Brand week question #3 . . .

. . . Do you agree with this method of brand building? Will BMW and American Express' brands benefit from producing entertainment? Why or Why Not?

Answer: Opt-in advertising is the new future of brand-building

As I have written before, increasingly TV commercials, radio commercials, etc. will become less and less effective as devices like TiVo and personal music players allow consumers to opt-out of listening commercials. Marketers will have to design advertising that compels consumers to want to watch the advertising. One way is to give away free gift, have contests, etc. The more interesting way, and the way that American Express and BMW pursued was to create compelling content that features the brand -- both companies are simply slightly ahead of their time.