Having recently noticed the prominence in 2018 alone of product placement opportunities and their inherent value, I decided to blog more deeply about the basics to expand my understanding, deconstruct a few of the myths and, more excitingly, to engage with discourse surrounding it's use in two entirely diverse avenues. I chose both of the core examples since there was a wealth of discussion surrounding the suitability of the placement for their target market, which the juxtaposition of these will further dissect.
- How To Find Product Placement Opportunities For Your Blogs
- How To Find Product Placement Opportunities For Your Blog Page
- How To Find Product Placement Opportunities For Your Blog Post
Work the affiliate program into your new blog posts too. Research the existing content that's available and write an even better, more robust blog post on the topic to attract more visitors faster. Related: Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers: How Michelle Makes $50,000 a Month Selling Other People's Products. Product/Service Review. An Introduction to Product Placement: The 2004 documentary 'The Corporation' has a segment about real life product placements that companies pay for (such as people paid to talk loudly in public about a song they just heard or a product they just tried like in 'The Truman Show'), which I think is a scary extreme of where branding was already headed ten years ago. Don't just rely on your retail placements. It's nice to think that getting stocked in a major retailer could be the big break your business is looking for, and a lot of times, it can be. But just because you've cleared the hurdle of getting your stuff on the shelves doesn't mean your work is over. Business Strategies Whether you're a business owner or an employee looking to advance your career, these advertising strategies, books, and ideas will prepare you for success. Having recently noticed the prominence in 2018 alone of product placement opportunities and their inherent value, I decided to blog more deeply about the basics to expand my understanding, deconstruct a few of the myths and, more excitingly, to engage with discourse surrounding it's use in two entirely diverse avenues.
What is Product Placement?
Foremost, I will explain the basics of product placement. Essentially, it is the embedded marketing strategy and incorporation of brands and their assets in a way which enables them to gain exposure and thus heighten brand awareness – integral for growth. Often this is done through an often subtle or occasionally centralised feature in media content. The common goal is a chain reaction of recognition, followed by exposure and brand awareness, resulting in sales. It often functions as a refreshing reminder that this brand or product exists, what it does and as an invitation for you to engage with it. Most integral to product placement is the subsequent brand loyalty as evident with Disney which is attached to recognisably. The transaction occurs whereby a company pays a channel or film-maker to incorporate or include their products or brands in a programme. This can be a mention, a visual or even worn or used in the relevant media.
Notably, product integration is similar except witnesses greater integration of the product or brand into the actual script or narrative of the show or film. Juxtaposing these, product placement involves use of the product or brand as a prop or an accessory. Whereas, integration is the process of incorporation of that brand or product into the dialogue, actions or plot in some way. Exemplary of this, the Power Rangers Movie featured both product placement when the scene and background was frequently littered with Krispy Kreme boxes. However, where Rita Repulsa, the villain stops in the midst of world domination to eat one of their doughnuts – this is product integration.
How To Find Product Placement Opportunities For Your Blogs
For the purpose of simplicity in this post, we will refer generally to the use of product placement in Wreck It Ralph 2 but acknowledge that some of the products or brands were further integrated.
Busting misconceptions
There is the misconception that product placement is immensely expensive, with multi-million figures springing to mind. Of course, the pricing does depend on the frequency of the placement, the role of the product or brand and the audience of the programme. Similarly, it will depend on the agency – with the most established reputable agencies quoting much more. Whilst some of the major product integrations such as Heineken and James Bond, for example, would cost the companies a lot of money – it is worth noting that these are large companies, investing in large amounts of integration and that the price is proportionate to the exposure and advancement. Besides, realistically, most product placements are more affordable and cheaper than commonly perceived and smaller integrations will come attached with smaller price tags. In fact, some product placements are free exchanges, with the brand simply supplying the products to the film makers free of charge. So, it really is wholly dependent and to generalise that product placement must be major and expensive is a common misconception.
