I WAS watching an Indian drama on
cable TV when I noticed one of the leading
characters holding a bag of a popular
brand of Indian chips during one scene.
She held on to that bag throughout the
five-minute scene and even mentioned its
name. She talked about how her life was
full of twists and turns, much the same
way as the shape of this chip. Now that
was well scripted!
That drama is watched not only by
millions of Indian households but also
audiences around the world. Imagine the
brand exposure that was created from
this single scene.
This is called product placement,
when a company pays for its product
to be featured on television or movie to
increase or reinforce brand awareness.
This form of advertising is common
and I am sure many of you have come
across this in movies. Close up shots
of leading actors driving a particular
brand of car, wearing a particular model
of watch or sunglasses or carrying a
particular brand of bag is all so very common.
Several seconds or a minute of this
exposure can lead to an instant boost in
sales and interest in the product.
This is also why many luxury companies
offer clothes, shoes and accessories
for movie stars to wear during music and
movie awards. Some even pay a presenter
to wear their clothes during a TV show.
Media are quick to mention the name of the
designer and magazine pages are splashed
with photos of these stars and the products.
Product placement also serves as a
secondary source of income for movies and
TV shows. Several satellite TVs do not allow
advertising and many digital recording
videos (DVR) offer ad-skipping features,
which enables viewers to black out ads on
the TV shows that have been recorded.
This makes product placement even more
attractive to advertisers. As viewers we do
not realize this subliminal advertising.
Certain products are featured more
than others and these usually include automobiles,
electronic gadgets, alcohol and
beverages. Sports events, video games and
concerts also feature product placements.
Some of the successful product placement
campaigns include the following:
Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo shoes
that are constantly featured in Sex and
the City; in the American comedy series
Modern Family, one episode revolved
completely around how one of the actors
wanted only an Apple iPad for his
birthday and viewers watched the family
standing in the Apple Store lines trying to
get the product.
In the US, the Brandcameo Product
Placement Awards tracks product placement
and brand appearances in every film
that tops the US box office. Several awards
in different categories are announced
annually. Their 2011 Award for Overall
Product Placement went to Apple, whose
products appeared in 17 (or 42.5%) of the
40 films that were number one films at the
US box office in 2011. The 2011 Award
for Product Placement Achievement in an
Oscar-Nominated Film went to The Help,
which featured two brands. The first was
Coca-Cola, which has bottles in a scene
which sees characters share a heartwarming
moment of racial transcendence. The
second is Crisco, where the actress Minnie
says it is "the most important invention
since they put mayonnaise in a jar."
One of the ways to measure the success
of product placement is brand recall. Others
are sales, traffic into the store (if it is a
retail product), and tracking social media
conversation on that product or brand after
the product placement has taken place.
There are rules and regulations on
what types of products can be placed in
TV shows, where it is allowed and how
they can be featured. These vary in different
countries.
However, companies have to exercise
caution when they are weaving products
into the shows. Overdoing product placement
campaigns may deter consumers
who are quick to notice.
Companies also need to lay out an
effective product placement strategy to
ensure that the product is relevant to
the movie or show's content. This may
include either featuring the brand or
product briefly on the show or having it
scripted into the story.
Kittima Sethi may be reached at kittima@ brandnow.asia. She is now off to
watch the next blockbuster, keeping an eye out
for some creative product placement.
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