Branded Entertainment is not simply product advertising or product placement in the US - branded entertainment is a piece of entertainment that perfectly aligns with the brand attributes, and is a reflection of the advertiser's brand personality.

The recent increase in branded entertainment is one of the consequences of the fragmentation of media and the decline in the power of traditional 30-second TV spots. Traditional forms of advertising have become less effective in reaching consumers not only because of the fragmentation, but also with the introduction of new methods of delivering programming, such as connected and smart TVs, internet streaming and digital video recording devices (DVRs). Advertisers are going back to the branded entertainment methods of the early television industry to increase the exposure their advertising gets and to create stronger ties between the program and their product. This marks a major shift in the way advertisers communicate to audiences, from intrusive advertising to having audiences organically consume and actively seek out the information.

Branded Entertainment Defined: is the popular term for the increasing practice of brands creating entertaining content to capture and maintain consumer attention for prolonged periods of time (or at least longer than thirty second ads).

As part of Instagram’s #WorldwideInstameet weekend, we tapped into the enthusiasm and behavior of a creative community, by hosting our own Instameet. This was no ordinary Instameet, this was a world’s first creative collaboration.

212 Instagrammers chose their own storyboard frame, and referenced it to take their individual shot with their mobile phone.

After editing their shot with their individual style, they shared it on Instagram with their unique frame number hashtag.

We were able to harness the creativity of a large group of people to produce the film in a single afternoon.

We premiered the final film with behind-the-scenes content of the instameet, with Instagrammers telling the story of how we did it.

We also built a separate @LexusInstafilm account to showcase all the shots in order, to further engage with participants as well prove to skeptics that we did this for real.

Ultimately, the event generated premium content that delivered over 290MM paid and earned impressions across broadcast, print, digital and social extensions

According to a custom research study, key brand metrics increased across desired Affluent and Youth targets:

oFavorability lift: +14% (Affluent), +26% (Youth)

-Brand Perception lift: +35% (Affluent), +37% (Youth)

-Intent to Seek information lift: +168% (Affluent), +148% (Youth)

oPurchase Consideration lift: +146% for (Affluent), +182% (Youth)

Over 400 media, bloggers, celebrities and influencers attended the live performance, reaching the venues maximum capacity

-Celebrity Attendees: Sarah Jessica Parker (actress), Neil Patrick Harris (actor), John Legend (singer), Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen (actresses/entrepreneurs), Zac Posen (designer)

-Media Attendees: W Magazine, EW, Refinery 29, New York Times, Surface, Complex, Cool Hunting, US Weekly

Social results were astounding. Lexus Design Disrupted…

-Attracted new audiences to Lexus with 8,000 new social followers gained

-Facebook photo likes surpassed Lexus averages 7 times over

-Twitter engagement rate with branded content exceeded benchmarks by 64%

-Declared Lexus 4th on Mashable’s list of “15 brands Rocking Tumblr”

Lexus IS sales increased 114% YOY