A final hoorah...

They say all good things must come to an end, and I’m sorry to report that like all good things this blog is coming to an end. This will be my last post. We’re nearing the end of the semester, and what a semester it has been. We’ve learned and talked about so much as in pertains to product placement. We started with a simple definition: the appearance of products in television programs or movies paid for by the manufacturer or company. I was surprised how far product placement has expanded past that definition and into new mediums.
We’ve looked into all sorts of interesting mediums in which product placement is set. We’ve learned that product placement in placed anywhere from television and movies, to race cars, music and on celebrities. Product placement is everywhere. Technically we’re all just walking billboards for the brands we wear, cars we drive, and products we’re seen with. Our generation would much rather view product placements than traditional advertisements. This seems to be the trend we’re heading towards. I think traditional advertising will always be around, but with the technological advances of TiVo and DVR, commercial exposure may become obsolete (except to those of you advertising nerds like me that tend to be more interested in the commercials than the actual television programs). I guess if they want anyone to pay attention, they’re going to have to become a little more creative.
Product placement has certainly become quite creative. Who would have thought that Jesus would drink and promote Coca-Cola? And who would have thought that Coke would sue for such a great product placement. Movies have definitely started to become overcrowded with product placements like we say in Blades of Glory. Surprisingly, even with so much product placement, it still held the number one box office spot. Looks like product placement is proving to be pretty effective. Just how effective, you may ask? Well, that’s a good question.
We also discovered in our journey throughout the semester than Nielsen has come up with a new tool called Place*Values. It’s a revolutionary new tool that allows advertisers to evaluate past product placements and new placement opportunities. It even allows advertisers to test different variations of their product placements and evaluate the success of each variation. With all the innovation in product placements, where is it headed? Research has shown that Europe and Asia are growing markets for product placement. So it looks like we’re heading overseas.
So, my friends, until we meet again, keep looking for product placements because every product has its place. Au Revoir.

Catchy tune holds product placement

My sister, being a teenage high school student, is on top of all the latest trends. She mentioned that I should seach for a song and watch the video. So I did, and now I'm passing it along to you. The song is "My lipgloss is poppin" by Lil Mama. After listening to it the first time, I decided it has more than appropriate for my blog on product placement.

A verse of the lyrics is as follows:
Mac Mac L'Oreal yep 'cause I'm worth it
Love the way I put it on so perfect
Wipe the corners of my mouth so I work it
When I walk down the hallway they can't say nothing
Oh oh oh my lips so luscious
The way I spice it up with the Mac Mac brushes
L'Oreal got the most watermelon crushes
That's probably is the why these boys got crushes…

It's the lipgloss song so obviously it features some name brand cosmetic products. It's free promotion for Mac and L'Oreal. The song specifically targets high schoolers. They are a great target because they are on top off all the latest trends and styles, especially in music and are very influential among their friends. If you can get them to try a product, then they will tell their friends who will want it.
Yet another product placement spotted... where will you find the next?

sweet smells and songs...

I was recently listening to the radio when the news came on, telling me about a new album release by Hilary Duff. The album titled Dignity was released April 3rd in the United States and, according to her website, debuted at number three! So I know what you're thinking... What does this have to do with product placement, right? Well...

As I listened closely to this radio news, they announced that Hilary Duff was also coming out with a new fragrance called With Love. The new album also has a song with the same title. Coincidence? I think not. The radio news story said this was part of her strategy to promote both the new fragrence and new album. Hilary also said that the fragrence came first and when she sat down to write the album, it was hard to write a song when she knew she had to include certain things. Although the song does not specifically mention a perfume, it does develop around the phrase "with love." I think this can be viewed as a product placement because the artist was writing to include certain things to promote her new perfume. I think we will see more of this type of thing happening because celebrities are involved in so many facets of business these days, from clothing to perfume to movies and music.

Coke sues...

