Wrap up of Product Placement

Product Placement is the integration of a brand into a form of media. This form could be a television show, a full length movie, an interactive video game, a song, or virtually any form of media. However, most people think of movies and television when they hear "product placement" and it is these types of placement that recieve the most media coverage and the most buzz from consumers, analyists and critics.

Due to changes in technology such as TiVo, the 30 television second commercial is losing it's effectiveness and therefore it's popularity with advertisers. Product placement is just one of many alternative forms of marketing on the rise due to the falling out of the 30 second commercial. Also, products can now be digitally placed into shows, another way in which technology is aiding the rise of product placement. There have even been websites created such as brandcameo.com and Affina that document and evaluate placements.

Not all placements are paid for. In fact, screenwriters will sometimes request to have a product used in the final production. Many advertisers feel that placements are more natural and therefore more effective when the writer takes the initiative to include a product, instead of being forced to include it under specific stipulations. However, many advertisers want to have control of how their brand will be presented and ensure that it will not be eliminated in editing rooms. They are therefore willing to pay the money it takes to get what they want.

Some groups are angry about the growth in the number of product placements. Consumers feel that their favorite shows are being turned into commercials. Other groups that are upset are the actors and screenwriters. They feel that their creativity is limited by paid for product placements and that they should have a say in the extent of product integration in creative media forms. They have even created a website making fun of the number of placements called "Product Invasion". Others have even gone so far as to regulate product placement. For instance, the Olympic Games Committee regulated logos worn by athletes in this February's winter games.

The most important thing for advertisers to keep in mind when making the decision to place their product is to match the product to content. In order for a placement to be truly successful the product must be relevant to the media it is in. Producers and screenwriters need to keep in mind that there is a limit to the number of placements that media consumers will tolerate. If media becomes overly saturated with advertisements then consumers will tune out and advertisers will not pay to have their products integrated. It is a fine line and consumers and advertisers will help keep each other in balance.

Product placement is contributing to the replacement of the 30 second commercial. While methods of calculating effectiveness for product placement are not as developed as those for traditional media, advertisers are obviously confident enough to shell out millions of dollars for placements in television and movies.

product invasion

Some people are very upset at how much product placement has increased in the past few years. The Writers Guild of America, West Coast Division, is so upset that they launced an anti-placement website called "Product Invasion". The site has many pages with interesting videos, activities and facts.

The "Behind the Scenes" page gives some shocking and extremely interesting facts about what goes on in the product placement/showbiz world. For example, on the MTV show "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" cast members were paid to talk about T-Mobile phones and had to say lines over and over again until the rep from T-Mobile would ask them to say it again. Also the cast wasn't enthusiastic enough about some of it's placed prizes and their reactions had to be shot over, with them looking more excited the second time around.

Another page is a spoof on Burger King's viral "Subservient Chicken" campaign. Product Invasion has it's very own "Subservient Donald". In this version, Donald Trump will say anything you type, playing on the fact that his show "The Apprentice" is known for it's extensive and often extremely obvious product placements.

Also, the site provides a pre-made nasty message to send to advertising executives and production companies. The highly sarcastic and witty messages can actually be sent to executives but are effective in getting the Guild's point across just by having a website visitor read them.

Overall, the Product Invasion site is funny, entertaining, and is sure to create some buzz of it's own. Although writers have so far been uneffective in getting their qualms about product placement heard, maybe this website will drum up some support from viewers. But hey, even if it doesn't do that, it still will create a buzz.

how to get free placement and why you might not want it

Product placement is a highly sought after form of promotion and marketing, especially free product placement. Who wouldn't want free advertising? However, the increased demand for product placement has made it more and more expensive to place your product, and extremely difficult to to get a free placement. So how, you ask are companies such as Apple getting 250 placements on 38 different primetime network shows in the last 4 months?

According to a Wall Street journal article the answer is- Apple is cool. Products that have an upscale, trendy image often do not have to pay to be used or even featured in shows. According to the article Apple isn't the only one getting free airtime. Products get free placements because placement desicions are still driven creatively rather than financially, production companies can save money by getting the product for free if they plan on integrating it, and also there are many changes in props or sets during filming and producers do not always want to spend the time and money it takes to ensure that placement deals are fulfilled.

Free placement is typically not "free" for the company however. Companies often provide thousands of dollars of product with no compensation. Apple, for example, estimates that it has spent millions of dollars providing Macs to Hollywood. However, this investment has obviously paid off. The word of mouth buzz that movies and tv shows create is one of the most effective forms of marketing.

Another negative of "free" placement is that the company has no control over how the product will be used, the level of integration, or whether the product will make the cut and be shown on the final show.

So it's up to the company to weigh the benefits and negatives, however one thing is certain-product placement is on the rise and it isn't going anywhere.

music placement

We hear popular songs in advertisements, movies and television shows so often that I forgot that this was a type of product placement. Musicians are very protective of their product and writers and producers will often have to pay big bucks to use a song in their show, ad or movie. One company has been created specifically for the purpose of selling the rights to music to the film, video, advertising and radio industry. Alazia has provided music that has been used incommercial advertisements, web pages, cable and network television, corporate instructional video, piolet shows, motion pictures, documentaries and more. They have a catalog of over 2000 songs that have been pre cleared for "most purposes".

Their music catalog can be searched online by genre, mood, vocals, instruments or tempo and tracks can be previewed using real player. Prices are determined by the type of production the customer wants to use the music in. Alazia has placed music in shows such as "The OC", "CSI Miami", "Reba" and more.

While most people are aware that consumer products are being placed in tv shows and movies, many people do not think about the fact that music is being placed in these productions as well. The difference of course is that most of the time producers have to pay to have music in their shows, whereas companies will pay the production to place their product in it. However, by playing a song on shows such as "The OC" and MTV's "The Real World" the artist benefits just as much as the show does. I know I have heard a song on a show that I liked, and then downloaded it on itunes. In fact, the popular MTV show "Laguna Beach" has a section on their website that has a featured artist for the week. Each week a different artist would be featured and during the show their songs would be played and links to their videos would be on the website.

Music placement may be more subtle than consumer product placement but it provides benefits to the artists in the same way an advertisement would. Music is less controversial because most of the time we don't even think about it being publicity for the artist.