projects as fundraisers for the Nelson Mandela Children Trust on board the QE2, selling accompanying cabins to the corporate South Africa and having Sir David Frost interview then President Mandela live for BBC, to being one of the key communications agencies for Love Life when it was still known as NASHI (National Adolescent Sexual Health Initiative). In addition we have represented numerous international film studios such as DreamWorks, Paramount and Nickelodeon and have instituted successful commercial licensing and merchandising plans on their behalf in this territory, honing our below the line expertise in the process. Today we stand as one of the premier brand extension agencies, successfully bringing clients brands' alive within the framework of pop culture be it via product placement integration in you favorite daily local drama or soapie, to aligning your brand with local and international celebrities, musicians, sports personalities or any other individuals positively shaping our South African culture. Clover Spread the Love and Tropika Island of Treasure would be two of the most recent activations you would see in the market.- more....

[6 Nov 2006 16:06]

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