S5 Product placement

Why we use product placement

Show product/services in its natural-in-use setting e.g.
facetalk in Still Alice movie with Macbook Air
Show product’s extreme capacity/ability
Spectre James Bond Jaguar Land Rover  
Product
placement in
movies
Definition of product placement
Balasubramanian (1994, 31) defined product
placement as ‘a paid product message aimed at
influencing movie (or television) audiences via the
planned and unobtrusive entry of a branded product
into a movie (or television program)’.
A study of consumers’ perception of
product placement in films: UK and
HK
Chan, Lewe and Petrovici (2015)
Dr. Chan Fong Yee,
Hang Seng School of Management
Why study pp in film?
Audience are more involved in watching film as they
actively choose which film to view and pay for
Product placement in film faces minimal regulation
compared to placements on TV
Films have becoming a global product to target global
audience
Research questions
RQ1: Do young moviegoers across cultures
exhibit different views towards traditional
advertising and product placement?
RQ2:Do young moviegoers across cultures process
brands integrated in films differently, specifically
in terms of the detection of its selling intention?
RQ3: Do young moviegoers support further
regulation and prior notification of product
placement in films and are there any cultural
differences?
method
32 face-to-face semi-structured interviews conducted
in UK and HK
Participants: 18-34 on a voluntary basis
Watched films at least once a month (either in cinemas
or from TV/DVDs)
Prompt: a five-minute video clips from the film Sex
and the City (2008) that had five brands integrated
Key findings 1
Participants had difficulties in recalling brands they
were exposed to in the latest film they had seen. The
low recognition of placed brands may be due to the
fact that the films they had seen were not suitable for
brand integration. That is, the films were either set in a
historical period of time (e.g. The King’s Speech,
2010) or were featured in a fantasy setting (e.g.
TRON: Legacy, 2010)
Some recalled brands vividly
In the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, there’re a
lot of hotels and casinos because they’re in Las Vegas.
They showed the ‘Flamingo Hotel’ and also ‘Caesars
Palace’ . . . [UK Informant 11]
In the film Mighty Baby, there’re some slimming care
products which I think are from ‘Sau Sang Tong –
Slimming and Beauty’ . . . [HK Informant 5]
Views toward advertising and
product placement in general
Ad is good
Some ads are exaggerated
Product placement is acceptable
Product placement helps to fund film production and
demonstrate how the product is consumed
Product placement is expected e.g. in James Bond’s
films
Brand recall

Brands that appeared longer and occupied a bigger size

enjoyed higher recall
Did the brands fit with the
plot/video?
Yes for LV handbag because of it is a luxurious brand
and the female characters in the film loves high end
fashion
Apple Mac OK
Mercedes Benz billboard, DVD, Nissin cup noodles
didn’t fit
When the product fits the storyline well, viewers are
more likely to accept the branded contents
Detecting the sales intents of pp
HK informants more ready to detect the promotional
intent of placed brands and question its purpose than
UK informants
UK informants believed that pp could be quite
effective. They reported that they were tempted to
consume products appearing in films
HK informants considered pp with limited influence
on their purchase decisions
 Brands/product categories
Suitable for pp Not suitable for pp
Fashion and accessories alcohol
Food and drinks cigarettes
Car and technology products Unfamiliar brands
Well-known brands
Views on regulations
Pointless to announce product placement at the
beginning of the films
Current regulation sufficient, there is no need for
further regulations
Self-regulation by the film industry is good enough
Research propositions
1. film genres are related to perceived appropriateness
of product placement; OK for comedies or dramas;
not OK for historical or thriller
2. attitudes towards product placement is positively
related to the perceived effectiveness
3. level of elaboration of placements is positively
related to the perceived effectiveness
Research propositions
4. cultural factors moderate the detection of
commercial intent and thus placement effectiveness
5. cultural factors moderate the appropriateness of
placed brand and thus placement effectiveness
Marketing implications
Placement of different execution styles should be
considered
Moviegoers’ views are in contradiction to the
critical views among parents and consumer
activists
Product placements are acceptable as long as there was
no infringement of the artistic vision of the films
Product sponsorship
• Before 2005, the Government does not allow any product
exposures in the local produced programs
• 2005, the Government relaxed the regulation
– No directing advertising
– Full alert to audience in the roller credit
• No product placement in news and children programs
Definition
 Product placement is a form of advertising and
promotion in which brands are placed in television
shows, movies, or other entertainment content to
generate visibility and achieve audience exposure
Product placement (prop sponsorship)
 Displayed a product inside a program to form a part of
the program
Scene sponsorship
 A particular location or retail shop or a scenario is
written to expose a product or a service
Character sponsorship
 The natural personality or feature of a
person/character make a close or direct association
with a product/service
Theme sponsorship
 The central theme or the main plot of a program
makes a close link with a product/service
TV Commercial vs Product Sponsorship
• TV Commercials
 TV Commercials: well-respected Client’s commercials
• Stopping all other programmes, even no TVB channel logo
• Full screen to the commercials
• Very high cost involved when celebrities are invited to endorse the product
 Cons
• Well alert its commercial nature
• Not a good approach in soft selling
• Not in a realistic & applicable usage context
TV Commercial vs Product Sponsorship
• Product Sponsorship
 Integrated with the programs in a more realistic but maybe in
a dramatic context
 Ride on programs’ and artists’ popularity
 Subconscious impact
Adv. And Disadv. of placement
 prominent exposure, and enhanced realism
 lack of control over how products are portrayed or
incorporated into a scene or storyline
 advertisers have no influence over how successful the
media programming will be, making it difficult to
predict where to place brands for maximum exposure
Advertising rates
No standard rate cards
Depend on level of elaboration of the product
placement: whether it is display or an active use of the
products
Involve potential clients early on in the program
production stage
Agency’s viewpoint
“A successful product placement should be able to
deliver not only awareness, but also the function of the
products, which is the essential part of product and brand
marketing, via smooth integration in the storyline. The
off-the-subject product insertion is making the media
contents “awkward”.
 Cedric Lam, general manager of PHD Hong Kong, 2014
Agency’s viewpoint
“Product placement influences audiences to develop
association and familiarity with the brands appeared. It’s
considered to be effective when it can influence
audiences’ implicit attitudes towards the brand
perception, image, likability, or user experience through
different forms of product placements”
 Remy Ng, deputy leader of Mindshare Hong Kong, 2014
TV station’s point-of-view
"Other countries in Asia, such as Korea are more
relaxed," said Desmond Chan Shu-hung, assistant
general manager of TVB
In 2013, the authority imposed a HK$100,000 penalty
on TVB for breaching advertising codes after the
watchdog received nine complaints about excessive
product placement of a vitamin water drink brand in
the popular drama Triumph In the Skies II.
In 2016, The Communication Authority imposed another fine of HK$150,000 over
TVB for breach of the provisions for indirect advertising.