According to an article published in The Star Phoenix, Coke is suing a new Italian movie. The movie is called 7 Km da Gerusalemme (7 kilometers to Jerusalem, in English). A scene in the movie shows Jesus drinking a Coca-Cola. A representative from Coke said, "We are not interested in this kind of product placement."

And what KIND of product placement is that? I translate it to mean that they do not want to have a product placement with religious ties. One reason is that it may alienate those viewers that are not of the Christian faith. And lets be honest, these days religion is quite the touchy subject. Remember all the talk about Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ? And then you take it the next step and have these religious figures with product placements. This may be pushing it a little too far for some viewers, although others may find it humorous. It all depends on you religious background and beliefs, but we certainly do not want to step on any toes. Better to be safe than sorry, so lets leave Coke out of this one.

If the show fits...

This week on America's Next Top Model... Keds. The show with Tyra Banks, is infamous for product placements. Each week this season, the show features CoverGirl cosmetics and Seventeen magazine as regular product placements. The extra thrown in this week is Keds shoes. The winner of the model challenge was Dionne, who picked Jaslene and Whitney to share her prize. The prize: modelling in a Keds ad to be placed in the June issue of Seventeen magazine. Keds is trying to renew their popularity with placements in a show that is so popular with young girls.

And this is not the first time Keds have been featured as a product placement in a popular show or movie. They have also been spotted on television shows like Alias and The O.C., and movies including Little Miss Sunshine, The Aviator and Akeelah and the Bee. The Aviator was actually the moving that helping bring back and rejuvinate the mens line of Keds. Check out the Keds website to get your own!

playmates wear Heelys

I was recently watching an episode of Girls Next Door on E!. The television program is about the lives of Hugh Hefner's three girlfriends that live in the Playboy Mansion. This specific episode highlighted what each of the girls was doing as far as a job and career path. Hefner's main girlfriend, Holly, was learning about working at the studio and doing photo shoots. While in the process, she mentions that one of the other girls "bought her these really cool shoes called Heelys" and is seen wheeling down the hallway.

Of course, she's wearing the ones pictured above because they're pink. The mention and demonstration of the Heelys product can be considered a product placement and I think will boost the image among an older crowd. The audience for Heelys right now consists of mainly young kids, approximately 8 - 12. Heelys are sneakers, obviously from the picture, but they feature a single stealth wheel in the heel of the shoe allowing the wearer to transition to a roll at any desired moment. Heelys aren't just for "skater punks" anymore, they're for Playboy Playmates, and common folk alike.

UPDATE!

Blades of Glory, mentioned in my post last week, took the number one spot at the box office over the weekend! That means big exposure for the extreme number of product placements throughout the movie.

More big screen product placements

Brandweek has published an article highlighting Orbitz as a product placement in Blades of Glory. The movie stars Will Ferrell and Jon Heder as rival figure skaters that are banned from the sport of singles' figure skating. They discover a loophole in which the two set aside their hatred of each other and become the first male/male figure skating pair in history.

Orbitz is featured as the sponsor of the Montreal Winter Sports Games. The online travel agency gets camera time during the "telecast" of the games and also receives a mention from one of the anchors.

But Orbitz isn't the only product placement throughout the movie. Blades of Glory features more product placements than I can count on my fingers and toes. If you happen to see the movie, opening this weekend, see how many product placements you can catch out of the following brands: Orbitz, Skittles, Capri Sun, Captain Morgan rum, XBox360, Subway, Crest, Verizon, Trim Spa, Foot Locker, Nationwide, Robeks, Philips, Puma, adidas, Dunkin Donuts, Kellogg's, 7-Eleven, Google, Trojan and Posturepedic.

It'll be a challenge, but see how many you can spot!

I think this movie has gone a little far. People are going to start getting annoyed with the way marketers are shoving their brands in their faces. Movies are supposed to be a way to escape the outside world, but product placements bring that world and all the pressures of the media back in. I think it'll be fine as long as movies don't get carried away as Blades of Glory may have done.

What are your opinions? Do you think product placements have gone overboard in the movie?

