"What do we call Ourselves?

Over the past five years in our industry - we have truly enjoyed watching the "in" words evolve and chance.

Is it entertainment marketing, product placement, brand integration, branded content, or branded entertainment that we do?

People have such strong feelings about each term. "Are we more than product placement but less than entertainment marketing but past branded content?" So we decided to check the source....Wikipedia.

Here are the only two definitions we found:

Branded entertainment is the combination of an audio-visual programme (TV, radio, podcast, etc.) and a brand. It can be initiated either by the brand or by the broadcaster. The purpose of a branded entertainment programme is first to entertain. The other purpose is to give the opportunity for brands to echo their commercial benefits and the positioning they want to defend.

Originally, branded entertainment started some 50 years ago under the name of "soap operas". Now they have become the way for advertisers to let their messages come across in a "not so commercial" way. This development is one of the consequences of the fragmentation of media and the fact that the traditional 30-second TV spot has become less and less effective to reach consumers fragmented over hundreds of channels and the Internet.


Product placement (PPL) is a promotional tactic used by marketers in which a real commercial product is used in fictional or non-fictional media, and the presence of the product is a result of an economic exchange. When featuring a product is not part of an economic exchange, it is called a product plug. Product placement appears in plays, film, television series, music videos, video-games and books, and is a relatively new idea (first appearing in the 1980's). Product placement occurs with the inclusion of a brand's logo, or a favorable mention or appearance of a product. This is done without disclosure, and under the premise that it is a natural part of the work. Most major movie releases today contain product placements.