Placing snacks in children's movies: cognitive,evaluative, and conative effects of product placements with character product interaction

ABSTRACT

Type of placement integration has been shown to influence placement effects in adults. However, no studies have explored the role of character product interaction (CPI) for product placement effects on children. We also lack knowledge about the moderating role of age in this context. We therefore exposed N = 363 children aged 6–15 years to a movie containing no placement, a static placement, or a CPI placement. The presence of placements affected cognitive and conative brand outcomes. However, children's product memory and consumption were higher for CPI placements compared to static placements. As a relevant implication for product placement research, we found that brand outcomes were independent of the children's ages and prior movie familiarity. This suggests that children's developmental stage concerning age does not mitigate product placement effects. Implications for educators and consumer advocates are discussed.     

When Product Placement Goes Wrong: The Effects of Program Liking and Placement Prominence

Previous research has found a positive shift in brand attitude after exposure to product placements. The study presented here investigates conditions under which product placements may cause a negative shift in brand attitude. The results reveal that prominent placements can negatively impact brand attitudes of viewers who report high levels of program liking. Conversely, viewers reporting lower levels of program liking shift brand attitude in a positive direction after exposure to a prominent placement. However, the positive shift in brand attitude for participants with lower program liking disappears when a persuasive-intent prime precedes exposure to the placement. Subtle placements are less likely to result in negative shifts in brand attitude. The Persuasion Knowledge Model (Friestad and Wright 1994) is used to explain the results.     

传播学视野下的影视植入广告

在影视作品中植入广告的营销方式并不新鲜,当前的问题是很多广告的植入严重存在着盲目性。在传播学视野下,成功的广告植入必须保证编码的有效性,即针对特定的受众、特定的情节,特定的时机选择匹配的产品;注重产品品牌的符号信息与影视作品内容的相互构建,从中充分发挥符号互动的张力,使其影响的范围更广、时效性更长,从而达到潜移默化的宣传效果,实现最佳的营销目的。     

Virtual Product Placement as a New Approach to Measure Effectiveness of Placements

Product placement is a fast growing multi-billion dollar industry, yet measures of its effectiveness, which influence the critical area of pricing, have been problematic. Past attempts to measure the effect of a placement and, therefore, provide a basis for pricing of placements, have been confounded by the effect on consumers of multiple prior exposures of a brand name in all marketing communications. Virtual product placement offers certain advantages: as a tool to measure the effectiveness of product placements; as assistance with the problem in the lack of audience selectivity in traditional product placement; as a testing of different audiences for brands; and in addressing a gap in the existing academic literature by focusing on the impact of product placement on recall and recognition of new brands.     

An investigation of brand placement effects on brand attitudes and purchase intentions: Brand placements versus TV commercials

Brand placements are gradually becoming an important part of promotional toolkit of many major companies. However, despite the increasing volume of research on brand placements during the last decade, several important questions still remain unanswered. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of brand placements in television sitcoms and contrast it with the effectiveness of 30-second commercials. The authors administer a quasi-natural experiment to a sample of research panel participants to investigate how brand placements in television sitcoms affect their attitudes and purchase intentions. Results of the study suggest that people have a more positive attitude toward brand placements than toward traditional television commercials. Moreover, placements can be more effective than 30-seconds commercials when targeting audiences with low attitude toward advertising. Finally, a combination of a brand placement and a commercial within one program doesn't significantly increase brand attitudes and purchase intentions compared with sole exposure conditions.     

An Exploratory Content Analysis of Product Placement in Top Grossing Films

ABSTRACT

The current study examines the prevalence and characteristics of brand appearances in the top grossing films broadcast in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Hong Kong (H.K.). An average of 13 brand appearances per film was recorded and similarities and differences in brand execution features were revealed in the two cultural markets. Most of the films registered on the U.K. and H.K. top grossing lists are US production, which demonstrates that product placements are increasingly exported to other cultures. It suggests the importance of examining product placement effectiveness across cultures and provides valuable insights for brand practitioners.     

Product placement disclosures: Exploring the moderating effect of placement frequency on brand responses via persuasion knowledge

The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not the effects of brand-unspecific product placement disclosures in a popular music video were moderated by product placement frequency. An experimental study exposed participants to the video clip ‘Telephone’ by Lady Gaga; the product placement frequency of the brand Polaroid (zero, moderate, high) and the presence of placement disclosures were varied experimentally. The results demonstrated that placement disclosures lead to an increase in brand memory for moderately frequently and frequently depicted placements. Disclosures also activate persuasion knowledge independent of placement frequency. However, persuasion knowledge did not lead to more negative brand attitudes. The paper concludes with the implications for researchers and marketers.     