Many small companies believe that there is an inherent lack of product placement opportunities for them, since they are under the radar. However, as we just mentioned the pricing strategies are contingent on size and can be much kinder to smaller brands looking to promote themselves. The authenticity often appears less forceful and more natural when smaller brands are integrated subtlety. In fact, Ray Ban's feature in Risky Business saw their growth rocket, taking them from a small sun-glass company struggling, to sales of 360,000 year which followed the film premiere. Thus, product placement might be what exposes the brand and creates that integral awareness small companies desire – with actually a wealth of opportunities to do so.
The placement has to be relevant to the movie. Well, this is a more complex perception, with the regulations varying from location to location. In the UK, Ofcom's Broadcasting Code entails the regulations for product placement and does advocate that there must be ‘editorial justification' for product placement. Which is often why noticeably branded clothing is avoided. It essentially means that the product placement needs to be purposeful, relevant and not awkwardly embedded into the content. Similarly, the content cannot be modified for the purpose of fitting the placement more cohesively. However, the US are significantly more lenient and obviously Ofcom are not responsible for the observation of external creations or avenues outside of their capacity – where regulations are sparse. So, technically, there is a matter of relevance but realistically it is not major nor fundamental – if it is irrelevant it may appear forced which only holds detriment to the entities creating the content and the content itself. Essentially, as is the case with all marketing strategies.
Wreck It Ralph 2
Eager to watch Wreck-it-Ralph 2 after adoring the first, I was further intrigued by the discourse created surrounding Disney's use of product placement. I'd seen many comments regarding both the nature and the extent of product placement and was curious as to whether the the integration of common names and brands was fitting for the target market (supposedly younger than me).
For those who have not been exposed to the first film, it referred frequently to video games, with particularly fictional or earlier generation games having characters derived from them. The references and level of integration was exceptional in invoking emotions of nostalgia, not merely to children but to their parents alike. The last film witnessed Bowser, Dr Robotnik, Kano, Dig-Dug, Dance Dance Revolution and Pac-Man amongst many characters contribute to the journey and escalation of the narrative. Music zapadcock games by: austin adcock football. However, this time, the sequel invoked a wealth of pop-culture references, the vast majority of which are proprietorially Disney.
Arguably, the engagement with pop-culture is increasingly relevant, despite critic argument otherwise. The target market is frequently engaging in the wide web and all of its many components. I'd even go as far to insist that familiarity with these various digital entities actually expands the target market by adapting the setting of the narrative to something we are frequently delving into and playing a part of. As with all media, personalisation and cultural proximity of a narrative is even more inviting and resonates better than those which alienate us.
Disney's multiple franchises are all reflected by the movie, something I found particularly successful within their juxtaposition of the 14 Disney Princesses in each other's company. This was an aspect I felt were particularly nuanced in the way their various characteristics and tale's complemented one another and contributed to the moral executed in the plot. However, the appeal was not weighted to neither gender, with encounters with various Star Wars characters and superheroes balancing the tone of the move, fitting to Vanellope's alternative character. If anything, the placement was prominent rather than subtle – but very well-situated and balanced.
Another matter of prominence was the subtle nods to Disney's properties – and i'm not referring to intellectual property for a change. The use of their theme park as a setting is a definite self-promotion tactic and one which I anticipate excited the younger viewers of the experience in digital form as it did myself. However, those references and product placement opportunities utilised by Hollywood Branding which were most evident were those that don't exist as part of Disney's intellectual property. The embedded marketing technique saw various big brands play an integral role in the plot, with Ebay, Twitter, Youtube and many other outlets being promoted inadvertently. Notably, it would seem the sheer saturation and dependent integration of these have been criticised as overwhelming and perhaps even forced.
Undeniably, there was a lot of product placement. Yes, it was frequent, often, and intense. However, it did not necessarily seem desperate and it particularly wouldn't for the target market who are forever excited by the prospect of both new and familiar outlets. I have seen the product placement coined as ‘cute rather than greedy' and this is a statement I'd deem most appropriate to describe the wealth of it. Throughout the film, we were not inclined to believe the studio were looking for ways to cut costs by being paid for these features. Rather, they continued the theme of the previous film and actually enhanced the narrative and it's relational value for viewers. In fact, I think it would be fair to say that this film functioned as evidence that product placement is not merely greedy when highly concentrated – but that it actually exists to serve a greater purpose of inviting, relating and engaging consumers.
