ANA offers stats for branded entertainment

As regards the move that brands are making toward an embrace of branded entertainment (“advertainment”), an article that appeared at SHOOTonline.com on August 15, 2011 notes the following:

The Association of National Advertisers(ANA) has found that nearly two-thirds of client-side marketers—63 percent—plan to participate in branded entertainment projects in 2012, making branded entertainment a common marketing strategy for many companies.

Further statistics from the article point to why client-side marketers are embracing the medium of advertainment:

• The ability to make a stronger emotional connection with the consumer (78 percent)
• The ability to align their brand with relevant content (75 percent)
•  And the ability to build brand affinity with a desired target group or demographic (73 percent)

Branded entertainment faces challenges, however, as it relates to tracking effectiveness:

Though branded entertainment provides many opportunities, client-side marketers indicated that they are not satisfied with the quality of research available to measure its effectiveness in both 2006 and 2011 (64 percent and 65 percent, respectively). While 83 percent of today’s marketers’ companies are measuring the impact of their branded entertainment integrations, 63 percent find it challenging to do so. In the 2006 survey, the same percentage (63 percent) indicated that it was a challenge to measure branded entertainment activities.