More brand integration and placements in the news

I just finished reading few articles about brand integration in the news. It's great to see that the top marketers seem to be in synch with the importance and efficacy of this medium of advertising.

Here is a sampling:
"A survey by the Association of National Advertisers found that more marketers are using branded entertainment this year than last year, and most are doing it because they believe it is an effective way to reach consumers."

"Karen Soots, marketing media manager for Red Lobster, said her TV budget will be up slightly for the upfront. But considering the DVR environment, she said she'll continue to explore product integrations and other alternatives except for reality shows. "We'll move to more programming that may be more DVR-proof, like news and live sports."

"Eighty percent of companies participating in branded entertainment used TV as their medium of choice, while 45% used theatrical movies and 28% have used the Web"

But there are issues as well -
"The inability to measure branded entertainment's impact was a major concern among many respondents. Ms. Milway said this was sometimes an issue for Campbells because there's no good way to measure buzz. A multitude of marketing elements drive the business so it is hard to isolate how much each marketing strategy contributes to sales. "