Marketers have their choice of options when looking to appear front-and-center in video entertainment, whether that’s through buying ads on streaming services or getting their brands placed inside a series as product integrations.

Here’s an idea: Why not try both?

• Using both in-show product placements alongside traditional 30-second ads may be the best way to boost key metrics like sales and website visits rather than using either method alone, according to research from BEN, a firm that helps brands with product placements, creator partnerships, and music licensing.
• “If you’re only running a 30-second spot, if you’re only doing integration, the impact isn’t as big,” said Erin Schmidt, chief of product placement at BEN, who has helped place brands in shows like Stranger Things and Riverdale.
• “But if you were doing both, in most cases, you’re seeing a significant impact [and] a significant increase in attribution.”

Measure for measure: For the study, BEN and TV measurement and analytics firm 605 compared results from cereal, snack, and automotive brands that ran ads on CBS, The CW, and ABC—and which also had product placement in the CBS comedy Mom, the CW drama Riverdale, or the ABC late-night series Jimmy Kimmel Live!—respectively.

The study compared four audiences:

• Viewers who saw at least two seconds of a brand’s linear ad
• Viewers who saw the brand’s product integration but no ad
• Viewers who saw both a linear ad and the same brand’s product integration
• Viewers who saw neither ads nor product integrations.

BEN was particularly interested in tracking products those audiences purchased within two weeks of the integration airing, which it did using shopping data from Catalina, as well as tracking audience visits to brand websites using data from LiveRamp.

Read about the results here.—KS

As abortion restrictions have ramped up over the last year and with Roe v. Wade now overturned, many agencies have been called to step up on the issue.

Some have taken a vocal stance in the form of ad campaigns, though many more, like WPP, Dentsu, and Wieden+Kennedy, have responded by adopting internal policies to reimburse employees traveling to receive care.

Big picture: The logistics of reimbursement vary by agency and, however well-meaning, can raise questions about data privacy and employer oversight. As laws change and potential legal threats mount for those seeking care, some told us agencies should offer more than just a willingness to pay.

The cost equation

The Martin Agency has employees in New York and Texas, but is headquartered in Virginia, where the governor is pursuing a 15-week ban following the Dobbs decision.

• The agency’s chief culture officer, Carmina Drummond, told us the agency started looking at ways to help employees access abortion care back in May and potentially adding to a list of benefits that includes things like IVF and egg freezing.
• “It’s not for us to tell you what to do,” Drummond said. “It’s for us to be there to support your choices.”
• Right now, Drummond said the procedure is covered for all employees through the agency’s insurance policy, but travel reimbursement is handled by the agency. She said there is no spending cap, but “reasonable travel expenses” must be preapproved by Martin’s talent resources group before being submitted via expense report.

But this is new territory for agencies. What happens if expenses are denied when reviewed by someone against abortion? Drummond said “that would not happen,” but they also haven’t had to deal with that yet.

Read how other agencies are approaching reimbursement here.—KH

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Short-form: This Magna study compared repurposed and native TikTok ads to see how each performed.

Social shopping: Speaking of TikTok, it’s testing an “Order Center” panel, despite curbing its live-shopping initiative.

What’s next: Here’s how Mars Wrigley plans to future-proof its business for the next 100 years. Making peanut M&M’s probably has something to do with it.

Better data = better engagement: With PwC’s Customer Link, you can use a rich data fabric and privacy-first approach to help sharpen your audience targeting, build stronger relationships, and drive better engagement with your ideal prospects. Start here.* 

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Are you wondering what targeting innovations are coming to replace the third-party cookie? Check out this report from The Brew that explores a new tool that would give publishers more control over how their audiences are bought and sold.

Read or listen to this insightful Marketing Brew resource here.

Stat: 75% of publishers surveyed by Digiday+ Research said they post on Twitter every day, down from 84% who said the same last year.

Quote: “There’s a level of respect that when you’re off, you’re off. If you’ve left the office for the day and you’re cooking dinner for your kids, your family takes precedence. Work is just something that I do and I care deeply about, because there’s a purpose and a mission behind it, but I am also equally as passionate about—and empowered to take—time for my family and myself.”—Alero Akuya, Lego’s VP of global brand development, to The Cut about how Covid and living in Denmark have changed her outlook on work

Read: “Did a Robot Help Create That Ad? The Answer, Increasingly, Is Yes.” (the Wall Street Journal)

On Imposters, we sit down with titans of industry, sports, and entertainment to discuss the personal challenges they’ve overcome to get where they are today. It’s honest and raw—and a reminder that we’re all just doing the best we can. Check out some recent popular episodes:

• How Brooks Running CEO Jim Weber fought off cancer and $40 million of debt
• Why Alexis Ohanian left Reddit to build an impact-focused VC firm
• Four ways to build a media empire, with Lewis Howes

This editorial content is supported by Lincoln Financial Group.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• Mood Board: Fiverr ad encourages business leaders to consider freelancers part of company culture
• Lyft is getting serious about advertising
• Congress wants the FTC to create a bureau dedicated to privacy. And that’s a big deal