Ex-WB CEO Jordan Levin: Product Placement to Grow 20% a Year Through 2013

Generate chief predicts branded content market segments will continue double-digit growth

Jordan Levin, the former CEO of The WB network and current chief of the firm Generate, predicts that segments of the branded content market – including product placement – will continue to experience double-digit growth over the next three years.

Speaking at a media conference in Manhattan Wednesday, Levin said he expects 17.6 percent growth in product placement per year through 2013, and an 18.6 percent yearly growth for webisodes and “advergaming.”

“Advertisers are seeking higher audience engagement with more customized and targeted content than can be delivered through traditional ad units,” Levin, whose firm has developed branded content for Disney, Ogilvy Entertainment and Unilever, among others.

Hollywood, in particular, has seen growth in the advertiser-as-programmer concept.

Jason Bateman and Will Arnett’s Dumb Dumb studio, for example, was launched in a partnership with Ben Silverman’s Electus to deliver short-form video content embedded with advertising – like this “talk show” series set in a Denny’s restaurant:

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