Missguided and Love Island Asklawyers.com.
Most notably, Love Island's partnership with Missguided last year functioned as a multi-channel success which subsequently drove great levels of engagement with both the show's application and for Missguided itself. The role of product placement here was the potential to see and then discover entire outfits supplied by Missguided and worn by the contestants on the show in real time. The accessibility was revolutionary, alleviating the need for the untimely publisher affiliates which tended to highlight and source clothing worn to their readers. However, the inherent disadvantages of this media avenue was the lack of immediacy and fragmentation, with few items actually being promised.
However, the partnership and integration provided by each and every episode of Love Island provided that accessibility and opportunity to directly shop for items they saw on that episode, through the show's app and the retailer's Love Island Hub immediately following the end of the show. Such notion is notably not new, but coined by the innovation of Burberry and the London Fashion Week. However, this is imperatively different and provision of the brand integration utilising such technological advancements has proven to be at the height of this embedded form of marketing and driven great results.
Additionally, Instagram is Missguided's most common avenue of communication with it's impressive 3.4M followers. In fact, they utilised the stories aspect of the application which can be described as more impactful than the news feed in recent months, particularly following the new algorithms. The product placement was broadcast more greatly through the ‘Get The #IslandStyle' stories on Instagram which featured grabs of the contestants sporting the Missguided products during that show.
Whether it be from the partnership itself, other efforts or primarily the product placement marketing in the show, Missguided were increasingly successful in raising their brand awareness. YouGov articulated that their Ad Awareness Score increased from 13% to 20% amongst the target demographic and Marketing Week reported that the company witnessed sales spikes of roughly 40% when the show was aired. A considerable marketing achievement.
'From a commercial standpoint it's worked brilliantly. Even on the first day the show aired, our trade – particularly from around the hours of 7pm to midnight – saw an increase of around 40% week on week and its trajectory has been ratcheting up ever since, it hasn't slowed.'
How To Find Product Placement Opportunities For Your Blog Page
Kenyatte Nelson, Chief Customer Officer (Missguided)
Arguably the most effective component of the product placement on Love Island was the immediacy and frequency within the fashion market which had been tapped into, but not through the means of product placement where these regular updates were embedded with ease and not forceful. They required action from the consumer, which they prompted with their placement but didn't force it down our throats. Thus tapping into that aspect of the market which was vacant and that is what made this product placement truly successful and innovative by nature.
Conclusively…
Product placement and integration is immensely popular, unsurprisingly. However, there is notable discourse surrounding its suitability for the target markets, its regulation and its pricing. This particular post delved into the transaction and the process as well as the basics. It similarly took apart and addressed the reality of a few of the common misconceptions held surrounding this form of marketing and has potential for both great success and increased brand awareness when articulated authentically and appropriately. However, there does remain the pertinent risk of forceful and irrelevant content which can disrupt narratives of meaningful scenes. In essence, it is a balancing act and one which warrants thorough consideration as to the right price to pay, the right placements and the right extent of coverage. All of these things a clued up marketing team prove integral to.
How To Find Product Placement Opportunities For Your Blogs
For the purpose of simplicity in this post, we will refer generally to the use of product placement in Wreck It Ralph 2 but acknowledge that some of the products or brands were further integrated.
Busting misconceptions
There is the misconception that product placement is immensely expensive, with multi-million figures springing to mind. Of course, the pricing does depend on the frequency of the placement, the role of the product or brand and the audience of the programme. Similarly, it will depend on the agency – with the most established reputable agencies quoting much more. Whilst some of the major product integrations such as Heineken and James Bond, for example, would cost the companies a lot of money – it is worth noting that these are large companies, investing in large amounts of integration and that the price is proportionate to the exposure and advancement. Besides, realistically, most product placements are more affordable and cheaper than commonly perceived and smaller integrations will come attached with smaller price tags. In fact, some product placements are free exchanges, with the brand simply supplying the products to the film makers free of charge. So, it really is wholly dependent and to generalise that product placement must be major and expensive is a common misconception.
