Another add to the digital party this week at Advertising Week. This morning at 9 am investors from Microsoft, NBC Universal and GE’s Peacock Equity Fund, ION Television, as well as Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek, among others, joined a group of us for an early am press conference at the Paley Center for Media to introduce Firebrand.
Firebrand is first network that’s turning the commercial break into a commercial destination. You are no longer the commercial target. You target the commercials. Choose what brands you interact with, choose how you interact with them.
Firebrand is a new, opt-in entertainment and marketing destination that gives consumers interactive access to their favorite brands, products and promotions. Firebrand programs the “coolest” TV commercials the way MTV used to program music videos and its multi-platform network, slated to launch on October 22, is the first to go “live” simultaneously on TV, the web and mobile.
Firebrand even has CJ’s (commercial jockeys), the same way MTV had VJ’s, who will contextualize the commercials as art and entertainment, and guide consumers through playlists, contests and promotions.
Conceptually I think it is cool. it does "fuse the blue" .. but my hunch says that using the word "commercial" will turn off consumers. Does anyone choose to be sold? I look forward to see if this get taken past the :30 second commercial and allows for an interactive experience that could offer a retail or volume driving pay off for brands who venture into the space.
Check it out at http://www.firebrandtv.com
