Hoodlum Branded Entertainment, CJR on BuzzFeed, Content Budgets Grow

The Strategist picks the day’s most relevant and interesting stories about the world of content from around the web. Here’s what you should be reading today:

Hoodlum’s Branded Entertainment

Hoodlum, the production company that created “Operation Intel” and “Dharma Wants You,” is teaming up with Sundog Pictures and Imperative Enterprises to start a branded entertainment division, according to Product Placement News.

Managing Director of Sundog Hohnny Webb, “We don’t believe branded content is currently doing justice to the advertising and television worlds. … We want to upgrade the way brands tell stories by using audience insight to create strong content that people not only choose to actively engage with, but are inspired to share.”

BuzzFeed’s Branded Content

Columbia Journalism Review’s Sara Morrison interviews COO of BuzzFeed Jon Steinberg and examines how media will make money from branded content in the digital age.

She says, “Steinberg stressed that there’s a wall between editorial and branded content at Buzzfeed, so readers won’t confuse the two, and that they shouldn’t worry about editorial strategy being dictated by sponsor demands.”

While Morrison believes that it might be a conflict of interest, it’s necessary for journalists to learn how branded content works these days, considering it’s where all the jobs are.

Investing in Branded Content

According to SearchBlog and a report called “The Spending Study: A Look at How Corporate America Invests in Branded Content for 2012,” budgets for branded content increased to an average of $1.72 million from $1.64 million during the past two years.

In addition,”79% of marketers said their companies continue to shift ‘at a moderate or aggressive pace’ toward branded content,” and “about 56% of companies report that they are outsourcing some portion or some type of branded content creation in 2012.”

The Internet and the Election

The New York Times’ David Carr reports on how people used the internet and followed the news this past presidential election.

On Nov. 6, 31 million tweets were sent out about the election; This was 17 times the traffic from 2008. Since the Times took down its pay wall for the election, traffic increased 75 percent (compared to 2008). Thirty nine percent of young voters between the ages of 18 and 39 were watching television and signed onto their computers at the same time.

Former News Corps. Executives Face Bribery Charges

Rebekah Brooks, who was editor of the Sun and led newspapers in the United Kingdom for News Corp., along with other high ranking executives at the company, will be charged with bribery, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The charges are for “£100,000 ($159,000) in bribes allegedly paid by the Sun to a Defense Ministry official for information that ‘formed the basis of a series of news stories’ in the newspaper.”

These charges come after last year’s phone hacking scandal, which caused the downfall of the News of the World tabloid.

Email Marketing for the Holidays

ClickZ’s Jim Davidson writes about email marketing this holiday season.

While 70 percent of companies started marketing the holidays before Thanksgiving week, the amount of holiday themed emails spiked right after Halloween. The early email marketing aims to spur customers to do research and shop for products online.

The Value of Facebook

ClickZ’s Krista Neher, via Mashable, discussed what the real value of Facebook is for businesses. 

It’s about getting through to new customers via current ones who like the page or interact with the brand. To get to these prospective customers, businesses should encourage current ones to interact with their page, feature customers on the Facebook page, create an experience that customers will want to share with their friends, and provide sharing incentives.