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I’m going to take a guess that the brand is Kia, although I struggle with the strategy behind it and campaign objectives. Does this content appeal to the core Kia demo? And what’s the end benefit Kia’s trying to express to the audience? Seems like a disconnect to me. The only takeaway I can glean is that if you’re broke and live with a talking hamster, you likely own an affordable car like Kia. But I would have liked to see some underlying quality message, too, or some reason for the viewer to recall the brand later. Going for a viral hit with a quick pan over the Kia name on the car isn’t enough to drive any meaningful brand association or action.

Gennifer, try analyzing this for what it is or suppose to be… Entertainment. Kia…? Oh, please give me a bucket. In my opinion, this is the wrong direction for online content. At a time when audiences are complaining about overdone product placement, creating a series like this is just asking for it. I think it’s amazing when cash is thrown away on these shows.

Todd – I didn’t find it all that entertaining, either, which is why if it is a brand-funded initiative, I’d at least expect some underlying objective to drive brand action or it’s a waste of marketing dollars. As someone immersed in branded entertainment, I analyze it from all angles, but the story + entertainment value should always be paramount or it won’t compel viewers to watch enough for even basic brand awareness/recall.

Marc – re: your tweet to me about the product and campaign (http://twitter.com/MarcHustvedt/status/6443524341), I’d have to guess the Kia Sorento crossover as part of their recent marketing push as its first domestically built vehicle.

I just figured out what campaign it’s part of… the Kia Soul ‘new way to roll’ campaign, but if it’s that difficult to identify, either I’m not the target audience (which I’m not — it’s recent college grads) or it’s a stretch trying to associate their positioning with the content. I’m leaning toward the latter. While I’m not the target audience for this branded web series, either, Audi’s ‘Meet the Beckers’ (http://www.youtube.com/user/MeetTheBeckers) makes more sense to me from a positioning standpoint. But overall, I think these types of branded efforts fall short of driving either awareness or action in a shallow attempt to create buzz over affinity.

G, My point to you was there has to be roadblocks along the way. I think this industry will set itself backwards if it doesn’t reshape it’s content. There’s a difference between product placement and what this show is. And it’s funny. You are immersed in brand entertainment, yet you struggle to identify the brand. How is the audience influenced, rather than annoyed? I find that ironic. Something their sponsor should consider. I commend the spirit of Lenski and his efforts. However, I couldn’t watch past a minute of it. And I’m perplexed by how you got through it.

There goes the old saying; Lots of water, but nothing to drink.

It’s gotta be Kia.

It’s such a strange concept for a show.

Todd –

Successful ‘product placement’ or ‘brand integration,’ whatever you want to call it, is when you don’t actively notice the product while the entertainment is happening, but have a desire for that brand when it’s over. Instead of being a disruption, it adds to the contextual backdrop of the show that you recall later — and as you become more deeply immersed in the characters and unfolding storyline.

I wouldn’t call this ‘brand entertainment’ at all. It’s a brand-FUNDED piece of entertainment, yes, but would still be the same show whether Kia was sponsoring it or not. It’s not hinged to the brand, brand values, or any key messaging from the campaign to which it’s linked (near as I can tell anyway).

If you want to get your brand message across via entertainment, use the characters as archetypes of your core consumer and connect through them, or appeal to the lifestyle triggers of those who purchase your products. I can’t say that this accomplishes either, but I do also commend Lenski and Kia for taking creative risks and at least trying to reach their audience in a memorable way — even though it appears they tried so hard to be ‘unbranded’ that they didn’t create any positive halo association or goodwill back to the brand to make this a worthwhile investment.

And as far as being perplexed about how I got through it, I watch dozens of web series and branded entertainment daily (most of which is poor!). But you can’t make an informed decision without giving the content the benefit of a complete view and assessment. Although one minute in or five, for ‘Moochie’, mine would still be the same.

Thanks for the discussion.

Gennefer
http://www.twitter.com/Gennefer

The view stats reveal a lot about this video:

http://i48.tinypic.com/jb46lj.png

Did someone pay youtube to promote this video? If not, can you explain that stats?

The Kia SUV…

The first 100 seconds are a waste of space……. but once you make it that this is quite amusing.

Let’s Play Can You Spot the Brand, Target: ‘Moochie’ http://bit.ly/8rgOMg

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

Let’s Play Can You Spot the Brand, Target: ‘Moochie’ http://bit.ly/8rgOMg

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

The brand behind this series has been outed – did you spot it? http://ping.fm/CAqlA

This comment was originally posted on Twitter