Product Placement Summary

While working on my blog this semester in Audience Research I learned a great deal about product placement. I have become more aware of the abundance of product placement in media. With the increased use of online television and TiVo, comanies are looking to product placement. By placing products in character dialogue and/or in the actual scene, viewers are unable to skip over advertisements. They see the product being used. By positioning it on certain shows, the brand image is portrayed.

In my blogs I examined how products are paired with different television shows and movies. Each product placement is thought about and researched carefully. Nielson launched new software for product placement analysis which will help greatly for years to come. I researched shows like Lost, American Idol, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and The Hills. These shows had specific audiences and very specific product placements.

I even found a website that lists the product placements featured on current tv, movies, and celebrity style. The website is called seenon.com. Visitors can browse by show, episode, brand, and even character. They can then purchase the item. The website has sponsors including Cole Hahn and Marc Jacobs. They claim to be further combining shopping and entertainment.

As my generation gets older and technology increases, there is no doubt in my mind that all forms of media will eventually converge as one. As Apple introduced its new iPhone, I wasn't surprised that a phone included internet capabilities, games, photos, and music. Earlier this month, an Israeli cellular phone company announced that it will feature product placement in their free games. Surprise, surprise. It will be interesting to see how much more product placement will be used.

Maybe in the future we will have product placement flash from our alarm clocks. Constantly changing advertisements could look back at us while we brush our teeth. Televisions on refridgerators may talk to us and tell us about new products. The future of product placement is looking good and I'm lucky to be experiencing an industry that is constantly changing and evolving.

Nielson

Earlier this year, Nielson launched a new product placement performance analysis called Place Values. http://www.nielsenmedia.com/nc/portal/site/Public/menuitem.55dc65b4a7d5adff3f65936147a062a0/?vgnextoid=cb475a777a071110VgnVCM100000ac0a260aRCRD The tool allows people to view past product placement and potential placement opportunities. It also allows for clients to test the markets for placing their products. With product placement becoming more and more frequent, it was time that Nielson collect data on it. The data from Place Value is from Nielson's Product Placement Valuation Study. In this study, more than 100,000 people across America voiced their opinions on product placements for over 200 products.

Nielson's Place Values is a software that companies can buy. CBS, CourtTV, FOX, Spring, and Twentieth TV are some of the first customers. The software shows a variety of strategies for product placement and reports on activity by company, brand, or product. Although highly expensive, Place Values offers lots of information on a growing type of promotion. With more research on product placement everyday, companies will surely use the promotion more and more.

Do you write best inside a bubble?

Today Dr. Pepper announced that they will be creating a giant transparent bubble in NYC's Pier 54. Weird, huh? Not only that but they will be putting an up-and-coming band IN the bubble for 20 days. The members of Cartel (a new pop-punk band) will be writing songs for their album inside the bubble. There will be cameras documenting their experiences and episodes may be aired on one of MTV's channels. The stunt will take place from May 24 until the band finally emerges on June 12. MTV is hoping to air their episodes soon after. http://www.brooksbulletin.com/news/entertainment.asp?itemid=62218

Mediaedge is representing Dr. Pepper. With this stunt they want to attract young people who like Cartel, MTV, and soda. By placing this odd reality show on MTV, they will automatically get attention. Although, in theory, this sounds like a cool idea, I'm not quite sure how it will play out. 20 days seems like a long time for 5 guys to be trapped inside a bubble. Plus, being in a large bubble in the middle of New York City will definatly affect the writing. I'm not an artist, but most artists I know like peace and quiet to write. Recent advertisements for Dr. Pepper have shown the variety of flavors in the soda. Personally, I don't think of music when I think of this soda. Maybe Dr. Pepper is going in a new direction.

Stunts like this are getting more and more popular. Many companies sponsor concerts and/or large events. Dr. Pepper is taking it one step further. They are showing America HOW these hit songs get made. It will certainly be interesting to see how Cartel's new album turns out.

Product Placement on Ice??

