Years ago, I blogged about how people used the phrases "customer loyalty program" and "customer appreciation program" interchangibly. Now, in a rapidly emerging marketing discipline, it's evident that our penchant for mislabeling continues.

There are dozens of firms in Los Angeles that perform what's known as "product placement".  That's where they send good looking "account managers" on the sets of popular television shows and in-production films, whose sole job it is to convince the propmaster or location exec to replace a generic bottle of water, or a laptop, or even a television set with something they're pushing. These firms charge brands between $30K and $60K per year, get access to a reasonably good supply of product, hire some good salespeople, close their eyes, and hope something happens.

Ironically, dozens of other neophyte brands make product placement deals with network ad sales teams every year. Here's the ad sales team pitch: "If you buy this ad package, we'll make sure everyone's using your brand of energy drink on the show." Then, when you're drunk and cross-eyed with lust over the buxom blonde rubbing your face within an oily pair of silicone saucers at the dimly-lit strip club that your ad sales rep dragged you to, he'll throw in the disclaimer: "Of course, we can't guarantee that you'll be the only brand on the show."

Real brand integration requires communcation with the executive producers of a television show, and the permission of the network. I've found that integration deals made through network ad sales usually end up becoming extremely expensive product placement exercises. That's usually because by the time your creative needs make it through the chain of communication: from you to your agency to your media agency to ad sales to integration sales (typically two sales people who can't  pass muster, relegated to an amorphous job in the back) to network executives to the executive producer, all semblance of your brand's needs have been lost.

Which brings us to an interesting need: we need to define brand integration. Of course, it doesn't help when articles like this one abound.

True Brand Integration is when there is a direct and contextual link between the storyline and the use of a specific brand, performed in a manner that enhances storyline, adds credibility to the plot, and creates an opportunity for the brand to tell its own story in the context of the show.

Jonathan Prince and NBC did this seamlessly in American Dreams with Oreo, Campbell's Soup, and Ford. Recently, Glaceau did it with America's Next Top Model.  There is real value created across the corporate chain, and more importantly, it creates an opportunity to viewers to connect with brands in an organic, non-intrusive fashion.