Many small companies believe that there is an inherent lack of product placement opportunities for them, since they are under the radar. However, as we just mentioned the pricing strategies are contingent on size and can be much kinder to smaller brands looking to promote themselves. The authenticity often appears less forceful and more natural when smaller brands are integrated subtlety. In fact, Ray Ban's feature in Risky Business saw their growth rocket, taking them from a small sun-glass company struggling, to sales of 360,000 year which followed the film premiere. Thus, product placement might be what exposes the brand and creates that integral awareness small companies desire – with actually a wealth of opportunities to do so.
The placement has to be relevant to the movie. Well, this is a more complex perception, with the regulations varying from location to location. In the UK, Ofcom's Broadcasting Code entails the regulations for product placement and does advocate that there must be ‘editorial justification' for product placement. Which is often why noticeably branded clothing is avoided. It essentially means that the product placement needs to be purposeful, relevant and not awkwardly embedded into the content. Similarly, the content cannot be modified for the purpose of fitting the placement more cohesively. However, the US are significantly more lenient and obviously Ofcom are not responsible for the observation of external creations or avenues outside of their capacity – where regulations are sparse. So, technically, there is a matter of relevance but realistically it is not major nor fundamental – if it is irrelevant it may appear forced which only holds detriment to the entities creating the content and the content itself. Essentially, as is the case with all marketing strategies.
Wreck It Ralph 2
Eager to watch Wreck-it-Ralph 2 after adoring the first, I was further intrigued by the discourse created surrounding Disney's use of product placement. I'd seen many comments regarding both the nature and the extent of product placement and was curious as to whether the the integration of common names and brands was fitting for the target market (supposedly younger than me).
For those who have not been exposed to the first film, it referred frequently to video games, with particularly fictional or earlier generation games having characters derived from them. The references and level of integration was exceptional in invoking emotions of nostalgia, not merely to children but to their parents alike. The last film witnessed Bowser, Dr Robotnik, Kano, Dig-Dug, Dance Dance Revolution and Pac-Man amongst many characters contribute to the journey and escalation of the narrative. Music zapadcock games by: austin adcock football. However, this time, the sequel invoked a wealth of pop-culture references, the vast majority of which are proprietorially Disney.
Arguably, the engagement with pop-culture is increasingly relevant, despite critic argument otherwise. The target market is frequently engaging in the wide web and all of its many components. I'd even go as far to insist that familiarity with these various digital entities actually expands the target market by adapting the setting of the narrative to something we are frequently delving into and playing a part of. As with all media, personalisation and cultural proximity of a narrative is even more inviting and resonates better than those which alienate us.
Disney's multiple franchises are all reflected by the movie, something I found particularly successful within their juxtaposition of the 14 Disney Princesses in each other's company. This was an aspect I felt were particularly nuanced in the way their various characteristics and tale's complemented one another and contributed to the moral executed in the plot. However, the appeal was not weighted to neither gender, with encounters with various Star Wars characters and superheroes balancing the tone of the move, fitting to Vanellope's alternative character. If anything, the placement was prominent rather than subtle – but very well-situated and balanced.
Another matter of prominence was the subtle nods to Disney's properties – and i'm not referring to intellectual property for a change. The use of their theme park as a setting is a definite self-promotion tactic and one which I anticipate excited the younger viewers of the experience in digital form as it did myself. However, those references and product placement opportunities utilised by Hollywood Branding which were most evident were those that don't exist as part of Disney's intellectual property. The embedded marketing technique saw various big brands play an integral role in the plot, with Ebay, Twitter, Youtube and many other outlets being promoted inadvertently. Notably, it would seem the sheer saturation and dependent integration of these have been criticised as overwhelming and perhaps even forced.
