Madigan Cluff’s Peter Jones and Deloitte’s James Bates provide an opening salvo.

Click here to read full report: http://www.brandrepublic.com/opinion/login/1056952/

Madigan Cluff have recently developed a pair of guides to help production companies and advertisers understand the issues about placement as placement becomes a live issue in the UK and across Europe. Copies of each guide are available free – if you are interested in a copy of one the guides please send us an e-mail to info@madigancluff.com

TEN QUESTIONS A PRODUCER CAN HAVE ON PRODUCT PLACEMENT

• What is the current state of play for Product Placement?
• What is the market value of placement and how can it be estimated?
• What are brand owners looking for in placement?
• What are the positive influences which will help make a placement visible and effective within a programme?
• How can brands help to promote my programme?
• Why should brands want to have promotional and digital links with a programme?
• How do we get rewarded for placement when a programme gets exported to overseas markets?
• How can we help advertisers understand the timeline on their return on investment?
• What is the best process for ensuring you maximise the value you get from placement?
• How can Madigan Cluff help in assessing the value of the placement opportunities you have?

TEN QUESTIONS A BRAND OWNER CAN HAVE ON PRODUCT PLACEMENT

• What is the current state of play for Product Placement in the UK?
• What will be the broad impact of the new placement framework?
• I know how to plan advertising. But how do I plan placement?
• How can I reach an informed judgement on what will work for me?
• How can I get a handle on whether my placement is good value?
• Why should brands want to have promotional and digital links with a programme?
• Do UK-created programmes, tend to get much overseas exposure?
• How can I get a handle on whether my placement is good value?
• How best to ensure that the deal works well for all parties?
• How can Madigan Cluff help in assessing the value of the placement opportunities you have?

Michael Cluff writes about the current state of placement for advertisers in Europe and the increasing opportunities to exploit programmes to promote brands. The full article can be downloaded below or the magazine can be obtained by going to http://www.ebiquity.com/billetts/response/index.asp.

Read the full article (pdf)

Madigan Cluff have responded to the recent OFCOM consultation on product placement. The full script is attached. We are concerned that the proposed rules are not clear enough on what advertisers may be allowed to do with placement and leave the interpretation in OFCOMs hands. Given the potential value of placement to producers and broadcasters – which provides bigger budgets for UK productions – we believe that placement should be regulated only where it interrupts the enjoyment consumers have of programmes.

Read the full document (pdf)

Madigan Cluff have input a submission to the DCMS consultation on product placement.

Read the full document (pdf)

Following Ben Bradshaw’s recent announcement and the DCMS consultation on the plan to relax the laws governing product placement in UK created television programs, we have been building with partners an overview of the issues, a summary of this shown in the attached document.

To download as PDF please click here: summary.pdf

An article in broadcasting by Kate Bulkley – using Madigan Cluff data - shows the opportunity for UK television which exists as the rules on Placement change.

Follow this link to see the whole article:

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/comment/kate-bulkley/dont-let-the-opportunity-slip/5006310.article

Kate Bulkley in Broadcast uses Madigan Cluff data to demonstrate the impact of Channel4s decision to pull out of Big Brother.

For the full article follow this link:

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/comment/kate-bulkley/filling-big-brothers-big-boots/5005145.article

Secretary of State Ben Bradshaw is expected to announce this week (w/c September 14th 2009) a 3-month consultation over proposals to lift the ban on product placement on television in the UK.

There is widespread expectation that this will lead to a relaxation of the rules. A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport told the BBC that the current situation ‘puts the UK at a competitive disadvantage’.

Such a change would be good news. Not just for programme makers and broadcasters, but also for brand-owners.

At Madigan Cluff, we are uniquely placed to help you make the most of this exciting new opportunity, wherever in this new landscape you are. Once we see the next steps we intend to support the changes actively, and use our unique databases and processes to deliver robust analysis of the new opportunities that will emerge.

For more information, you can get in touch via the contact points on our website www.madigancluff.com

To download text as PDF please click here: welcome-to-change-of-regulations.pdf

Copyright: Madigan Cluff. Reproduction only by strict permission of copyright holder

Having both attended the recent seminar in Brussels and subsequently reviewed the materials
provided, Madigan Cluff has the following thoughts on future measurement of programme content
in and across Europe.

Read the full document (pdf)