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.     

I'll have what she's having: Gauging the impact of product placements on viewers

Product placement in TV shows is becoming increasingly common, yet little is known about its effectiveness nor even how to define and measure such effectiveness. This research examined the effectiveness of product placement with the use of two different types of measures: explicit measures that tap memory directly (with the use of a recognition and recall task), and an implicit measure that measures the effect of exposure on product choice indirectly. It was hypothesized that the ability of product placement to enhance memory and choice may be mediated by distinct mechanisms. The results showed an overall enhancement in product recall, recognition, and choice due to placement. Further, although products central to the plot were remembered and recalled more than products placed more subtly, no reliable effect of centrality of placement was observed on the choice measure. This dissociation also occurred with modality of placement—where seen‐only products most influenced choice but were least recalled. The present data conform to theories of memory, which predict that performance on explicit memory task can be dissociated or uncorrelated with performance on implicit performance or choice. This finding has significant implications for how product placements are designed and how their efficacy evaluated. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Product Placement in Top-Grossing Hollywood Movies: 2001–2012

ABSTRACT

The study examines the nature and characteristics of product placement in U.S. top-grossing movies from a historical approach. Several important findings and trends are identified from the results. First, product placements are found to be prolific in U.S. top-grossing movies. Second, the product categories of automobile, electronic equipment, and media and entertainment enjoy the highest exposure in movies. Third, over years, the embedded brands appear more and more bold and salient in movies. Finally, variations are found among product placements in different types of movies and product categories.     

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and how Netflix manipulates us,the new gods

ABSTRACT

This film review of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, released by Netflix in 2018, discusses the nature of the interactive genre, focusing on its current and future effects on data mining, product placement, and programmatic advertising, highlighting the new, evolving role played by the viewer.     

Brand Placement Recognition

Abstract

This study examines the impact of adding an audible reference to a visually prominent brand placement on recognition of the brand placed. Facilitated recognition scores were used to control for the effects of brand familiarity on brand placement recognition. Subjects exposed to one of two complete movies were asked to indicate recognition of brands that were or were not placed in their movie. Results indicate that brand placement recognition levels achieved by audio-visual prominent placements exceed the recognition rates achieved by visual-only prominent placements. Additionally, familiar brands achieve higher levels of recognition than unfamiliar brands, even when the recognition scores for familiar brands are adjusted for the guessing and constructive recognition that may result from inferences associated with familiar brands.     

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.     

Using Eye Tracking to Understand the Effects of Brand Placement Disclosure Types in Television Programs

This eye tracking experiment (N = 149) investigates the influence of different ways of disclosing brand placement on viewers’ visual attention, the use of persuasion knowledge, and brand responses. The results showed that (1) a combination of text (“This program contains product placement”) and a product placement (PP) logo was most effective in enhancing the recognition of advertising and that a logo alone was least effective; (2) this effect was mediated by viewers’ visual attention to the disclosure and brand placement; and (3) the recognition of advertising consequently increased brand memory and led to more negative brand attitudes.     

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).     

Meet the Parents: A Parents’ Perspective on Product Placement in Children’s Films

The ethics of advertising to children has been identified as one of the most important topics worthy of academic research in the marketing field. A fast growing advertising technique is product placement, and its use in children’s films is becoming more and more common. The limited evidence existing suggests that product placements are especially potent in their effects upon children. Yet regulations regarding placements targeted at children are virtually non-existent, with advertising guidelines suggesting that it remains the prime responsibility of the parents to provide guidance for children. This study measured the ethical evaluations of parents in the UK and Canada regarding product placements in children’s films. After exposing parents to a four-type typology of product placements, results show that explicit placements of ethically charged products were perceived as the most unethical type of placements. Parents in the UK were more sensitive to the use of the technique and there was a significant difference in relativism between the two groups. Both sets of respondents would like to see more regulation on the use of placements, especially placements of alcohol, tobacco and fast foods.     

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.     

How using versus showing interaction between characters and products boosts product placement effectiveness

Placements in movies increase brand awareness. Whether they are effective beyond memory, (e.g. in terms of brand attitudes) is a contested issue. This paper argues and shows that a specific type of placement, character–product interaction (CPI), is able to achieve effectiveness across measures of placement success. A comparison of three experimental versions of the same movie demonstrates the consistent advantage of CPI placements over static prominent placements. Additional exploratory analyses suggest that placement effectiveness may also depend on characteristics of the placed product.     

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.     

Brand Placement in Movies: The Effect of Film Genre on Viewer Recognition

This study investigates viewer recognition of brands placed in films, according to film genre, gender, and previous viewing experience. A sample of 137 moviegoers watched 12 film clips representing three popular genres (action, comedy, and drama) and reported their recognition of brand placements. Results suggest that brand recognition is more common in drama films. Previous viewing experience and gender did not make significant differences in brand recognition. It is suggested that brand placements require more public relations research.     

Product Placement in Mass Media: A Review and Bibliometric Analysis

This article provides a comprehensive and systematic review of the product placement literature in order to map the thematic development of product placement research, help researchers understand the current research status, and suggest directions for future research. A pool of 874 publications related to product placement in mass media was retrieved from the Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar databases. Bibliometric and network analyses were used to identify the leading journals, scholars, and publications to capture information about emerging issues and to map the development of product placement research. Three major clusters of product placement research were identified: (1) basic concepts, fundamental research frameworks, and empirical studies on product placement in movies and television programs; (2) empirical studies on product placement in games, especially focusing on children and food product placements; and (3) empirical studies on the effects and underlying mechanisms of product placement disclosures. This article concludes by suggesting a future research agenda for product placement research.     

When Product Placement Is NOT Product Placement

Abstract

The development of product placement in films and television shows can be readily observed by anyone who has devoted a significant part of their lives going to the movies. The first product placements were generic and fictitious and were hardly noticed by the movie-going public. But, as the placement of real products became more prevalent, it became apparent to the serious film buff that the presence of a fictitious or clearly disguised product became more of a distraction than the use of actual products. The attempt to make serious realistic films is sometimes sidetracked by a clearly fake product that strikes at the suspension of disbelief of movie goers, particularly when they have some familiarity with the product NOT being placed.     

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.     

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.     

Cast Awayand the Contradictions of Product Placement

Abstract

This essay looks at implications of product placement in Cast Away, the 2000 film in which Tom Hanks plays a Federal Express executive who is stranded on a desert island before making his way back home. It argues that Cast Awayis a particularly valuable case study because of the conflict between its relentless product placement and its dark vision of contemporary global capitalism. The article investigates four aspects of global capitalism addressed by Cast Away: the compression of time, the compression of space, the rising influence of multinational corporations, and the dominance of consumer culture.     

Can brand image move upwards after Sideways? A strategic approach to brand placements

In today's environment of fragmented mass media and popular technologies, such as DVR and TiVo, it is increasingly challenging for marketers to obtain quality face time with audiences. As more customers try to avoid advertisements, there has been growth in brand placement: the practice of integrating brands into entertainment media, particularly television and film. Brand placement engages the audience, limits viewers’ ability to ignore commercial messages, and even impacts purchase behavior—as evidenced by the surge in Blackstone pinot noir wine sales after the brand's placement in the movie Sideways. Despite the prevalence of this practice, however, the industry often operates in a somewhat unfocused manner. In this article, we draw from academic literature and industry publications, offer insight regarding the growing popularity of brand placements, and suggest a specific set of guidelines to enhance the efficacy of placements in accomplishing a brand's marketing objectives.