Product placement

Product placement is the inclusion of a company’s PRODUCT within the context of a non-ADVERTISING situation. Typical product placements include insertion of BRANDS and brandname products within a television show or movie. In product placement, a marketer’s product is either shown or even discussed as part of the show or movie. Product placement is an increasingly popular promotional effort in the United States. Marketers know consumers are frequently zapping or ignoring traditional 30-second television advertising messages and thus need new, innovative ways to capture consumers’ attention. Consequently, they are now paying TV networks and movie producers to include their products as part of the script or background. One of the earliest product placements occurred in the 1993 movie The Firm, when Tom Cruise casually ordered a Red Stripe beer at the firm’s party. During The Firm’s filming, Red Stripe lavishly provided cases of their beer to the crew and actors. U.S. distributors saw a quick rise in Red Stripe sales after the film was released. With the thousands of advertising messages broadcast, published, and transmitted daily, it has become increasingly difficult for marketers to communicate with their customers. Product placement ensures viewers will see a company’s products and provides the implicit endorsement of the actor or actress associated with the placement. Companies often pay considerable sums for product placement.