It said the logo of the chain, which was the product sponsor for the show, was clearly
shown on the food containers, and there were medium to close-up shots showing the
artistes eating and passing the food around enthusiastically.The insertion of the
intentionally designed segment showing dressed-up artistes consuming fried chicken
at the award ceremony was gratuitous, not justified editorially and obtrusive to
viewing pleasure. It was designed to draw viewers’ attention to the sponsor’s logo
and products…

TVB has vowed to take the city’s communication watchdog to court for an “unreasonable and
erroneous” ruling.
Research on product placement
Factors affecting effectiveness of product placement
How the placement is executed
Whether audience like the character using the product
placement
Effectiveness of product placements on
TV

Cases Sharing
歲月風雲

KC Leung, TVB marketing department

Product Sponsorship Effectiveness Survey by
Synovate

Methodology
 Data collection method: Computer aided telephone

interviewing (CATI)
 Target respondents: Hong Kong local residents aged 15-64

 Total sample size: N=1,103

 Fieldwork period: 30 Jul – 14 Oct, 2007 (i.e. from when

The Drive of Life was telecasted in its third week to one

week after it was finished)

Prepared by Television Broadcasts Limited © 208, All Rights Reserved

 Foreground Display
Scene sponsorshipBackground Close-up
Foreground Close-up Background Display
前景展示 前景特寫 背景展示 背景特寫

Foreground Display Background Display Background Close-up

前景展示 Foreground Close-up 背景展示 背景特寫
前景特寫
prop sponsorship

Props Display Props Display Props Close-up Props Close-up

實用展示 實用展示 實用特寫 實用特寫
Source: CTR Market Research Exposure Measurement Prepared by Television Broadcasts Limited © 2008, All Rights Reserved
 Products Exposure Duration (seconds) (% to total)
Client A Logo 363 29%
Product 1 406 32%
Product 1 Logo 15 1%
Product 2 78 6%
Product 3 101 8%
Product 4 182 15%
Product 5 85 7%
Product 6 16 1%
Total 1,253 100%

Source: CTR Market Research Exposure Measurement Prepared by Television Broadcasts Limited © 2008, All Rights Reserved
 Product Formats Exposure Duration
Sponsorship (seconds) (% to total)
Types
Scene Foreground Display 前景展示 316 25%
sponsorship
Foreground Close-up 前景特寫 50 4%
Background Display 背景展示 556 44%
Background Close-up 背景特寫 76 6%
Product Props Display 實用展示 106 8%
placements
Props Close-up 實用特寫 10 1%
Others Roller Credit 139 11%
Total 1,253 100%

Foreground display & background display are used most in the

drama.
Source: CTR Market Research Exposure Measurement Prepared by Television Broadcasts Limited © 2008, All Rights Reserved