Product placement practices in prime-time television programmes in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

Product placement research tends to show how product placements impact consumer behaviour but less research examines the nature of product placement execution. This is the first study to examine product placement execution in Asia focusing on Hong Kong prime-time television programmes. Specifically it explores the prevalence of brand appearances, characteristics of programmes linked to brand appearances, features of placed brands and products, modality of brand appearances, character interaction with placed products and the placement context. It was found that integrating brands in television programmes in Hong Kong seems to be well supported by advertisers, with one brand appearing in every 11 minutes of programming. Less than half of brand appearances were disclosed at the end of the programmes, while none were disclosed prior to the programme which raises questions about regulation of the practice. Results of the analysis provide useful insights into the practice of product placement in this fast growth context and its (dis)connection with existing product placement literature.     

Make product placement work for you: Get less exposure

Expenditure on product placement has grown faster (170%) than on advertising (15%) over the past 10 years, but some evidence suggests that the return on investment has been declining. For the well-known, fast-moving consumer goods/consumer-packaged goods (FMCG/CPG) food brands typically placed in local TV programming—the context of this article—the management problem of overfocusing on brand exposure hinders gaining brand choice, the ultimate strategic goal of marketing. Managers’ preconditioning, ease of measuring, and assumptions about the value of exposure contribute to their subtle placements becoming blatant or in other problems, as when other promotional devices, like a television commercial or program sponsorships billboard, get bundled into the same TV episode as the company’s own product placement. The higher brand exposure gained can evoke negative mental outcomes in consumers, weakening influences on brand choice. An experiment with a large sample of grocery shoppers supports such an outcome. More strategic value can also be gained from product placements in general by their use longitudinally, in-between campaigns of TV commercials, as an instructive tool and through normalizing a brand’s role in a consumer’s life. We provide eight checkpoints for marketers to consider when planning to use product placement to gain value for their brands.     

The Behavioral Effects of Negative Product Placements in Movies

No previous studies have examined how negative brand placements influence consumer behavior. According to this study's theoretical framework and empirical results, the effectiveness of these placements varies with the type of negativity—that is, either intrinsically or extrinsically connected to the brand. Based on the elaboration likelihood model, an intrinsically (extrinsically) negative placement will be very (barely) relevant to the viewers who, having (lacking) enough motivation, will process the information through the central (peripheral) route of persuasion. Under the central route, a careful consideration of the intrinsically negative information will discourage the viewers from consuming the brand, especially when they perceive the movie content as being realistic. Under the peripheral route, the extrinsically negative information will not be strong enough to discourage the brand users from consuming the product but will stimulate the brand nonusers to consume it, especially when these people like the movie and have a positive attitude to advertising. The hypothesized effects were confirmed in an experiment with 1103 moviegoers that viewed the film Good Bye, Lenin! under natural conditions in Santiago, Chile. To isolate the influence of two brand placements (Burger King with intrinsic negativity and Coca‐Cola with extrinsic negativity), the participants were randomly assigned to two groups, each one of which viewed the movie with only one of the two placements (the other had been removed).     

The effectiveness of brand placements: A meta-analytic synthesis

Although brand placements are commonplace in promotion strategies, the extant literature lacks a quantitative empirical synthesis of the effect of placements on cognitive, attitudinal, and conative outcomes. The authors report a meta-analysis addressing the extent to which brand placements affect consumers’ brand placement memory, brand salience, consumer attitude toward the placed brand, and purchase intentions or choice. Four hierarchical meta-regression models explore contexts and executional characteristics that contribute to relatively stronger or weaker brand placement effects. Overall, findings suggest strong, positive placement effects on brand placement memory and small or modest, positive placement effects on brand salience, attitude, and conation. Among the factors potentially moderating these effects, brand-plot connection emerges as a key executional characteristic associated with stronger (more positive) cognitive, attitudinal, and conative effects for plot-connected relative to unconnected placements. Moreover, prominent placements enhance brand placement memory effects while not evidencing any significant backlash on persuasive effects. The same pattern emerges for placement disclosure. The findings have significant implications for marketing managers and public policy makers and provide important directions for further research.     

The influence of product-placement type & exposure time on product-placement recognition

This study examines the extent to which product-placement type and exposure time explain the rate at which viewers recognise brand names affiliated with product placements in films. The results support the industry practice of classifying product placements into creative and on-set, since placement type has a significant impact on viewer recognition, even when the measure of viewer recognition is adjusted for the effects of false recognition. The effect of exposure time attained by product placement on viewer recognition is moderated by product-placement type. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Audience Response to Product Placements: An Integrative Framework and Future Research Agenda

This study comprehensively reviews the literature on product placements to develop an integrative conceptual model that captures how such messages generate audience outcomes. The model depicts four components: execution/stimulus factors (e.g., program type, execution flexibility, opportunity to process, placement modality, placement priming); individual-specific factors (e.g., brand familiarity, judgment of placement fit, attitudes toward placements, involvement/connectedness with program); processing depth (degree of conscious processing); and message outcomes that reflect placement effectiveness. The execution and individual factors influence processing depth (portrayed as a high—low continuum), which in turn impacts message outcomes. The outcomes are organized around the hierarchy-of-effects model into three broad categories: cognition (e.g., memory-related measures such as recognition and recall); affect (e.g., attitudes); and conation (e.g., purchase intention, purchase behavior). This study integrates potential main and interaction effects among model variables to advance a series of theoretical propositions. It also offers an extensive research agenda of conceptual and empirical issues that future work can address.     

