maniaTV: Branded Entertainment is our Business

clipped from www.alleyinsider.com But after logging time listening to pitches from NBC, ABC and The CW, Digitas EVP Carl Fremont came away with little to recommend for clients looking to advertise on the Web. "I was surprised there wasn't as much focus on digital as in the last two years," he says. "It feels like digital got the short-shrift." The result, Fremont says, is the networks could be leaving money on the table. What's Fremont looking for? His advertisers want to integrate their wares into original Web shows, but he hasn't seen anything resembling a strategy from the networks. Fremont doesn't consider Hulu or other outlets that show digital streams of broadcast shows an option, because his advertisers want to integrate into shows rather than sponsor them or place 30-second spots. "Just placing ads like pre-rolls are not a big interest to us, frankly," he says. "That's just taking the old TV model and adapting it to a new screen. We would rather work with a producer and develop custom content."