Although product placement is riskier than conventional advertising is becoming a common practice to place products and brands in the mainstream media like movies and TV broadcasts, computer and video games, blogs, magazines, books, radio, Internet, mobile phones, etc. Due to the fragmentation of media and declining advertising effectiveness, product placement is becoming an increasingly effective way to reach consumers and non-consumers.
An estimated two-thirds of TV viewers mute the sound during commercials or change the channel because they are annoying or irrelevant. Studies have found that the industry believes that the product placement and brand integrated programs are the future of television advertising. In recent years, the product placement has been often used as the basis for the marketing of several million dollars and promotional campaigns with more than 1,000 companies that specializes in product placement.
The product placement, despite being a classic advertising technique, has become an increasingly popular way to reach potential customers and brands are increasingly using this type of advertising to reach these retreating audiences.
The product placement can be very useful. Its purposes include achieving prominent audience exposure, visibility, attention, and interest; increasing brand awareness; increasing consumer memory and recall; changing consumers’ attitudes or overall evaluations of the brand; changing the audiences’ purchase behaviors and intent; creating favorable practitioners’ views on brand placement; and promoting consumers’ attitudes towards the practice of brand placement and the various product placement vehicles, etc. These are some uses of product placement:
Achieve enhanced exposure, hearing, visibility, attention and interest: The product placement can have a significant effect on the responsiveness message, it strikes that the marks are visible long enough to draw attention, but not to disturb the audience. According to Next Medium, interest in the advertising that appears in films, is “considerable” or “some interest” for the 31.2% of consumers.
To increase brand awareness: Nielsen Media Research has shown that product placement in television shows can raise brand awareness by 20%. It has been found that higher brand awareness results in a greater recall rate, more positive attitudes, and a stronger intention of buying.
To increase consumer memory and the memory of the brand or product: Product placement can have a significant effect on the memory. They found that product placement upholds brand salience or the order in which brands come to mind.
To create instant recognition of product or brand: Product placement can have a significant effect on recognition. According to studies, brand awareness increased by 29% due to product placement.
To achieve the desired change in consumer attitudes or global assessments of the brand: The product placement has also influence on the attitudes, preferences and emotions towards a product or brand. Learning and human association memory are important to brand placement.
To bring a change in the audiences’ purchase behaviors and intent: Product placements are associated with increased purchase intent and sales, particularly when products appear in sitcoms