Cannes: A postcard from the Riviera, where the large and smaller fry alike gather for a few frenetic days of the annual mip television market.

Branding, once the domain of the big-budget national advertiser, is no more a concept exclusive to the marketers of soaps and suds.

From the managing director of nbc Europe to the proud, if small, independent Canadian producer in a tiny booth at mip-tv, the fundamental importance of branding and relationship-building is clearly now upon the world of television producers and distributors. Consider the value of the message of Patrick Cox of nbc (at a panel discussion on international tv strategies) who thinks his company has a job to do in branding its product to gain recognition worldwide. He’s not assuming everyone, everywhere is familiar with nbc.

Move to the bustling basement of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, where in aisle after crowded aisle, producers, broadcasters and distributors vie for each other’s attention, for a window on another market. Here, the head of international sales for cbc, Meg Pinto, again raises the branding concept. This time, it’s applied to the notion of a cbc home video label and the possibility of marketing it outside Canada. Here at Cannes, the concept comes home the way designer dresses leave their individual impressions in the haute couture boutiques dotting the famous Croisette.

None of the story of branding is so new, of course. ctv’s John Cassaday has been advocating program branding since he moved to the network from Campbell Soup. And at City-tv, they’ve had MuchBranding for MuchTime and are now able to report business is good on the Argentinian channel known as MuchaMusica. The theme just gets a bigger spotlight on the larger mip stage.

The story of building on the relationship that exists between a brand and its customer, itself, keeps building.

Almost to a person, distributors say from their mip booths that half the game at the market is about building relationships.

Stephen Onda of Heartland Motion Pictures had to pull hard to put his low-budget feature Guitarman together, but with a little help from his friends (and financiers) he did it, and now that it’s sold briskly at mip, it should pave the way for bigger and better mips to come.

From his Halifax point of view, Andrew Cochran of Andrew Cochran Associates says after just a couple of markets, he’s seen the value of contact-building and says his company is ‘on the international circuit to stay.’

Alliance International’s television vice-president Rola Zayed, reflecting on her company’s strong and consolidated presence at mip, described this market as a turning point for her company.

Perhaps the same could be said of the entire Canadian contingent, which seems to have found some answers by taking a page from the textbook of marketing basics.