Fuse MENA becomes iTVX's sole licensee in the Middle East

Ignited by the European Union acceptance of product placement, PQ Media forecast that 'global product placement will grow five times faster than traditional advertising in the next three years'. As traditional advertising faces growing consumer avoidance and clutter levels in the region, product placement, which relies on brands being integrated in media content, is also rising fast here.

In the Middle East, Fuse has already developed several successful product placement campaigns for Chrysler and Kellogg's. In order to boost the appeal and reliance on product placement further, the practice must be rooted in accountability, just like any other advertising investment decision.

'The iTVX system allows us to measure the 'quality' of product placement and that translates into accountability for our clients who are seeking to venture in branded entertainment,'

said Mai W. Jaouni, Director of Fuse in Dubai.

'Our clients are mandating that only what gets measured gets bought and the iTVX tools provide marketers with a turnkey analysis from pre-valuation on proposals to real-time analysis and post insights reports.'

Fuse chose iTVX over other branded entertainment measurement companies that merely syndicate reports monitoring the appearance of branded placement in media. The system delivers the 'Q ratio', a measure to acts a common currency between marketers, film or TV producers and broadcasters to help them derive the most value out of product placement. 'We needed a more robust system that gets granular and specific the iTVX system allows us to do additional research for our clients based on their measurements,' explained Jaouni.

As part of the agreement, Frank Zazza, CEO of iTVX, delivered a three-day 'Maximizing Branded Entertainment' boot camp-style course to the Fuse MENA core team. Zazza emphasized what makes a successful product placement operation and how they must deliver value to brand owners and entertainment professionals.

'I was very proud and excited about the branded entertainment knowledge the Fuse core team had and developed in the three days,' said Zazza.

iTVX is already being used in the USA, Canada, the UK, Switzerland, India and Japan by broadcasters, branded entertainment firms, media specialists and media technology groups.