- Brian Morrissey

NEW YORK Diet Coke has long associated its brand with style and entertainment. Now it's kicking off a new program that it hopes will continue this by melding branded entertainment with the latest in digital syndication strategies.

The "Style Series presented by Diet Coke" starts Tuesday with appearances by singers Robin Thicke and Rihanna and designer Cynthia Rowley. Fans can watch the show on billboards in Times Square, through their mobile phones, online at Diet Coke.com and through ad placements on sites like People.com, Instyle.com and DailyMotion. Two more specials are set for early '09.

The program from Coke media shop MediaVest and branded entertainment firm Digital Broadcasting Group is part of a new breed of ad efforts that take an old-school concept of sponsored content and attaches the many options of digital distribution.

Chris Young, CEO of DBG, believes the days of build it and they will come are over. The new order of the day: fish where the fish are. "We're guaranteeing viewership. They know what they're going to get," he said.

DBG is gathering the footage of the live events to create bite-size content for those who missed the live performances. Each will yield about six Webisodes, available on DietCoke.com and sprinkled around the Web through ad units and editorial placements.