We have all seen the product placements in NFL football. America's obsession with the game has companies paying millions of dollars in product placements and advertisement. But what is product placement like in other countries?

Although football is one of the leaders in advertising, other sports are catching on to the trend. In Canada, hockey is huge!! Vancouver defenceman Willie Mitchell recently used BladeTape. It is a product that you can put on your hockey stick that helps keep it last 15 games longer than without it. CBC showed close ups of the product. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=8b3b68c9-38af-44a3-b60e-935461e8602d&k=74246

Richard Findlay, the inventor of the product, is a big hockey fan and loves the fact that his product is being used by big stars. He also loves the fact that the product is shown to people all over the country. "The phone is so busy I can't get out of the office," says Findlay. In the first six months, BladeTape has done more than $100,000 in sales. BladeTape has been used by many NHL players as well. Findlay hope that eventually a company like Nike or Easton will see how great the product is and want to buy it.

Product Placement All Over the World

Early this morning, Israel's largest cell phone company, Cellcom, reported that they would launch an ad-funded game service. Cellcom subscribers will now be able to download free games onto their cell phones. The only catch is that they have to watch advertisements throughout the games and many of the games include product placement and/or digital coupons. This new campaign will feature brands like McDonalds, Adidas, Disney, Samsung, and Nokia. Using new technology, appropriate advertisements are targeted to users using profiles, bahavior, and responses.http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/04/18/2531335.htm This technology is brought by the company innerActive. This company specializes in mobile advertising. www.inner-active.com

This new technology seems like a great chance to specifically target consumers. Online sites have allowed people to watch free video and only watch a few commercials. They don't seem to mind because they're able to watch whatever they want. Thousands of people will now be able to pay different games for free and many won't mind watching a few commercials along the way.

Virtual Hills

This season of The Hills on MTV has wrapped up, but viewers don't have to go through Lauren and Heidi withdrawl. MTV has recently created a virtual world where people can shop, dance, and go to fashion shows with their favorite Hills girls. The world can be accessed at http://content.vlb.mtv.com/mtv_central/index.html . The virtual world is interesting because you can teleport to a variety of locations that are in the show (and real life). One of the most interesting places is Area nightclub. The nightclub opened this year and Heidi often works at the door. In almost every episode of The Hills, the girls go to the glamourous nightclub. The club gets publicity and girls all over the country want to party in the place that Lauren and Heidi do. In the virtual world, underage girls can get into the nightclub and experience what celebrities experience. This generates more buzz about the club. I recently overheard a friend talking about her upcoming semester in Los Angeles with Ithaca College. She talked about how cool it would be to visit Area and see Heidi and Lauren. The product placement on the show and in the virtual world generates excitement for both the nightclub and the show itself.

American Idol

American Idol is now well into the 6th season. The show has made ordinary people like Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, and Carrie Underwood famous. The show not only has America's hopefuls competing, but also has advertisers competing for product placement. Companies including AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Ford have paid big bucks to have their products mentioned. In fact, these three big advertisers are even shown at the top of the official American Idol website. AT&T paid between $30-$50 million for their product placement. http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/03/21/product-placement-the-american-idol-juggernaut/ Ryan Seacrest informs the show's average 31.7 million viewers to vote on their cell phones using AT&T. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/arts/television/20idol.html?ei=5090&en=6a21cd6f4f1a4dde&ex=1329627600&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1176178150-XKezcGMq7wXUj4XEqLdZWQ .

Coca-Cola is the proud sponsor of "Coke Presents Behind The Scenes." These are short behind the scene videos that viewers can view on the website. The strangest product placement is Ford's. It is far from subtle. Every week the contestants are featured in a "Ford Music Video." The contestants sing and dance in front of a FORD. It's really bizarre. Ford banner ads are also on the website. Last year's AI winner, Taylor Hicks, was promtly selected as Ford's newest spokesperson after the finale. All of American Idol's product placement is so obvious. The ads, like the show, are completely cheesy, but for that much money apparently it's worth it.