Thursday, April 26, 2007
Product Placement Summary
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.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Nielson
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?
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Product Placement on Ice??
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.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Product Placement All Over the World
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Virtual Hills
Monday, April 9, 2007
American Idol
Thursday, April 5, 2007
LOST
Anyway, back to product placement. I just finished watching yesterday's episode of Lost. I've realized that there is no visable product placement. There are no designer brands or food labels shown. Everything is generic. Even the website SeenOn.com which boasts hundreds of product placements for each show, has very few items for the show Lost. http://www.seenon.com/television/abc/lost/filter/product_cat/Accessories/filter/product_cat/Category/filter/product_cat/Apparel/filter/product_cat/Category/filter/product_cat/Food%20&%20Beverage/?product_cat=Food+%26+Beverage Although this storyline takes place on a remote island, we learned this season that "the others" have the ability to reach the mainland and get supplies. If they are able to do so, wouldn't it make sense that the food had brands?
Maybe the producers of Lost decided not to use product placement for a reason. Maybe they thought it would distract viewers from the fact that the cast was supposed to be lost on the island in the middle of nowhere. However, the flashbacks to life before the crash would be excellent opportunities to show brand names. With product placements everywhere, the show seems surprisingly empty without them.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Celebrity Cars
Seinfeld creator Larry David supports awareness of global warming by driving his hybrid Toyota Prius. He drove his car to red carpet events and even on his HBO hit show called Curb Your Enthusiasm. David used product placement to educate viewers about hybrid vehicles. The exposure made the Prius one of the most popular new cars of the year. Last year, David even gave away his Prius to a member of a Stop Global Warming activist group. http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-05-04-larry-david_x.htm .
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Reality in Reality TV
Friday, March 30, 2007
The Beauty in Ugly Betty
Monday, March 26, 2007
iPhone
Monday, March 19, 2007
Second Life Locations
Paper Couture is a company that started online. On their SL island you can go into their beautifully decorated store and buy clothing for your avatar. I enjoyed this location because I felt like I was in a store. There were mirrors and fireplaces to make it look attractive. You can also visit the company's website. I understood the purpose of this location and enjoyed looking around.
Kawaii Ku is a fan built island. When I was first teleported there I felt like I was in a cartoon world. There was a rainbow overhead and giant colorful flowers. Everything was oversized and it looked like an Asian cartoon. Each building had a different theme. They had pictures on the walls that looked like Asian trading cards. Some were animals while others were racy women. When you passed through a tunnel the island went from happy to slightly frightening. Part of the city was underwater and it looked dirty in general. There was more to do at this island and interesting things to look at. I'm not sure what the purpose of the island was, but I enjoyed being there.
If my company was to open in Second Life, I would tell them to design their island so that it represented their image. Paper Couture did this well. I understood exactly what the company was and the upscale image. I would also tell them to create many different things to do. If there is lots to do, people will like to spend their time there. The island should also be decorted well and feature employees to help visitors understand the company.
Monday, March 5, 2007
The Donald Loves Lexus?
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Extreme Makeover, Extreme Product Placement
Monday, February 26, 2007
No shoes, no shirt, no iPod?
Marisa's Playlist
1. "Hole In The Earth" - Deftones
2. "Digital Bath" - Deftones
3. "Love Like Winter" - AFI
4. "Patience" - Guns N' Roses
5. "Whole Lotta Love" - Led Zeppelin
6. "Tangerine" - Led Zeppelin
7. "Pictures Of You" - The Cure
8. "Caring Is Creepy" - The Shins
9. "I Ran (So Far Away)" - A Flock of Seagulls
10. "King Without A Crown" - Matisyahu
11. "Empire" - Kaddisfly
12. "The Saints Are Coming" - U2 + Greenday
Although Apple has not admitted to paying for the placement, consumers and the industry alike are speculating. On the trend hunter website, many internet surfers posted their thoughts on the issue. http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ipod-becomes-bikini-thats-hot/. An interesting fact pointed out on discussion boards is that the iPod is not even turned on. The screen is blank but the supermodel has the tiny white earbuds in her ears. If iPod paid for the placement, wouldn't they want their product on? Or is the image enough?
The brains behind Sports Illustrated were certainly right on track when coming up with this idea. I hadn't heard of this placement until reading blogs about it. I'm sure thousands of young males have been talking about it for weeks now. This product placement tells a story that the iPod is exciting and sexy. Everyone uses one. (Even naked supermodels). The photograph is eye-catching and provocative. It is a perfect match for the target market of young males.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
The Future of Advertising??