Place*Values: new tool from Nielsen

Nielsen, the company that brings you television ratings, has introduced a new tool. This tool, known as Place*Values, helps advertisers analyze product placements in advertising, according to this arcticle by Media Buyer Planner. The tool allows advertisers to evaluate past product placements and new placement opportunities. This evaluation will be based on performance indicators, including brand recognition, brand attitude and purchase interest.

Place*Values sounds really cool. They allow clients to test different ways to place products, including testing the use of brand mentions. I think this tool is going to catch on and really heat up product placements. Users of the tool, so far, include: A&E, Court TV, the Weather Channel, Discovery Networks, CBS, Fox, Magna Global, Mediacom, OMD, PHD, Sprint Nextel, Twentieth TV and Zenith Media.

I think these users really hold an advantage over those that are not users. They may be the trendsetters because I'm sure other will follow in the use of this amazing tool. The tool actually gets it's finding from Nielsen's Product Placement Valuation Study. Nielsen is a company that consumers and advertisers have grown to trust with television ratings and I think it's wonderful that they are expanding and have introduced such an innovative tool.



This is the future of product placement!

Europe and Asia... growing markets for product placement

The United States may be on overload with product placements, but the market is going strong in Europe and Asia. According to this article published on bizreport.com by Kristina Knight, product placement grew 37% in 2006 to $3.36 billion and is expected to grow another 30.3% this year.
The article highlights the fact that traditional advertising is becoming less effective on consumers. Product placement is an attempt to make a more emotional connection with consumers. It reaches them in a non-traditional way and is therefore more effective. As the article states, Patrick Quinn, CEO of PQ Media says, "Media companies are searching for new revenue streams as traditional advertising methods suffer from negative perceptions. As a result, product placement has emerged from a novel marketing tactic just a few years ago to a key marketing strategy worldwide."
America has been a big leader is product placement spending. This spending will probably reach a plateau in the near future. Europe and Asia, primarily in China, are beginning to see growth in product placements. These markets will continue to grow over the next few years.

If Pinkberry were in Second Life...

This posting may be a little off topic, but is an assignment for class. The questions is, if Pinkberry where to come into Second Life, what would I tell them?

I would tell Pinkberry to create an island using the color scheme of white, pink and green throughout to give the island an over all theme. I would suggest a virtual Pinkberry store, where SL avatars can purchase Pinkberry frozen yogurt. And I would make the frozen yogurt customizable, just like at the stores. The overall feel should be professional, yet casual and simple. Complicated islands get confusing and avatars can get lost. They should provide a seating area both inside the store and out so avatars can hang out. A link to the web page is a must. I would let Pinkberry know that SL is a great opportunity to market their product and find out what consumers think and feel and what they would like to see change. They should also have an employee avatar on the island to answer an questions and take these suggestions. SL has proved to be an excellent marketing tool for other companies and I think Pinkberry should grasp the opportunity at hand.
You can check out the Pinkberry website at: www.pinkberry.com
You can also check out Second Life at: www.secondlife.com

Have fun, amigos!

musical products

I spent a lot of time in the car in the past few days on my way to Florida for Spring Break. During this time, I listened to a lot of radio. I didn't realize how many songs contained product placements as part of their lyrics. These brands are getting major exposure. Here are a few examples from the land of pop music (lyrics from www.azlyrics.com):

"...And I know it sounds so old
But cupid got me in a chokehold
And I'm afraid I might give in
Towels on the mat my white flag is wavin'

I mean she even cooks me pancakes
And Alka Seltzer when my tummy aches
If that ain't love then I don't know what love is

We even got a secret handshake
And she loves the music that my band makes
I know I'm young but if I had to choose her or the sun
I'd be one nocturnal son of a gun..."
-an exerpt from "Cupid's Chokehold" by Gym Class Heroes

"I still go to Taco Bell
Drive through, raw as hell
I don't care, I'm still real
No matter how many records I sell
After the show or after the Grammies
I like to go cool out with the family
Sippin', reminiscing on days when I had a Mustang..."
-an exerpt from "Glamorous" by Fergie

These to songs are great examples of product placements within music. Writing a blog about product placement, I've learned to listen and look for product placements in any medium, but if you aren't looking for them then you're just singing along. People all over are singing along to these songs on the radio, or in clubs. The exposure of these brands is amazing. They're so obvious, yet are going to get to the audience without them really noticing or minding. I think music is an excellent medium for product placements. As long as the products are worked into the song, I think that consumers are going to accept them. This may be the new 'it' medium for product placement.

