Do you remember what car James Bond drove? Or what brand were the futuristic shoes from Back to the Future?
Probably yes, because brands have placed their products in films so that the general public would see them, remember them and, possibly, fall in love with them.
This is not a random choice.
Remember that within films, TV series and television programs nothing is left to chanceevery detail has a specific function.
This strategy, in particular, is called product placement.
It is a technique that has been widely adopted for decades to introduce new products to the general public with the obvious aim of selling more.
After all, who wouldn’t want to drive James Bond’s car?
It is precisely this type of emotion that brands leverage sell your products.
Sometimes product placement is more explicit, other times it is more veiled.
For many large companies it represented one extremely effective marketing tool. The choice to adopt such a strategy therefore depends on the economic possibilities of the brand and its commercial objectives.
I want to talk to you about product placement to make you understand that it is very important to choose your products carefully marketing strategieswhich must be in line with the company. If you also have a business you will know how fundamental this is.
With that said, let’s go!
What is meant by product placement
Product placement is a marketing strategy that sees theinsertion of a brand’s products and services within productions whose target audience is the general public.
Explained in simple terms: a brand produces a product and to advertise it chooses to have it appear in a film or television series that can potentially be seen by the whole world.
From this we immediately deduce that product placement is nothing more than a form of indirect advertising.
It is indirect precisely because it is not a real advertisement, like those that appear on television during the breaks between one part and another of a film. However, the end goal is always to show the product or service to the general public.
And the insertion of the product in the context takes place, unlike direct advertising, in a totally natural way.
The consideration that the brand owes to the production company of the film or TV series is very often in money, but it can also be a payment in goods or services.
How product placement works
Returning to the concept expressed earlier, with product placement the product comes inserted into a program in a natural way. Or at least that’s how it should be, even if in some films the brands are all too evident and even the viewers perceive the commercial purpose.
However, if product placement is done in a veiled way it succeeds arouse interest and positive feelings towards the product or service because the viewer’s mind connects him to that film, that actor and the emotions he felt while watching. Sometimes the brand logo is deliberately obscured, even if the product is recognizable.
If you got excited watching James Bond’s action scenes you can’t help but want his car. And if you have the financial means to buy it, that’s probably what you will do.
This is obviously an extreme example. Product placement is also used to advertise products that can be purchased by a large audience like, for example, Apple laptops.
Such indirect advertising works precisely because viewers bond with that product in a natural and strong way.
Furthermore, this is not a static advertisement. The product comes used within a certain context and this increases the audience’s degree of involvement and connection.
Why is it an effective marketing tool?
At this point we are all wondering: Is product placement really that effective? Does it justify the hefty sum that the brand had to shell out to include its product or service within the production?
From the statistics it seems so, given that the 60% of viewers he has more positive emotions towards the brands he recognizes in his favorite films and TV series.
As I have already highlighted before, product placement is only truly effective if it is done soberly. At this point viewers are used to advertisingthey see it on TV and on the web every day all day. They know how to recognize it and avoid it if they can.
A product placement is truly effective when the product is placed in the right context and when the film itself is able to enhance it. Think of sports brands that appear in an adventure film, which is in turn watched by an audience that identifies with this mood.
The protagonists want to go extreme snowboarding down a mountain like the protagonists of that film, and they want to do it with that specific board to identify with their idols.
Advantages and disadvantages of product placement
All that glitters is never gold.
Product placement is a strategy that can give enormous results, but at what price? Let’s investigate the advantages and disadvantages of this marketing strategy.
THE advantages I am:
- It is not annoying for the viewers: direct advertising is perceived as particularly invasive and annoying, while product placement is not and this is the reason why it generates positive feelings;
- Work on the subconscious: does not try to sell you a product by leveraging your logic, but rather by the emotions you felt while watching the film or TV series;
- The product can become an icon: some films have made history, such as those of James Bond, and the products and services that appear within them have become icons for the entire world, which means that they will be seen and reviewed for many years, and therefore remembered;
- Show the product in context: the potential of the product is shown within a real context.
However, there are also some disadvantage:
- It’s expensive: this is obviously the first disadvantage, just think about how much it can cost to have a product or service appear in a Hollywood film;
- The product is associated with a very specific character: you may like this character or not, but the brand will always remain associated with him;
- It is not analyzable: there are no metrics to understand how many people actually took an action after seeing the film or TV series, it is therefore impossible to have feedback on the progress of such a campaign.
Obviously no strategy is without disadvantages, but we can say that the advantages are still higher for the brands that want it make your product or service a timeless icon.
How to do product placement
Is there a single way of doing product placement? Obviously not.
There are several possible strategies, all with a single objective: avoid the annoyance generated by direct advertising.
The main techniques are:
- Screen placement: it is the most used formula, in this case the product is shown within one or more scenes in the foreground or background, but in any case with the right amount of attention so that it captures the viewer’s attention;
- Script placement: in this case the brand is mentioned by one of the characters, however it is one of the riskiest formulas because the public tends to perceive it more as advertising;
- Plot placement: it is the most powerful strategy because in this case the product also becomes the protagonist of the film, but it is also the most expensive one for the brand.
Generally these strategies they should be alternated so as not to perceive the advertising purpose. As you can see, doing product placement is not as easy as it might seem!
How much does product placement cost
You know how much he paid Heineken to have their beer appear in the James Bond film”Skyfall”? He had to shell out £28 million.
And remember that, very often, the product remains on the screen for a few minutes.
Product advertising is incredibly expensive for brandsso much so that many manufacturers enter into agreements precisely because it is very advantageous from an economic point of view.
By doing a little research on product placement in films that have made history we can read mind-boggling figures. That’s why this form of marketing It’s obviously not for everyone.
The cost clearly depends on the prestige of the film. But in any case it remains an expensive strategy, even in the best case scenario, which for many is not justified by the return on investment.
Examples of product placement
I have already given you some examples to better explain the principle of product placement, however films and TV series are still full of product placement today.
Between the most famous products that are remembered in the history of cinema we find (and you will certainly remember them too):
- James Dean’s Triumph motorcycle;
- James Bond’s BMW in GoldenEye;
- The Ray-Ban Wayfarers in Risky Business;
- Le Manolo Blahnik in Sex and the City;
- Coca Cola in Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” music video.
As you can see, product placement can be done in any production. It can be a film, as well as a TV series or a music video. What matters is that this production will be seen by a wide audience.
The next time you watch a film or TV series, try to pay attention to the brand of cars, computers and drinks. You’ll see a lot more brands pop up than you think. And you don’t have to go that far back in time, this happens even in current productions.
How to launch your product on the market
Maybe you will never do product placement because it is undoubtedly an expensive strategy that it doesn’t fit all brands and to all companies.
What you need to look for is the right strategy for you and for your business!
In the world of marketing and online advertising they really exist hundreds of possibilities and among these there is also the one that is right for you. On my blog you can find many strategies to try to increase the sales of your products and services.
And I can assure you that many definitely are less expensive than product placement!
For choose the right strategy you must thoroughly understand the market for your product or service, the target audience and know how your competitors communicate their message. Your product could be perfectly sellable on television or it could be better suited to the world of the web.
There is no right or wrong strategy, just that suitable for you!
If you want to make sure you don’t make mistakes you can rely on the experience of a professional in marketing and advertising strategies.
For years I have been helping companies of all sizes and all product sectors to advertise their products and services. Contact me now and book your consultation together we will find the strategy in line with your budget and above all with the nature of your brand.