The American branded entertainment market is dynamic in that new models are tested every day, and staid in that the established model still prevails.Branded entertainment activity falls into 3 major categories: product placement/integration, media deals, and content creation.

Product placement is common, transactional, and only restricted in product categories such as alcohol and entertainment categories such as kids' TV.

Media deals include time buys for content distribution, meaning simply an extension of the paid advertising formula into longer form content.

And content creation means brands paying for production, and then seeking (or paying for) distribution.While not particularly restricted, the biggest challenge to branded entertainment in the US is breaking down the long-standing separation of advertising production and distribution, and entertainment production and distribution.

The film depicts a farmer as he turns his farm into an industrial operation before seeing his error and opting for a more sustainable future.  The soundtrack, Coldplay's 'The Scientist', is performed by country legend Willie Nelson. The film asked viewers to download the song on iTunes with proceeds benefiting the Cultivate Foundation.Distributed using a digital-first windowing strategy, the film first launched on YouTube with no paid media support. The launch was supported with an earned media plan and the social media assets of Chipotle, Willie Nelson and Coldplay to a collective audience of 21MM Facebook fans. Next, the campaign shifted to the big screen with Back To The Start spending eight weeks running on 10,000+ theatrical screens across the nation. Finally, the campaign took Chipotle into TV advertising. “Back To The Start” ran in its entirety during the 54th annual Grammy Awards to an audience of over 40MM viewers.

17,000 customers and potential customers experienced Chipotle and its mission first hand at Cultivate Chicago. Research conducted by Greenberg Inc., concluded that 66% attendees became more interested in Chipotle's mission, 99% had a positive brand association with Chipotle and 99% would attend next year's Cultivate. Even those that didn't attend the festival were exposed to it's and Chipotle mission through Chipotle's 1.5M Facebook fans and through 35MM earned media impressions across key cultural influencers and media outlets.