Every October, TV programmers and producers from around the world flock to MIPCOM at the Palais des Festival in Cannes to buy, sell and coproduce content. For the first time in its history, the keynote at this international TV market will be delivered by an advertising executive.

Maurice Lévy, president and director of the Publicis Group, plans to delve into the relationships between the ad and television worlds. Developing branded content – the integration of clients directly into the production process – is becoming more of a focus for marketers and TV prodcos, and all you have to do is look at this market’s floor plan for proof.

The Branded Content Marketing Association is returning for its second TV market – its first being MIP-TV last spring, where it also ran a panel on branded content and sponsorship. While the BCMA currently has outlets in London, New York, and L.A., and could soon have offices in Australia and Germany, its location in the Palais says the most about the future of the industry – it’s right beside U.K. broadcaster Channel 4, in the heart of production country.

The umbrella organization returns with U.K. ad agencies BBH, and Universal McCann Programming; the latter exhibited for the first time itself last MIPCOM after attending the market every year since 2000. Also under the BCMA banner are two prodcos: London-based All3Media arm North One Television, and Munich’s Telcast International. In fact, Telcast is giving up its own booth space this time around to come in under the BCMA banner.

Telcast is among many European production companies that have recently set up branded content divisions. Although other Telcast subsidiaries continue to produce and distribute ‘traditional’ programming, head of marketing Sarah Coursey says the company had an epiphany of late.

‘We had a lot of broadcasters,’ says Coursey, ‘who said: ‘We love your program. If you can get a brand on board and get it sponsored, we’ll put it on air.’ So we thought, ‘Okay, let’s go to the brands…’ We learned more and more that we were a branded content company that was marketing itself as a production company.’

Coursey adds: ‘Brands are realizing they need to become the owners of content. They need to engage audiences by creating an experience to help them to find the brand…because the consumer is getting more hip.’

Story courtesy of MIC’s sister publication RealScreen, October 2004 issue.