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With a few exceptions, traditional marketing and advertising departments have largely overlooked the complex new realities of the media convergence economy. The MIT Comparative Media Studies program focuses its research on understanding how these new branding properties operate in different media contexts, how brands and entertainment content relate in these new contexts, and how consumers of popular media properties are integrating brand messages into their ongoing relations with the content.

We are seeking to answer the following questions:

• How has the intersection between old and new technologies shifted the ways that people consume entertainment and brand content?
  
  
• What new media methods and models can sponsors and advertisers use to build a lasting emotional connection with their brands? (e.g. product placements, advergaming and viral marketing)
  
  
• What happens as brand cultures (the most hardcore consumers of a particular consumer product) interact with fan cultures (the most hardcore enthusiasts of a particular entertainment franchise)?
  
  
• What strategies do brand managers need to adapt to the instantaneous global circulation of entertainment content (such as Japanese anime, Korean soaps, and hip-hop)?
  
  
• Does greater consumer participation in brand cultures result in stronger brand affiliations?
  
  
• Where do companies “cross the line” in their efforts to attach themselves to particular entertainment franchises through product placements and tie-ins?

Companies may have access to quantitative data but often do not know how to interpret that data meaningfully against the backdrop of an evolving media landscape. The consortium will help make sense of these changes in ways that inform and shape your day-to-day branding decisions.