Village Gamer

The ship is slowly starting to turn in the global branded entertainment marketplace as content is better integrated into entertainment platforms that consumers want to watch. And, according to The Future of Branded Entertainment, released today by the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA), this shift is driven by recurring themes of convergence, the blurring of the lines between brand marketing and storytelling, an increased use of video and an emphasis on experiential, authentic content.

This final white paper in a three-part series Branded Entertainment: A New Production Financing Paradigm was prepared by Duopoly’s Catherine Tait. Funding for the research was provided by the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund.

It examines where the branded entertainment industry is headed and explores some of the industry’s most innovative case studies.

“All of the experts we interviewed in this paper point to the value of brand-created experiences as one of the most effective tactics for building consumer engagement,” says Ms. Tait. “The biggest take-away for producers is to understand how to develop with brands rather than shoe-horning an existing show idea into a brand’s brief.”

White Paper 1, The Branded Entertainment Landscape (PDF) examines the current landscape for the fast-growing branded entertainment sector with a focus on U.S. markets. White Paper 2, Branded Entertainment: The Canadian Experience explores the Canadian market in its more nascent stage with successful native examples.