How brands appear in children's movies. A systematic content analysis of the past 25 Years

Based on a theoretical framework of product placement characteristics, we present the most comprehensive content analysis of children's movies to date. We analyzed the integration of brands in 250 movies from 1991 to 2015. We found that 64.4% of all movies contained at least one brand placement. Comedies and movies produced in the US contained a higher number of brand placements compared to other genres and non-US movies. Animated movies and movies presenting a nature-, or fantasy-scenery contained a comparatively low number of placements. Brands were inserted mostly visually, and placed in the centre of the screen without explicit evaluation. Placements frequently presented a physical or verbal interaction with a main character. This practice was found to increase over time even though the sole number of brand placements remained stable over the past 25 years. Implications for parents, consumer–advocacy-groups, and advertising researchers are discussed.     

Brand Appearance in Chinese and American Top-Grossing Commercial Movies: A Comparison

The study investigated different visual and audio factors of product placement in American and Chinese movies by analyzing top-grossing movies of the past decade. Forty movies were selected and analyzed. The results indicated major differences of brand appearances in Chinese and American movies. First, with respect to visual-only product placements, brands in Chinese movies were more saliently placed than those in American movies. Second, in relation to audio-only product placements, product attributes were more likely to be mentioned in Chinese movies than in American movies. Third, both leading and supporting characters were more likely to interact with brands in Chinese movies than in American movies. However, leading characters were less likely to mention a brand in Chinese movies than in American movies. Finally, no difference was found regarding supporting characters' mentioning of a brand in Chinese and American movies. Theoretical and practical implications were offered for the varying patterns observed.     

Adolescent brand consciousness and product placements: awareness,liking and perceived effects on self and others

Product placements in entertainment media are increasing, particularly in content targeted to adolescents. This marketing communication tactic is examined in the context of media socialization and individual differences in brand consciousness. The relative influence of commercial media (TV, radio, movies, online) and perceived peer and parent brand consciousness on US adolescent brand consciousness is assessed, as well as differences in how low and high brand‐conscious adolescents view product placements. Awareness, liking and perceived effects of product placements on self and others (third‐person perception) were measured. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses show that movies and perceived parent and peer brand consciousness were positively related to adolescent brand consciousness. Those adolescents considered to be highly brand‐conscious were also those who were most aware of and favourable towards product placements. All adolescents demonstrated third‐person perception of media effects in that they considered others to be more influenced by product placements than themselves, with peers influenced more than friends. Highly brand‐conscious teens perceived the greatest effects of product placements on their own and others’ buying behaviours, yet low brand‐conscious teens revealed the largest gap in perceptions of impact on self vs. peers. The results are discussed in view of media effects; ramifications for marketers and public policy makers are also appraised.     

More than meets the eye

A growing research literature suggests that visual brand placements need not be recalled in order to have an impact on brand attitudes. In an experimental study working with an authentic television broadcast, the authors investigated the influence of frequency of placement exposure, viewers’ involvement and viewers’ persuasion knowledge on the attitudes towards the brand and brand recall. Results clearly indicate a mere exposure effect. A frequently presented brand placement can have a positive effect on brand evaluations although viewers do not recall the brand. However, this effect can only be found when there is a high involvement in the programme and low persuasion knowledge. In contrast, when persuasion knowledge is high and involvement is low, frequently presented placements lead to a deterioration of brand attitudes.     

PP for ‘product placement’or ‘puzzled public’?

This research examines the effectiveness of the European ‘PP’ symbol, recently introduced as a warning of product placement in locally produced television programmes. The authors test whether this symbol counters the pervasive effect of product placement on purchase intention. Study 1 shows that the symbol does not prompt resistance to the influence of product placement. This is because the majority of consumers neither notice nor comprehend the symbol. In Study 2, two training methods are tested to increase the symbol’s effectiveness: (1) verbal label training and (2) a combination of verbal label training and information training. The addition of information training is necessary to increase the symbol’s noticeability, whereas verbal label training helps increase the symbol’s comprehensibility and effectiveness in activating persuasion knowledge and decreasing purchase intention. Finally, the results provide evidence that brand recall is crucial for resistance to product placement, suggesting the importance of brand recall as a moderator of resistance processes.     

Enhancing digital entertainment through personalization: The evolving role of product placements

This research tests a model of the effects of personalized product placements on consumer preference, both for the embedded brand and the digital entertainment product in which that brand is embedded. The latter has yet to be examined in the traditional product placements literature. The results of two studies conducted in the domain of eBooks are presented. Evidence suggests that when pre-existing rankings of brands were systematically collected and used to design personalized product embeds, participants were willing to pay more for the eBook when it contained a favourably (vs. unfavourably) ranked brand, but only when the brand embed was subtle (as opposed to obvious). Study 2 also finds that personalized product placements enhanced consumers’ recall of, and probability of choosing the embedded brand. Results suggest that both the digital entertainment product and the embedded brand can benefit from the strategic use of personalized product placements.