Branded entertainment forerunners explain how relationships, technology and permission must support creativity.

Advertising Age's third annual Madison + Vine event at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Wednesday, February 16, featured senior executives from some of the leading trend-setting brands like Starbucks, Pepsi and Electronic Arts, as well as the producers who help them navigate new frontiers.

The panel, "Beyond Product Placement: Content Creation Takes Center Stage," got off to a fast start. Speakers highlighted the importance of ideas and the use of multiple channels, not just television, to achieve branded entertainment goals.

Tracy Dorsey of Full Circle entertainment noted that the idea has to be built consistent with what the brand is trying to accomplish.

"Consumers are harder to find now. Branded content offers creative ways that the 30-spot couldn't allow. The challenge is for brands to know who to trust to help build branded content and to figure out how to narrow down the huge field of ideas being proposed that all seem brilliant at first glance," said Dorsey.

Jon Kamen, Chairman-CEO of @radical.media, warned marketers not to overexploit a brand or turn off consumers, but instead make sure the idea is strong enough that consumers will appreciate it. He said his company works with forward-thinking brands because in the creative process, the good idea comes first.

@radical.media produced two summer series for Nike, called "Battle Grounds," that saw amazing success. The ratings were high, but he noted that the real return on investment for Nike was the increased sale of shoes.

"We're besieged now with brands and agencies approaching us every day. When we invented radical media we had no idea the demand would be so big. Now it's our responsibility to do projects well. The sequel to Burger King's Subservient Chicken that we did with Crispin Porter + Bogusky was successful because seven million people went online to vote for Spicy versus TC (aka Spicy Tendercrisp Chicken vs. Tendercrisp Chicken). This was a big concept that went beyond traditional advertising."

Some executives believe that too many brands are risking branded entertainment. Irwin Gotlieb, CEO of Group M, pointed out that even though it's relatively easy for any brand to enter the space, there are still some brands that could benefit from it that haven't played in it yet. However, Gotlieb cautioned: "There are many product categories that don't lend themselves to branded content. For instance, what are we going to do with toilet paper?"

Katie Lacey, Vice President of Colas and Media at Pepsi-Cola North America, said that advertisers are struggling with how to navigate the space. "There are numerous companies that can help us. We need all sides of the business collaborating and guiding us," said Lacey. "The more that they can help guide you through the process, the better. At Pepsi, we want our key partners involved in decision making. Otherwise, we get promised things that people can't deliver," said Lacey.

Lacey isn't afraid of making mistakes: "We will keep trying new things, and it's a learning process. We make strong connections with consumers through many channels, but the backbone of our spending will still involve mass media for at least the next year."

Panelists were then asked if they work with a network or outside partner, how they can be ensured that the idea will be appropriate.

"Our advertising, media, marketing, brand management and PR teams all have to be in the room to discuss the needs of the brand and the show," said Lacey.

Ben Silverman, CEO of Reveille Entertainment, believes partners can make or break an idea, since ultimately the idea is only as good as its execution.

"We've seen that only five production studios have executed 95 percent of aired branded content. Madison + Vine is about the relationships that bring in core competencies," Silverman said. "Scripted projects are always led by the question, 'Is the script good enough?' Sometimes it's harder to integrate product into a scripted show, because reality shows seem more realistic, so to speak, and enable the audience to care less about the intrusion of product placement," Silverman said. "I see the marketing alliance as a much bigger undertaking than just a deal. It's about how the show will use the brand as a platform to reach certain consumers."

Obviously, there still remain some stepping stones that need to be taken for the industry to move forward.

Kamen believes that executives often forget about a key component: technology.

"The title of branded entertainment should be changed to 'Madison + Vine + Valley.' We can't forget that the marriage also involves the internet. It has to in order to succeed in a media world that's become so fragmented," said Kamen.

"We have to get more grown up in this industry," said Gotlieb, who thinks measurement is the biggest unsolved issue. "We need to face the ROI issues. We need sensible objectives and metrics that are much more quantifiable. We continue to simplify the complexity of the deal, but branded content isn't clearly defined and this is our fundamental issue. It requires that everyone enters with their eyes wide open and be flexible."

Silverman jumped in, saying, "In branded entertainment, we're trying to be as creative and smart as we can. We've learned that there are so many parties involved that we have to make it fair for all of them. We have to consider everyone's issues. It's hard to create a great project that makes everyone happy, but I definitely believe in it and think that technology is accelerating it."

Another session, entitled "Next Stop: Branded entertainment comes to magazines, cell phones, events and other new frontiers," discussed the potential of new channels. When moderator Jonah Bloom, Executive Editor of Advertising Age, asked panelists how to extend a brand beyond a single product or channel, all agreed that permission from consumers is necessary.

Ken Lombard, President at Starbucks Entertainment said, "Starbucks has made a commitment to move into the music business. The Starbucks brand was built around the customer experience. We try to build as exceptional quality and experience as we can. We aren’t in the coffee business; we feel we're in the people business. We look through the customer lens. We needed permission from customers to go beyond selling coffee and over time they have given it to us. We sold millions of copies of the Ray Charles album."

Another specific example of a brand struggling to change its image was described by Steve Stout, Chairman of branded entertainment consultancy Translation. Stout explained, "The Reebok brand caught America by storm with its aerobics products. But the company took it too far and lost the young male segment, so the stock price came down. In 2001, I worked with them to establish Rbk as a call to action to young men. We signed JayZ and we treated him with respect and like a brand ambassador. Reebok now has young men's attention again and they're excited about Reebok shoes."

If anyone knows the young male demographic, it's Maxim.

"The Maxim brand has a strong following with young males, but we're still trying to understand how to extend this brand into other media. Unfortunately, the nontraditional programs that we've done haven’t involved our partners leveraging something new other than the magazine pages," said Stephen Colvin, President and CEO of Dennis Publishing.

Bloom asked how the images of artists are being utilized in the advertising industry and Stout responded that both brands and artists are becoming more open about working together.

"In focus groups, we learned that an artist is a much more effective communication tool to a teenager than anything else. The issue is how to make the relationship organic, like how U2 worked seamlessly with iPod. A brand can't just paste its culture onto a celebrity or vice versa."

Lombard said that Starbucks' assets are providing a solution to the music industry: "The frequency of our customers' visits is a huge asset. The digital side of the business is where the industry is headed, and will play a significant role in our future. We're using digital's growth to enhance the Starbucks experience as an entertainment destination."

At the conclusion of the panel sessions, Geoffrey Frost, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Motorola Inc., gave a keynote presentation over lunch. After demonstrating Motorola's fancy new products and the impressive amount of celebrity endorsement of its new Razr phone, he pointed out that marketers need to do three things: use invitation versus intrusion, figure out how to "throw" the media party versus crashing it, and embrace new technologies as soon as possible.

Few attendees left the event with an acute knowledge of branded entertainment deal-making structures and specifics, but all were fired up to get back to their corner offices and put their own ideas to work.

Editor's Note: iMedia had teamed with Variety to present a one-day Integrate ‘05: Marketing and the New Entertainment Consumer event. Go here to find out more and request an invitation.