Jolanda, what’s so special about advertising concepts like product placement and special ads?

These innovative forms of advertising are more in demand than ever, because they give advertisers a way to address their target group authentically within our shows. At the same time, they let us tap into new sources of revenue in marketing our entertainment content. We develop a concept for each client that is perfectly tailored to their brand, and can also be harmoniously woven into the plot of one of our shows. With these customized forms of advertising, we succeed in maximizing advertisers’ proximity to viewers. To achieve that, we coordinate closely with the show’s writers and its producers, and actively approach our preferred advertising partner. For the 2019 edition of "The Voice Kids," for example, we set ourselves the goal of featuring lifestyle and fashion more prominently, since music and fashion are closely linked. With H&M as a partner, we even succeeded in launching the first "The Voice Kids" merchandise collection, which we advertised with a 360° campaign.

What role do viewers play in the development of new advertising concepts?

With every concept, we ask ourselves how to entertain our viewers best. So it’s crucial that the advertising concepts integrate into the storyline of each show in a way that feels harmonious and native. Our product placement execution with PENNY supermarkets and "Promi Big Brother" (Celebrity Big Brother) shows how brands, despite their advertising nature, can authentically dovetail with native storytelling. A key feature of the "Promi Big Brother" concept is the residents’ total isolation, which means that everyday things like going to the supermarket suddenly take on greater significance. When a campground was chosen as the setting for the show in 2019, that was the chance to place a food retailer center stage as the main advertising component in a reality show for the first time. Since "neighborhood" as a concept plays an important role in PENNY’s branding strategy, we approached them with our idea of integrating a supermarket.

Together, we introduced the first-ever product placement that was a constant throughout the 14-day run, and opened the world’s smallest PENNY store. The celebrities could earn money in challenges and then shop at the camp’s own supermarket.

How did the audience respond to the product placement?

By introducing the PENNY store, we established the most emotional event in the "Promi Big Brother" residents’ daily lives – and the #pennychallenge also turned out to be a stealth hit among our viewers. Thanks to this special embedding, #Penny was even among the top ten hashtags trending on Twitter on a regular basis… We are delighted that the idea was so well received by the viewers!