Honda hydrogen car

Celebrity endorsements are a big way to reach consumers. We want what celebrities have. Noting this, Honda has given the first hydrogen powered car to a 17 year old actress by the name of Q'orianka Kilcher. She starred in 2005's "The New World."

This car, known as the Honda FCX, is the car of the future. It is powered by hydrogen and has zero emissions. It's good for the environment and doesn't run on petroleum... YAY!
According to the article by Jeff Greenfield from Hollywood Product Placement News, this is what Kilcher had to say: "As a young person today, I feel it is important to take initiative toward seeking positive solutions and stepping up the quest toward clean energy and environmental preservation. When I first started pursuing my dream of a zero emissions vehicle as my first car, it seemed like a pretty unrealistic dream. With Honda's innovation and support, my dream of helping the environment became a reality!" Like most celebrities, you can catch Q'orianka Kilcher driving her new car around Hollywood. This is a great product introduction that is definitely going to draw some attention. Not only because Honda gave the car to the actress, but because it is such an innovation.

I want one. Gifts are gladly accepted :)

box office hit equals big brand exposure

Ghost Rider staring Nicholas Cage tops the box office this week. Big success for movies means lots of exposure for those brands that have paid for product placement. This website, brandchannel.com, talks about all of those products that were placed within this movie.

This movie is about a motorcycle stuntman (Nicholas Cage) that sells his soul to save his girlfriend (Eva Mendes). The stuntman, Johnny Blaze, rides a Harley Davidson, a Buell for stunting, and a fictional bike known as the Hellcycle. The Harley Davidson is knows as a motorcycle for serious motorcycle riders. Its style is easily recognizable and got plenty of promotion with this movie. Sony also has quite a bit of product placement throughout the movie. All the televisions were Sony, including the jumbotron at the Sobe dome, according to the article.

These product placements definitely target consumers. The companies want consumers to be the first brand they think of when they are looking to purchase a product, like a motorcycle or television. I think that either consciously or subconsciously, consumers will probably think of Harley Davidson for motorcycles or Sony for televisions. Harley is already ahead of the game in top of mind awareness with consumers. I know when I think motorcycles that Harley Davidson is the first brand to come to my mind. On the other hand, I think Sony televisions may be lacking in the area of top of mind awareness, so it was definitely a good investment to place products within this movie. Top of the box office means that the movie is getting a ton of viewers, which means a ton of potential consumers for Harley Davidson and Sony.

Cover Girl in "Cathy's Book"

An article published in the New York Times by Motoko Rich, entitled "Product Placement Deals Make Leap from Film to Books" discusses how the Cover Girl brand will being making an appearance in a novel called Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650)266-8233.

This is an unusual kind of product placement because the authors are not being paid to promote the brand. Instead, the book is being promoted on Beinggirl.com, a website aimed at adolescent girls, which are the same target market for the book.

The article makes an excellent point: viewers of television programs and movies see products and automatically assume that the appearances are paid for by the companies that manufacture the brands. Produt placements in books is a new thing. Some books do already mention brands, but usually do not have product placement deals made with those brands. On the opposite end of the spectrum some companies have paid authors to write books that feature their brand's name. The good thing about Cathy's Book is that the book had already been written, and the brand was just inserted where appropriate. The book was not totally re-written. Instead, the authors changed "gunmetal grey eyeliner," for example, to "eyecolor in Midnight Metal."

