Branded entertainment is fast becoming the marketing concept everyone is talking about!

Branded entertainment is fast becoming the marketing concept that everyone is talking about in the media industry. Sometimes also referred to as branded content or advertainment, branded entertainment is not a totally new concept and has been used to a degree for many years. For example, incorporating product placement into movies, or incorporating brands into the story line of movies. However, today things are being done quite differently where some brands are creating 10-minute movies to sell their products and others are replacing the “30-second advertising spots” for 3-minute stories, some brands are sponsoring web-based shows, whilst others are creating their own television shows! Let's not forget about the rise of video games and brand placement within games!

However as a concept, branded entertainment is still relatively new in South Africa, with projects few and far between. There is growing interest but limited skills and experience.

For this reason, Knowledge Resources will be hosting a very practical and interactive one-day seminar in Johannesburg, on 24 March 2010. This seminar boasts a fantastic selection of experts who will share their knowledge and experience with delegates. Speakers include:

• Patrick Collings, Partner, Sagacite Brand Agency
• Wayne Bishop, Channel Strategy Director, Nota Bene
• Allan Kent, Head of At Play, Saatchi & Saatchi
• Kerneels Breytenbach, Writer and former Head of Publishing, NB Publishers
• Jason Cullen, Animation Director, Luma
• Sello Leshope, Strategic Director, Zoom Advertising and Ogilvy Cape Town

This seminar will cover topics such as:

• An introduction to branded entertainment;
• The rise of video games and brand placement within games;
• How to structure a branded entertainment deal;
• Building brands into story-lines;
• The measurement of branded entertainment;
• Online branded entertainment;
• And more!

Patrick Collings of Sagacite Brand Agency will also be leading a discussion with the rest of speaker panel about the ethics of adapting story-lines to cater for brand insertions and whether the audience should be made aware that the brand is paying to be in the story-line or show. This new seminar offers delegates a wonderful opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and speak directly with industry experts.

Should you wish to find out more about this exciting event, please contact Debbie Atwell, Conference Producer at Knowledge Resources, on 083 651 1664 or email: debbie@knowres.co.za.