Learn the History of Branded Entertainment with New Animated Series

Independent content marketing agency Brand Arc has created “The History of Branded Entertainment,” an animated three-part video series on the evolution of branded entertainment.  Brand Arc will be releasing the episodes over the next few months.

The first episode debuted on the Brand Arc Agency YouTube page and chronicles the origin of storytelling focusing on the earliest pioneers in what will soon be known as brand integration. The episode features Charles Dickens and Jules Verne as they found novel ways to promote their businesses through weaving products into their storylines and are a reflection of some of the earliest forms of placement. 

The second episode continues to explore the rise of cinema, radio, TV and the first efforts at brand integration, from a LifeSavers’ cameo in a Marx Brothers film to P&G’s soap operas designed to sell detergent to housewives.  

The final installment brings us to modern day, in which brands are more than just scenery: With the advent of on-demand viewing and audiences’ ability to fast forward through commercials, marketers have adapted by weaving brand images, attributes and messages into entertainment content, and have become a critical pillar of a brand’s marketing campaigns. 

The target audience for the series is a brand marketer who is intrigued by the idea of investing in branded entertainment, but overwhelmed by its conflicting definitions and oft-proliferating permutations. Takeaway: Brand Arc can help navigate.

“There’s still a lot of confusion about what Branded Entertainment is exactly, and we wanted to step up and lead the industry with this fun explanatory video series” said Rob Donnell, Founder and CEO of Brand Arc, which has developed groundbreaking product integrations for Toyota, Lexus and other major brands across TV, film, video games, mobile and digital platforms.