Ad Age is running an article on the former chief operating officer at WPP’s Alliance, David Caruso. Caruso has started a new agency, Acme Content Co., dedicated to branded entertainment.
“I felt in a big agency [branded content] still wasn’t being treated with the respect and thought leadership that the other disciplines were,” he said. “It was still sort of a black sheep.”
Part of the value of having an independent shop in branded entertainment, he added, will be helping marketers find ways to evaluate the effectiveness of programs, the timing and complexity of which don’t always lend themselves to assessment by the marketing-mix models favored by more analytical clients.
“I’ve seen so many great ideas that weren’t packaged fully and die, because eventually some tough questions are going to be asked,” he said. “If you can crack the P&Gs and Unilevers of the world, the less analytical clients will come a lot easier.”
The article goes on to say Caruso speaks P&G’s language, and that P&G’s favorite acronym is “FSCIs” (for free-standing coupon inserts). I’m confused by this. First, I’ve always called them FSIs, not FSCIs. The “coupon” is implied. Secondly, what do FSIs have to do with branded content? Not much.
