UK-based ad tech company Mirriad and Universal Music Group (UMG) have tied-up to enable product placements in music videos, well after the videos have been shot. Mirriad’s native in-video advertising technology will allow select UMG music videos to feature different product placements, customized to suit target audience and/or region. Havas Media Group has signed up as the first US agency partner, and already has key clients, like LVMH, Dish Network, LG, and Coca-Cola among others, onboard.
In May this year, Mirriad had partnered digital content distribution platform Vevo (Note that Vevo isn’t available in India yet) to launch its native in-video advertising technology. Mirriad offers content owners and creators’ complete editorial control over brand integrations. It will also provide an incremental revenue stream to UMG and its artists.
Concerns with Mirriad’s service in India
There were doubts regarding the legitimacy of Mirriad’s services in India and whether it’s compliant of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)-directed limits on advertising on TV channels. TRAI regulations stipulated that only full-screen ads would be allowed; pop-up ads, part-screen ads and drop-down ads would not be allowed. Also, every hour of broadcast was allowed to include a maximum of 12 minutes of advertisements.
Last year, Mirriad had raised £3.6 million from Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) and its subsidiary Asia Today Ltd. At the time, the company had said it plans to use the funds to deploy Mirriad’s services across India and other Asian markets on broadcast, cable and satellite medium. The company had previously partnered with Zee Network Europe to provide digital product placement in ZEE’s shows.
P.S: Just like international music videos, Bollywood loves products placements. Mirriad would be the perfect tool for studios to integrate brands into the films during the post-production stage. Is Bollywood paying attention?
