This fall, major department stores will be offering some exciting new brands.

TV and web networks.

Via MediaBistro’s PRNewser:

The NBC network and Bloomingdale’s have entered into a two-month Fall partnership that will provide branding opportunities for both organizations: Bloomie’s catalogs will feature actors from some of NBC’s new shows (The Playboy Club and Prime Suspect are a couple of them), and Bloomingdale’s will be featured during the network’s Primetime Preview Show.

On a smaller scale, Macy’s is also synergy-efficient:

Macy’s has partnered with Alloy Entertainment (the company behind Gossip Girl and Vampire Diaries) to create a Web series called ”Wendy” that will take a modern twist on the “Peter Pan” tale. According to Variety, Macy’s is launching the series to target teens and tweens — the show will feature Macy’s brands — though the company promises the product placement won’t be too over-the-top.

Right. Because we can always count on marketers to exercise restraint.

Regarding The Playboy Club/Prime Suspect tie-in, a Bloomingdale’s marketing executive told the New York Times, “It’s not to experience NBC as advertising; it’s to be part of their fall lineup.”

Hard to find a better definition of stealth marketing than that.

John R. Carroll is media analyst for NPR's Here & Now and senior news analyst for WBUR in Boston. He also writes at Campaign Outsider and It's Good to Live in a Two-Daily Town.
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