Beet. TV Follow Up Interview with Paul Kontonis on Branded Entertainment and Product Placement

Beet.TV posted this follow up interview with Paul Kontonis, CEO of the online media studio For Your Imagination to discuss the business of branded entertainment and product placement. A few months ago FYI secured funding from OmniReliant Holdings, Inc., a holding company that has a portfolio of companies that utilizes direct response to build brands.

In the press release that announced OmniReliant's equity stake in FYI, Paul W. Morrison, CEO of OmniReliant said, "For Your Imagination has shown the way for online branded entertainment that not only entertains and engages an audience but also delivers a powerful marketing message. We recognize that brands can use the internet for more than just advertising with publishers – brands can now become the publisher and truly engage their customers and For Your Imagination knows how to do it successfully."

Here is part two Kelsey Blodget's interview with Paul, "Day With the Hiltons" Series Has a "Secret": Product Placement", of the two part interview.

"It's definitely a very powerful model for it; [but] it's hard to buy. It's hard to quantify the value of a product placement," he says in the segment. "I think there will be big dollars when they do happen, and they will represent a real great growth in the dollars in this industry," Paul says.

According to Beet.TV Associate Producer Kelsey Blodget, "Branded entertainment done right seems like a win-win--a profitable model for the publishers, and fun and un-obnoxious entertainment for the viewers. FYI produced a branded mini-series called "Day with the Hiltons" earlier this year for the launch of Kathy Hilton's new fragrance, My Secret. The series got distributed over the TV Guide network, received five million views in the first six weeks, and spurred a considerable jump in sales of My Secret at Macy's."

For more on branded entertainment and direct response, see my related post from this blog: Conversation with Paul Kontonis, CEO of For Your Imagination on The Power of Branded Entertainment and OmniReliant Holdings' Equity Stake