I think the way this book works in the product placements is tasteful and appropriate. It mentions the products without shoving them in your face, and it still maintains the integrity of the book. Books that written because the author has been paid to write the book around the brand, I think may be too obvious. It ruins the author's writing. To write is to be inventive and let the mind flow with whatever may come. I feel that being pressured to incorporate a brand may make the story feel stiff and forced.

It will be interesting to track product placements within books in the future to see which route, as to how the book was written and the placement worked in, the book will take.

participation...

I was recently out to dinner at a little place called Simeons on the Commons when I started thinking about and noticing product placement. Have you ever noticed that in some restaurants they use glassware with brands printed on them? Simeons glasses had their label on one side and a Guiness label on the other side. In other restaurants, you'll notice Pepsi or Coke labels on glasses. Companies often send these glasses to establishments to help promote their brands. This also functions as a type of product placement. You are unwillingly exposed to the use of a product, but instead of seeing someone in a television program or movie using the product, you are using it. It's comparable to seeing Coke glasses on the table in front of the American Idol judges, but it's in front of you. I would describe this type of product placement as active participation product placement because of the interaction between you and the product.

I also noticed product placement this week while watching a video in my Ad Copy and Art Direction class. The video showed a behind the scenes look at putting together an advertising campaign for a Brazilian liquor. One of their techniques was to put real people, taken straight off the streets, in display windows with the bottles of liquor sitting at their tables as they sipped on mixed drinks made from the same liquor. Passers-by could easily gaze in the windows and observe this product placement or enter the "window bar" and enjoy a drink themselves. I think this idea of actively participating in product placement could do big things in the future for many products. More people are beginning to be able to spot typical product placements, and this may be a way to shake things up and keep consumers interested.
What do you think?

Do you remember?

Nielsen ratings have predicted that as many as eight out of every ten viewers never see commercial advertisements because they simply skip the ads using their TiVo or DVR, according to an article by Tom Dorsey of the Courier Journal of Louisville, Kentucky. This article stresses the importance of putting advertisements in the form of product placements within the storyline. This way, if viewers want to watch the show, they are forced to view the advertisement. There's no skipping these "commercials" when they become part of the program. The article specifically places Applebee's restaurants as a sponsor/product placement with in NBC's Friday Night Lights.

Although viewers are guaranteed not to skip the "advertisements" known as product placements, it does not guarantee that they will remember who or what the product placement was for. The author of the article specifically asks viewers of Friday Night Lights if they remember what restaurant was featured in the show and some can recall, but others cannot.

I think this author makes a good point. Take last Sunday's episode of Desperate Housewives for example. Eva Longoria's character was shown shopping for a mattress at, specifically, Macy's. How many viewers are going to spot the Macy's sign in the program? And how many viewers are going to be able to tell you that it was definitely Macy's that she was shopping at out of all the department stores out there? Recall may be one thing that companies may need to improve upon. Since they've found a way to make you view their ads, all they have to do now is to make you remember them.

product placement goes mobile!

Check out this article from brandweek.com! I think this is really neat. Sprint Nextel subscribers are going to be able to download EA Sports Nascar 07 to their mobile phones starting in March. The game will feature the sponsors for the drivers and their cars. It really wouldn't be Nascar without Jeff Gordon's Dupont or Tony Stewart's Home Depot, would it? Twenty different brands will be represented in total as product placement. This will be the first game by EA games for mobile phones to feature product placement! I think that's quite the achievement. It's said that there is no sign of stopping here. More product placement is definitely on the way for mobile games, especially considering the ways EA games has found to place products in games for consoles, such as Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii.

Product placement has really expanded within the last few years. Not only is it apparent in television and movies, but now obviously with video games for gaming consoles as well as mobile phones. Advertisers are finding new and more creative ways to reach consumers. Where will product placement show up next? Only time and technology can tell.

What might be cool?

