A Study in Branded Entertainment
Posted: 6/23/2009 11:30:13 AM by
Carrie Urban Kapraun | with 0 comments
I am a fan of Ghost Whisperer, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, on CBS. I TiVo every episode. Often when I am watching a movie or a TV program I visit the Web site of that program on my laptop to look at content that is available only online or to do research on what people are saying about it. It is especially entertaining to browse the forums of American Idol during the airing of an episode; all I have to say is people have way too much time on their hands.
While viewing an episode of Ghost Whisperer, I went to the program’s pages on CBS.com to see what type of content the site had. Something called The Other Side caught my attention. The Other Side, now in its third season, is a series of original content webisodes sponsored by Saturn. The content was interesting enough and short enough (generally three to five minutes) that I watched all of the webisodes. A few weeks later when I was watching an episode of Ghost Whisperer on TV, a character from The Other Side made an appearance on the show. For whatever reason, I felt like I was let in on a secret or was privy to some inside information. I felt cool.
Additionally, as part of Saturn’s sponsorship of the show, Melinda Gordon, played by Hewitt, drives a Saturn. For the most recent season, Saturn ran a contest to visit the set of Ghost Whisperer and also incorporated an online game or “gamisode” on the CBS Web site, which like the webisodes ties into the on-air series but follows its own story line.
Maybe it is because I like the show or because I am likely the intended target audience, but I think that Saturn’s sponsorship program is a pretty good example of TV brand integration or branded entertainment. It incorporates realistic product placement within the TV program, which is enhanced by the online and promotional components.
The original webisodes and gamisode content, although at times a little commercialized, still offers an interesting story line. Saturn is able to capture consumer data through the online game and contest registrations while promoting its OnStar capabilities and hybrid vehicles. Also, on iamsaturn.com, Saturn has bloggers posting information about The Other Side. Overall, there seems to be a pretty good buzz on the Internet about the series.
I don’t know if Saturn’s activation of this program extends to their dealers, to what level they are involving their employees, or if Hewitt or other cast members are making appearances or being featured in advertising, but if not, those would seem like logical ways to expand the program. There are a lot of ways to enhance the program, both online and offline, and it would be interesting to see it as a mobile platform.
I think the components of the program aren’t necessarily unique, but the execution of the program feels right and speaks to the intended audience in a way that is engaging. That said, I don’t have plans to buy a car anytime soon, but at least Saturn is now top of mind.
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Filed under: branded entertainment, activation