Product placement has existed for years. Companies pay big money to get their product placed in a movie or TV show. The blockbuster hit “New Moon” has a Burger King bag precisely placed in the middle of a scene, and “American Idol” may as well be called “Coca-Cola’s Idol” with the grotesque amount of product placement on that show.
But what happens when the entertainment outlet doesn’t exist for your product? You call in the advertising agencies that know how to get creative, and then you create your own entertainment outlet. Welcome to the world of Webisodes.
According to Wikipedia, “A webisode is simply a web episode – collectively it is part of a web series, a form of new medium called web television that characteristically features a dramatic, serial storyline, where the primary method of viewership is streaming online over the Internet. While there is no set standard for length, most webisodes are relatively short, ranging from 4–15 minutes in length.”
Stuart Elliot in a New York Times article writes, “Webisodes — part of a trend called branded entertainment — are growing because marketers feel compelled to find new methods to reach consumers in an era when the traditional media are losing eyeballs, ears, hearts, minds and perhaps other body parts to the Internet.”
Webisodes are being created to advertise everything from makeup to cleaning products and salad dressings. And, like most advertisements that run when and where the target audience is viewing, Webisodes are being placed on specific Web sites that reach the most appropriate audience. Hidden Valley Ranch Webisodes, for example, star Jenny Garth and will be featured on ivillage.com starting this January. I personally like Jenny Garth, the new queen of Webisodes, but I hope the “entertainment” is strong since I can’t really get my head around being interested in ongoing mini-shows about salad dressing.
A Webisode currently getting plenty of attention is Maybelline’s “The Broadroom” (also starring Jenny Garth). Episodes for your entertainment are below.
What do you think? Are Webisodes the new marketing platform that will get your attention? Not cheap to produce, are they worth the cost? What products would you like to see in a Webisode?
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