I found an interesting article about "Generation XBox" by a professor at the University of Southern California. What is generation XBox you might ask? Well, the article describes them as media-savvy young adults.
With advances in technology, including DVR and TiVo, it has become increasingly difficult to get people to watch commercials. Why watch commercials if you can just skip them all together? That's where product placement comes in. Some product placement is obvious, while others not so much.
Generation XBox loves product placement, according to this article found on Media Magazine, but only when it's done right. Product placements on reality shows are blatantly obvious and not so much appreciated. Take American Idol for example. It placed #1 for product placements in 2006 with the judges sipping on their Cokes (below), and the contestants driving around in Ford Mustangs (in those little weekly "music videos" they do). On the other hand, Generation XBox, really loves product placements done in scripted television shows and movies. According to the article, they tend to rely on prduct placements in their favorite shows and movies to predict the trends and "what might be cool." The author of the article describes HBO's Entourage as and example of "good-looking people living a cool life that simply fit in the picture." Here's an example:

These are Nike's Fukijama sneakers featured on the show. Although they aren't real, they won "Best Product Placement of the Week" by Hollywood Product Placement News back in December. They're actually Nike's Air Force Ones just designed a bit differently. They just might be the next big thing.

Keep looking for more product placements in your favorite televison shows. I'd love to hear what you can find.

Something worth talking about...

I just watched an online video for class in which Seth Godin, an author of six bestsellers, gave a great speech to Google about their marketing efforts. He speaks about a traditional model of marketing, which he calls the "TV-industrial complex." This circle of actions basically includes buying ads, getting more distribution, selling more products, making profits and investing those profits into buying more ads and so on. Godin suggests an alternate model which he calls "the fashion permission complex." This model starts with making something worth talking about. Consumers want to be intrigued. Next, tell it to people who want to hear from you. They want to be told about things they want to know about, when they want to know about them. A bonus to this model comes with the third step. These people tell their friends. They do what the traditional marketers used to do by running ads, but this way, it's free! Lastly, you must get permission from people to tell them about your next "fashion."

I think this is absolutely genius. Marketers only end up telling people about the things that they're interested in; therefore, they aren't wasting time and money on people who couldn't care less. On top of that, marketers are getting free word of mouth promotion when consumers tell their friends, family, co-workers, etc. about the product or "fashion." And if you followed suit with the first step, making something worth talking about, then you may just get permission from the consumer to alert them when you come up with another cool idea.

I've only touched on some of the genius that Seth Godin presents in his video. You can watch it by clicking here.
So I know what you're thinking... "How is this relevant to product placement?" Have a little faith.Here's an example. I was watching One Tree Hill on the CW last week and noticed that one of the characters was using a cellularphone featuring Cingular wireless service. The character happens to be really into music. She was using a program through the phone and wireless service to identify the artist and title of a song playing on the radio. The phone "listens" to the song and in return gives you title and artist. How cool, right? Now that's something worth talking about! Product placement can start the cycles in which consumers are intrigued and conversations are held about the products seen in programs or movies.

...and every product in its place.

Hello Readers! I'm a first-semester senior Integrated Marketing Communications student at Ithaca College. This is my first blog and just happens to be an assignment for my Audience Research class. I want to work in the advertising industry after graduation and decided that blogging about product placement would prove to be extremely interesting and relevant to my future line of work.
Ever since I started studying at IC, I've noticed that I'm more attentive to advertisements in all forms: television, print, outdoor... everything. I notice product placements all the time. Product placements can be defined as the appearance of products in television programs or movies, paid for by the manufacturer or company. For example, a character is shown drinking a beverage, such as Pepsi. Pepsi has paid for their soda product to appear in that particular scene being drank by the character. With my education in advertising, I definitely notice these things, but some people don't. I didn't before I was trained to look for them. It's funny when I'm watching a movie with other people and all of a sudden I see an item of product placement. I can't help but shout out, "Oooh, product placement!" It's almost like a game for me. You should try it. Watch two hours of primetime television and, if you're looking for it, see how many items you can pick out as product placement.

Until next time. Au revoir.