In an age where consumers are more powerful than ever, and have almost unlimited choices of how to spend their time, brands should stop trying to interrupt them, and instead should try to produce content that is appealing enough for people to want to watch on their own. Even more, brands should strive to produce content that consumers would want to recommend to their friends, and content that will get them involved and talking about it through social media. Brands should aim to produce advertising that is loved by their audiences.

1. Love at every site Making people “love” advertising, through branded entertainment Panos Sambrakos Executive Creative Director, OgilvyOne Worldwide, Athens

2. Internet to overtake TV by 2010 Europeans will spend more time on the internet than watching television by June 2010, according to research by Microsoft. Microsoft Research, April 2009

3. Viewing habits have changed dramatically in the course of just one generation.

4. Back in 1979, when I was a kid, we only had two TV channels in Greece. Channel 1 The Dukes of Hazard Channel 2 Some other program Limited choices for viewers – maximum impact for ads All boys my age watched “The Dukes” and all the advertising that went with it. We would then have to wait a week for the next episode.

5. After 30 years, in 2009, by 3-year old son has 5 different options each weekend. Kids program 1 Kids program 2 Kids program 3 Kids program 4 Kids program 5 Unlimited choices for viewers – lesser impact for ads He chooses to watch “Thomas and Friends”, missing out on all the advertising going on at the other channels, that was targeting kids his age.

6. You can watch only what you want On demand, avoiding commercials And he can keep on watching Thomas all day long, since even when the program ends, he brings out the DVD’s we’ve bought him. And of course, he avoids any commercial breaks this way.

7. Interacting with your favorite content Online, rich media experiences that engage users And as if that wasn’t enough, he then takes me to the computer to play with the interactive games at the official website, “thomasandfriends.com”

8. Sharing content with friends Broadband and the power of Social Networks … and sometimes he likes to watch the videos other kids from around the world have uploaded on YouTube, with their Thomas train sets, in action. Soon he’ll be discussing about his favorite content, though social media.

9. Unlimited choices doesn’t mean clutter It’s not “I don’t know what to see…”

10. Choice means power. Search C h o i c e It’s “Only what I want to see…” all the time! (Avoiding commercials) Only what I want to see…

11. In an age when people won’t be interrupted from watching what they want to see…

12. Brands should produce entertainment content, people will want to see!

13. Branded Entertainment Original entertainment content, distributed through Broadband, and mostly spread through Social Media.

14. Case studies Branded Entertainment from around the world

15. Hellmann’s - USA “ Real Food Summer School ” cooking show on Yahoo! by OgilvyEntertainment, New York

16. Burger King – USA “ Whopper Virgins ” online documentary by Crispin Porter + Bogusky

17. Schweppes – New Zealand “ Signs ” romantic short film by Publicis & Radical Media

18. Lacta - Greece “ Love at first site ” interactive love story by OgilvyOne, Athens

20. The role of the brand The product’s integration was organic to the story and its role integral to fulfill the hero’s dramatic need.

21. The role of the brand (cont.) The product packaging itself promoted the entertainment and gave people help to progress the story.

23. Branded entertainment is judged in terms of story, acting & direction. Branded entertainment isn’t judged by audiences in terms of web design of flash techniques. It’s judged like a movie or a TV series. People want to see a moving story, that is well acted and directed. Hollywood has placed really high standards for our advertising to compete!

24. Consumers that “loved” the advertising! I don't know what to say. I liked it so much. It was perfect! Ina Sotiri Perfect!!! Just that! Oh, and very moving! Marios Papagiannopoulos Wonderful story...♥ Annoula Fre ★★★★★ It was very nice, because it felt real and at the end I was honestly moved when they came back together! Kostas Petridis ★★★★★ I liked the story very much and I believe if it was released at the cinema, it'd be sold out. Giorgos Agopian Simply perfect... Lacta chocolate is amazing. Domenico Clores is a god! Giwta Koufargiri love at every site Bouzoudi Alexandra But if you manage to put your heart into it, combined with the talent of capable craftsmen, you stand a chance to make people actually “love” the advertising, the same way they love a real movie. Like these few quotes show, from the many notes users wrote on the facebook fan page for “Love at first site”.

25. Thank you! www.panos.gr - panos.sambrakos@ogilvy.com - @panos