VNU unit site launches guide to branded entertainment
Entertainment marketing firm 1st Approach and VNU's InsideBrandedEntertainment Web site have partnered to launch the Branded Entertainment Monthly and Annual Guide. The online publication lists by calendar order upcoming product integration and promotional opportunities in film and home entertainment, and to a lesser extent in television, music and video games.

The 175-page guide, which launched Monday and is available exclusively at www.inside brandedentertainment.com, lists about 130 branded entertainment opportunities from September 2005-August 2006 in a month-by-month calendar format, in an attempt to make it easier for advertisers to find projects that suit their marketing and advertising schedules. InsideBrandedEntertainment, which launched in May, is owned by VNU, parent company of The Hollywood Reporter.

The guide also is aimed at allowing smaller advertisers that don't have branded entertainment agencies opportunities to integrate their products into film and television on their own.

"We let the brands know when entertainment opportunities are available that work within their schedule," said Jeff Greenfield, author of the guide and executive vp at New York-based 1st Approach. "It's designed to be a planning calendar for them." He said other companies that provide a similar service do not organize branded entertainment opportunities in the calendar format that's most suited to advertisers.

Subscription to the PDF file includes the annual guide to branded entertainment opportunities, insights on how the industry works, dealmaking tips, a 30-minute consultation with Greenfield and monthly e-mails updating subscribers with new opportunities as well as changes in already published ones. Greenfield said the guide includes only opportunities he would recommend to his own clients, and that he also will be available to subscribers via e-mail for questions and answers throughout the year.

"Hollywood has not done a good job at marketing these opportunities to smaller companies that can afford them," Greenfield said. "This is geared towards medium-size companies that don't have agencies so they can do branded entertainment by themselves. For large companies with agencies, we present opportunities that we consider to be important in a format they're used to dealing with."

Greenfield said the guide mostly lists opportunities in film and DVD because the networks are trying to link integration opportunities in television to huge ad buys that are not feasible for medium-size companies.

The financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed, but the two companies have agreed on a revenue-sharing deal.

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