We are seeing the future of marketing playing out right now. It’s called branded entertainment. The NYTimes has a great post today called This Web TV Is for You. This is similar to the concept now dominated by search marketers keyword and branded navigation. Now it’s moving to branded marketing and entertainment.
“Advertisers becoming content providers, a practice known as branded entertainment, is helping reshape how Madison Avenue peddles wares. It reflects an effort by marketers to regain some of the power they wielded from the 1930’s through the 1950’s, when they owned the radio and television shows they sponsored.”
The network is creating a new direct business model. This reminds me of the old web 1.0 days when companies tried to make their web sites tell a story or provide entertainment where their products and services were not highlighted (example: the big zima launch). Maybe now with media or marketing 2.0 the net could pull it off.
Silicon Valley Technology Blog - John Furrier 