Digital Hollywood shared new thoughts on old topics: emerging technology, accountability and integration.

Today's installment is a continuation of Rebecca Week's coverage of the Digital Hollywood event in Los Angeles, CA.

Fusion and integration of marketing, entertainment and content was the focus of a Digital Hollywood panel entitled, "Entertainment Concepts in Branded & Integrated Entertainment -- Film, TV, Music, Cable, Wireless, Games & Broadband."

While someone demonstrates a new experiment, innovation or form of production every day, it's not about integration for integration's sake, said panel moderator Michael Kassan, Media and Entertainment Consultant.

Sony Pictures got credit for leading the industry in integrated campaigns.

"Sony is good at working promotional, publicity and marketing partners all together. They really look at the sum total," said Karen Bloore, managing director of Universal McCann Entertainment Group. "Spider Man 2, because of its name, sold itself, so we didn't need to sell it to consumers or partners. Advertisers were even interested in promotions after the movie release."

We know how advertisers feel about product integration, but what about consumers?

Ken Solomon, founder of Fine Living Network added, "We have enough data to prove that viewers don't mind when content and messaging are mixed. Fine Living Network takes risk in this space because we know we can do it relevantly."

The difference between product placement and product integration was explained by Steve Katleman, Shareholder of the L.A. Entertainment Practice of Greenberg Traurig LLP. "Product integration is when you design a program to fit organically inside a product," he said. "One example is the partnership between the Rebel Billionaire show and the Virgin group of companies. Every Virgin brand was organically lumped into the show -- people talked on Virgin cell phones and Virgin Megastores provided a backdrop.

Successful integration relies on authenticity

Authenticity is key in integrating campaigns.  However, achieving authenticity is a challenge.  Panelists could easily think of integrated campaigns that failed before citing successes.

"One campaign that didn't work was Celine Dion and Chrysler. C'mon, did anyone really believe she drove a Chrysler?" said Ken Hertz, senior partner, Goldring Hertz & Lichtenstein LLP. "Many automotive and celebrity match ups have been terrible," he continues.  "Commerce can be artistic but it's wrong to call it art. Product placement should be called product placement. Using the right terms will help people understand what the objectives are."

"I would argue that American Idol isn't a TV show, it's a long advertisement for the winning recording artist," he provoked. "Marketing music is difficult with traditional media because people don't like being told that a certain artist is going to be the next big thing. People want to find out on their own."

Panelists suggested that the ideal consumer group that every marketer is after isn't made up of people that have to be told to believe in something new. They believe on their own and do the telling themselves.

TV is still a major component

One of the big issues with integration continues to be the reliance on television advertising.

Solomon said, "Category networks have an advantage because we can enhance a brand's message. We might be smaller in reach but we give bang for a brand's buck. We saw 3.6 million people sign up online from a promotional campaign on our network. These were qualified leads that turned into money for brands."

Bloore noted, "Sony's budget is not endless; we have to learn where to shave it. The studio wants to be on the cutting-edge, so we're trying to do things with mobile, online and TiVo because they help us to get to know our consumer better. But at the same time, Sony feels comfortable with keeping part of the budget on TV."

New gaming developments explored

Though gaming has not received as much emphasis as film and TV lately, since it utilizes and partners with all of the other entertainment and advertising sectors -- movies, TV, mobile and music -- it is a subject that affects us all. In a panel entitled, "Game Power: As Games Crossover into Music, TV, Movie, Mobile, Advertainment & Custom Branded Experience," leading gaming experts described new and expanding creative technologies in development, platform and delivery.

Moderator Mark Friedler, CEO of GameDAILY/Gigex, Inc., opened up the panel by mentioning the importance of Halo 2's success in the world of technology and entertainment and that mobile games are receiving tremendous growth .

Jonathan Epstein, an agent at United Talent Agency, noted the emergence of what he calls the "game-stream" -- mainstream gamers. Thirty percent of American consumers play games online five hours or more per week. Other marketing experts think that capturing the true mainstream will be an uphill fight.

"As new products are launched, they aren't creating new experiences. They're only extending old experiences. Innovative engineering won't make games more mass market. It's going to have to be breaking out of the 18-34 male audience," said Ralph Rivera, vice president and general manager of AOL Games at America Online.

Panelists highlighted Sony's new PSP as revolutionary, but how exactly is it changing the game industry?

Don Daglow, president and CEO of Stormfront Studios said, "PSP is an example of something that takes the power of a console and puts it into your hands. It's having a huge influence on game design; we can play games in a shorter amount of time and use a friendlier interface."

"PSP is proof that the technology and entertainment curves are well ahead of the marketing support curve. It's the same for podcasting," said Karim Sanjabi, president of Freestyle Interactive.

Wondering how far the PSP envelope could be pushed, Mark Friedler asked, "Will we see MTV videos on the PSP?" Joseph Varet of business development and strategy at MTV Networks said personally he thinks it's possible but not yet in the company's plans.

"Sony has a suite of 30 or 40 video clips of downloadable ads for viewing on the PSP. This might propel more short-form advertainment," suggested Varet.

Sanjabi pointed out that similar types of entertainment can be called different things depending on how consumers receive them: "If we give an experience away it's considered an ad, but if we charge for the same experience it's considered a product."

How important is it that advertisers reach into gaming communities?

"Game creators want to create the same feeling that people have when they connect with human beings on a movie screen. So there's a trend today in trying to show people that life is better after socializing through playing games," Daglow said.

"Social networking helps people reach nirvana. Community creates sustainability around the interaction, and it naturally expands. That's why we at AOL believe in buddy-based gaming," said Rivera.

Interaction. It seemed to be the common thread at Digital Hollywood.