The Fall Of The Rom Com

While you may not have noticed it, romantic comedies were experiencing a slow and painful death. Once the go-to movie choice for friends and couples, the genre was slowly going flat at the box office. The plots were unoriginal, the leads stopped pushing the boundaries. Viewers preferred to stay home and wait for their favorites than risk a night out with a lack-luster (and day we say it… cheesy) film. Studios shied away from mid-budget films (think Legally Blonde and Pretty Woman) as they felt geared mainly towards women and put their budgets instead towards the huge blockbusters that could attract all audiences. It doesn’t help that You’ve Got Mail doesn’t garner billions of extra dollars in merchandise licensing deals.

The days of the romantic comedy were all but gone… until now!  Until Netflix, that content creator behemoth, put Rom Coms back in our reality of content options in a a very under the radar way. In this blog, Hollywood Branded takes a look at how Netflix revived romantic comedies and what this means for brands for content partnership deals.

Going For The Grab But Getting The Snub

Since their inception, streaming services like Netflix have been turning the entertainment industry on its head. The radical shift can be traced back to Netflix’s efficient DVD delivery service back in 1998, making its rival, Blockbuster, eventually obsolete. This was followed by the launch of its digital streaming platform in 2007, but we’d argue that the biggest glass ceiling moment so far came in 2013 with their release of the insanely popular and critically acclaimed series House of Cards.

The release of this series, and many more after it like Orange is the New Black and Ozark, made Netflix not only a staple in households worldwide, but a serious force to be reckoned with during Emmy’s season. In 2018 they tied with HBO for the most Emmy wins. So, now that they’ve earned success in television, can they do the same with film? In this blog, Hollywood Branded takes a look at the complicated relationship between Netflix and The Oscars, and the hurdles they must jump through to get there - and why brands should care.

Daytime talk offers brands something no other TV production really can provide - true integrated conversation points about a brand, in 'brand speak'. Messaging is more able to be controlled.  Implied celebrity endorsement is achieved.  And a comprehensive program with on air, retail and digital elements can be activated.

But the trick is... to make sure it is not overtly brand heavy, and that’s something that productions take very seriously. No talk show series never wants the viewer to feel like they’re watching an hour long commercial, which is why securing a brand partnership with is that much more special… and at times, even difficult - such as in this case study partnership we're going to share with you. In this blog post, Hollywood Branded provides a look into a product placement integration talk show case study and paper goods brand , and how it raised awareness about the brand's major extension into new retail locations.

My Name Is Chelsea And I Love The Kardashians

It’s taken me a long time to admit this in public, but I love the Kardashian/Jenner family, and I believe that their method of branding has forever altered the advertising market for better or worse. My fandom started out slow, getting sucked in to an all-day marathon of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, following one or two sisters on Instagram, buying the magazine that the sisters were on the cover of.

Thanks to social media and the level to which the family lets you into their lives, it wasn’t long until I started talking about these women like they were my friends. And that right there is exactly why they have become a one of a kind ambassador for brands. In this blog, Hollywood Branded explores the who, how, and why the Kardashians have become the business moguls they are today and what this means for their brands moving forward.

How An App Secured Prominent Product Placement

When viewers watch movies, they often think that what they see on screen was what the writers originally wrote.  But in the case of product placement, that isn't quite what happens.  In fact, a brand can often have an active role at the table discussing how to better portray and position their brand within content.

Which is were our agency, and others like ours, comes in as we are experts at leading those conversations to ensure that the production doesn't lose their creativity and absolute sheer genius of what they have written, and that the brand isn't lost along the way, as the partnership is crafted.  In this blog post, Hollywood Branded shares a product placement case study and behind the scenes look into how one such partnership was create; and how Bumble made its way onto Candace Bergen’s iPad, and subsequently into the hearts of millions of women watching in theaters.