Other brands including Gap and Pepsi use the future to show how they will always be present in life. The brands have the same image but change slightly with the "new technology". Gap uses personalized advertising on the store. The computer reads each person's ID and greets them by first name. The computer knows what you have bought, your size, and style preferences. The store can actually help you shop. This adds to Gap's already helpful image.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Carrie Bradshaw & The Cosmo
For many young women, Sex & the City represents what being a young, successful women means. The four women on the show live and work in New York City. The plot follows the women through terrible dates and fights between friends. The star of the show is Carrie Bradshaw, a writer played by Sarah Jessica Parker. Her signature drink is the Cosmopolitan. As the show increased in popularity over the years, the drink did as well. Although the show went off the air a few years ago, girlfriends will still get together to watch Sex & the City DVD's. Women were so excited that a show was around that was from a women's point of view. Before SATC, a women's view was rarely accurately portrayed. Carrie was an inspiration to all women because she was successful and glamourous and also had flaws. She represented a real woman.
Now, although the show is over, Cosmopolitans mean Carrie Bradshaw to many women. They take on the characteristics of the quirky character. The drink is hip and sophisticated and women feel so when they drink them. James Bond made the martini popular, but the girls of SATC made them classy for women.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Pinkberry
Pinkberry was recently talked about on MTV's reality show, The Hills. The show follows a group of trendy friends in their early twenties. The girls have the hottest jobs, party at the hottest clubs, and apparently eat at the hottest places. In a recent episode the girls chat about a recent date at Pinkberry. The quick product placement got thousands of viewers to wonder what Pinkberry is. The girls are thin and beautiful and admired by girls (and guys) across the country. This free publicity gives Pinkberry another edge over competition. The shop is associated with the cool and beautiful. The brand is becoming an attraction. People don't simply go to Pinkberry to eat frozen yogurt, they go in order to be seen and tell others of their experience. As the brand continues to grow, it will be interesting to see if Pinkberry upholds the trendy image.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Tweens and Celebrity Product Placement
Sunday, February 4, 2007
PR Student
The first podcast was on Ad Age and was an interview with the editor of American Demographics, Bradley Johnson. He talked about how it is important for people working in Communications to know the American people. He talked about how to market is changing. The middle class is shrinking and the gap between the rich and poor is getting larger. For the first time since the Great Depression, people are spending more than they are saving. In a few years I'll be entering the "real world" and a country in economic trouble doesn't make me excited to be out there alone. He also talked about how by 2030, two-thirds of the American population will be in the South and West. It will be interesting to see if New York, Boston, Chicago, and other cold-weatherer cities hold up. Will they still be the major hot spots in 20 years? Another interesting fact was that the income of women is increasing. This leads to bigger spending power and more independance. This fact paired with the fact that for the first time ever, more American women are unmarried, than married (51%), could be leading to changes in the American economy and family. Will products continue to be targeted towards the average family with a mom, dad, and two kids? Will single moms be the majority? It will be incredible to see the changes that the field of communications will go through.
The second podcast was on edelman.com and it was about Careers in Communications. The podcast interviewed two seniors in college, one graduate student, and one recent graduate who is working in Edelman offices. The students talked about their interviewing experiences and their interest in public relations. It turned out that most of the students found pr later in their college careers. They wanted a profession where it was their job to keep up with news, trends, and always keep learning. PR promises change and excitement. The students talked about how every interviewer was interested in EXPERIENCE. It was not enough to just have a degree and a good G.P.A. Employers were interested in internships, practical applications of work, and experience in everything. An important tip was to always ask questions and keep up the conversaton. The students also talked about how it's important to find out what you're interested in specifically. Interests outside of PR can help you find a job you really love. Sell your outside interests and passions! This got me thinking about what I would really love to do. I have always been interested in kids, so I could maybe work in the PR department for a corporation that works with kids. I also love planning events AND watching movies or television about weddings, so maybe I could be a wedding planner. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
In other news, I got picked for Park School's trip to France!! I leave in late May for two weeks in Dijon, Paris, Geneva, and more!!! Wish me luck!!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
"Do you work at Google?? Google is my friend!"
Monday, January 29, 2007
Introduction!
Product placement is a way for companies to advertise products to increasingly cynical consumers. Companies pay for their products to appear on television shows, movies, and other forms of entertainment. This allows viewers to associate products with their favorite characters. With technology such as TiVo, people are able to fast-forward through commercials. Product placement is rapidly increasing because companies still want their products to be seen! Many times viewers are unaware of product placement. Advertisers and consumers alike are struggling with the use of product placement. Is it ethical? Should there be regulations?
In this blog I'll be discussing my encounters with product placement. I'll also be talking about my views on the issue. Enjoy!