Brand Integration, that’s the name of the Reality game.

A decade ago viewers were hooked on The Block but vocal about product placement of items from stores like Freedom Furniture.

These days we’re still drawn to the show but product placement has been wildly superceded by ‘brand integration.’ Immersing products and brands into storylines is now big business, not just in Reality Television although it is the worst offender.

Sales departments of networks love these shows for keeping clients happy. Networks love them because they pay for themselves. Real estate profits for The Block are the least of Nine’s concern, the real money is made elsewhere.

As News Corp reported last week, integration varies from overt to covert and sponsors would have shelled out more than $3 million each to align with the show.

From lingering shots of NAB’s banking app to name checks of The Good Guys, or from Suzuki cars up for grabs to the appearance of the iSelect guy, there was never any shortage of reminders of how The Block is a sponsorship megastar.

If an advertiser can make its product relevant to the narrative, it’s much more likely to achieve cut-through. Top sponsors such as Mitre 10 and The Good Guys, as well as others including Beacon Lighting, Reece Bathrooms and Beaumont Tiles, will benefit from having their products exclusively used by the teams in the renovations. Which you can then buy from The Block Shop online. 

Even brands that don’t have a natural fit with the renovation genre, such as iSelect, found a clever way to integrate into the content. The funny ‘iSelect guy’ fronting all of its ads for many years, Jason Geary (pictured), was brought in to run a comedy workshop and challenge with the contestants.

Mitre 10 uses host Scott Cam in its marketing. Suzuki used The Block as part of its launch strategy for its new S Cross model. Second screen apps are full of the stuff.

Integration is also a key part of The Voice, House Rules, Big Brother and MasterChef but it stems back much further. Travel shows are full of integrated branding. We even have news programmes produced by News Corp and Fairfax, plus entire ‘branded entertainment’ shows prevalent on our schedules, especially on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Seven even digitally embeds products into its dramas such as Winners and Losers with MirriAd technology. Nine has a similar strategy at work for its clients.

The Commercial Television Industry Code Of Practice stipulates that while such endorsements must be made either during the program or in the credits they must also be “readily understandable to a reasonable person.”

As Media Watch once noted, the whole point of Product Placement is that the viewer doesn’t notice product intrusion.

However, Brand Integration is hardly surreptitious. It’s getting to the point where actual content is in the background while brands are front and centre.