Undeniably, there was a lot of product placement. Yes, it was frequent, often, and intense. However, it did not necessarily seem desperate and it particularly wouldn't for the target market who are forever excited by the prospect of both new and familiar outlets. I have seen the product placement coined as ‘cute rather than greedy' and this is a statement I'd deem most appropriate to describe the wealth of it. Throughout the film, we were not inclined to believe the studio were looking for ways to cut costs by being paid for these features. Rather, they continued the theme of the previous film and actually enhanced the narrative and it's relational value for viewers. In fact, I think it would be fair to say that this film functioned as evidence that product placement is not merely greedy when highly concentrated – but that it actually exists to serve a greater purpose of inviting, relating and engaging consumers.
Missguided and Love Island Asklawyers.com.
Most notably, Love Island's partnership with Missguided last year functioned as a multi-channel success which subsequently drove great levels of engagement with both the show's application and for Missguided itself. The role of product placement here was the potential to see and then discover entire outfits supplied by Missguided and worn by the contestants on the show in real time. The accessibility was revolutionary, alleviating the need for the untimely publisher affiliates which tended to highlight and source clothing worn to their readers. However, the inherent disadvantages of this media avenue was the lack of immediacy and fragmentation, with few items actually being promised.
However, the partnership and integration provided by each and every episode of Love Island provided that accessibility and opportunity to directly shop for items they saw on that episode, through the show's app and the retailer's Love Island Hub immediately following the end of the show. Such notion is notably not new, but coined by the innovation of Burberry and the London Fashion Week. However, this is imperatively different and provision of the brand integration utilising such technological advancements has proven to be at the height of this embedded form of marketing and driven great results.
Additionally, Instagram is Missguided's most common avenue of communication with it's impressive 3.4M followers. In fact, they utilised the stories aspect of the application which can be described as more impactful than the news feed in recent months, particularly following the new algorithms. The product placement was broadcast more greatly through the ‘Get The #IslandStyle' stories on Instagram which featured grabs of the contestants sporting the Missguided products during that show.
Whether it be from the partnership itself, other efforts or primarily the product placement marketing in the show, Missguided were increasingly successful in raising their brand awareness. YouGov articulated that their Ad Awareness Score increased from 13% to 20% amongst the target demographic and Marketing Week reported that the company witnessed sales spikes of roughly 40% when the show was aired. A considerable marketing achievement.
'From a commercial standpoint it's worked brilliantly. Even on the first day the show aired, our trade – particularly from around the hours of 7pm to midnight – saw an increase of around 40% week on week and its trajectory has been ratcheting up ever since, it hasn't slowed.'
How To Find Product Placement Opportunities For Your Blog Page
Kenyatte Nelson, Chief Customer Officer (Missguided)
Arguably the most effective component of the product placement on Love Island was the immediacy and frequency within the fashion market which had been tapped into, but not through the means of product placement where these regular updates were embedded with ease and not forceful. They required action from the consumer, which they prompted with their placement but didn't force it down our throats. Thus tapping into that aspect of the market which was vacant and that is what made this product placement truly successful and innovative by nature.
Conclusively…
Product placement and integration is immensely popular, unsurprisingly. However, there is notable discourse surrounding its suitability for the target markets, its regulation and its pricing. This particular post delved into the transaction and the process as well as the basics. It similarly took apart and addressed the reality of a few of the common misconceptions held surrounding this form of marketing and has potential for both great success and increased brand awareness when articulated authentically and appropriately. However, there does remain the pertinent risk of forceful and irrelevant content which can disrupt narratives of meaningful scenes. In essence, it is a balancing act and one which warrants thorough consideration as to the right price to pay, the right placements and the right extent of coverage. All of these things a clued up marketing team prove integral to.
Thank you for reading! I really hope this blog gave you a greater insight into product placement, particularly since its a lengthy one and that you found it almost as interesting as I did. Alternatively, I'd be pretty happy if it motivated you to see Wreck It Ralph 2 which, by the way, is a fab film.
How To Find Product Placement Opportunities For Your Blog Post
Sofia x
