how media factors affect audience responses to brand placement

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International Journal of Advertising, 29(2), pp. 279–302 © 2010 Advertising Association Published by Warc, www.warc.comDOI: 10.2501/S0265048710201154

How media factors affect audience responses to brand placement

Eva van Reijmersdal, Edith Smit and Peter NeijensAmsterdam School of Communication Research ASCoR

This study investigates the influence of media factors on brand placement effects in a real-life setting. Although many studies on brand placement have been conducted, insights into context effects on brand placement reactions are scarce. The impact of objective and subjective media context factors is studied for brands placed in four dif-ferent television shows. Drawing on a survey of 1195 viewers, we found that genre, pro-gramme attitude and the programme’s informational value had positive effects on brand placement reactions. These results support theories on ‘spillover effects’ and media gratifications. The effect of genre on viewers’ behaviour was partially mediated by the programme’s perceived informational value. This study shows the importance of context factors in brand placement effects.

Brand placement first appeared in Lumière films in the 1890s (Newell et al. 2006). More than a century later, brand placement appears in every medium (Van Reijmersdal et al. 2007). Brand placement is defined as ‘the purposeful incorporation of brands into editorial content’ (Russell & Belch 2005; Schneider & Cornwell 2005). Recently, a number of studies have been published on brand placement, ranging from content analyses (e.g. Ferraro & Avery 2000) and practitioner studies (e.g. Karrh et al. 2003; Russell & Belch 2005; Smit et al. 2009) to qualitative (e.g. DeLorme & Reid 1999; Russell & Stern 2006) and quantitative audience studies (e.g. Van Reijmersdal et al. 2007; Yang & Roskos-Ewoldsen 2007). Although our knowledge of brand placement is growing, a number of aspects remain unstudied (Balasubramanian et al. 2006).

This article reports a study on the effects of brand placement in televi-sion programmes on brand recognition, brand attitudes and brand behav-iour in a field setting. The influence of several context characteristics on these effects was studied. By surveying a large sample of the Dutch popu-lation, the present study focused on effects of programme characteristics

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such as genre, the informational value of the programme, and programme appreciation. The research was conducted to fill three gaps in the litera-ture on brand placement.

First, although advertising research has frequently shown that context factors influence audience responses to advertising (e.g. Pavelchak et al. 1988; Norris & Colman 1994; Chaudhuri & Buck 1995; Bushman 2005), research on brand placement context effects is limited. This is surprising as the context is by definition part of brand placement. Consequently, the context might play an even larger role in brand placement effects than in advertising effects. Therefore, the present study examines the effects of brand placement context factors on brand responses. These effects are predicted based on theories on evaluation spill-over and media gratifications.

Second, studies on the effects of brand placements on behaviour are also limited. Most studies have focused on placement evaluations and memory; only a few have focused on product choice or behavioural inten-tions (Law & Braun 2000; Auty & Lewis 2004; Chaney et al. 2004; Nelson et al. 2004; Yang & Roskos-Ewoldsen 2007). Behaviour has remained largely unstudied. Therefore, the present study examines brand place-ment effects on consumer behaviour.

Third, the present study examines brand placement effects in real-life settings; viewers watched television shows in their own homes instead of in a laboratory setting. The majority of studies on effects of televi-sion or movie brand placement were conducted in experimental settings (e.g. Russell 2002; Matthes et al. 2007; Yang & Roskos-Ewoldsen 2007). There are a few studies on brand placement in real-life settings, but these have focused on attitudes and beliefs towards brand placement, and not on effects on memory, brand attitudes or behaviour (e.g. Nebenzahl & Secunda 1993; Karrh et al. 2001; Tiwsakul et al. 2005; Stern et al. 2007). By examining brand placement effects on the brand itself in a real-life setting, this study enriches the literature on brand placement.

Effects of context characteristics

In the literature a distinction is made between objective and subjective context characteristics (De Pelsmacker et al. 2002; Moorman et al. 2002). Objective context characteristics are inherent in the medium vehicle and

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AUDIENCE RESPONSES TO BRAND PLACEMENT

are generally uniformly perceived by the audience. Examples of objective characteristics are genre or congruence between context and advertising. Subjective context characteristics are not perceived uniformly as these are subjective mental reactions that people experience after confrontation with medium content – for example, attitudes towards the medium, grati-fications obtained from the medium, involvement with the medium, and mood states (Stewart et al. 2002).

Based on previous research on advertising context and brand placement, the present study focuses on both subjective and objective context char-acteristics, namely the perceived informational value of the programme, attitude towards the programme, and programme genre. These three context factors were selected for several reasons. First, previous research pointed in the direction of genre effects on brand placement reactions, but has not actually tested these effects (D’Astous & Seguin 1999; Neijens & Smit 2003). Second, a previous study on brand placement in print showed that the informational value of a magazine had a strong impact on brand placement reactions as predicted by the uses and gratifications approach (Ruggiero 2000; Van Reijmersdal et al. 2005). This effect has never been tested for television brand placement. Third, advertising research has shown that context evaluations have a strong impact on ad effects (e.g. Clancy & Kweskin 1971; Thorson & Reeves 1986; Pavelchak, et al. 1988; Moorman, et al. 2002), but context evaluations have rarely been studied for brand placement (Johnstone & Dodd 2000; Weaver & Oliver 2000; Nelson et al. 2006). In the following sections, we elaborate on the effects of three context characteristics, namely informational value, programme genre and programme evaluation.

Informational value: the gratifications hypothesis

An influential theoretical approach in explaining media use and media effects is ‘uses and gratifications’. This approach postulates that people obtain gratifications from media use (Katz et al. 1973; Rubin 1994; Ruggiero 2000; McQuail 2004). Although the same media content can lead to different gratifications among different people, some programmes or genres fulfil certain gratifications more often than other programmes or genres. Informational gratifications, for example, are often obtained from programmes with high informational value, such as news, documentaries

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and special interest shows. Social or identity gratifications are often obtained from watching drama series and movies (Ruggiero 2000; Hall 2005). The uses and gratifications approach does not only explain media use, but also proposes media effects (Stewart et al. 2002; Hall 2005). For example, Hawkins et al. (2001) found that content-specific gratifications obtained by a genre led to greater attention to the content.

The uses and gratifications approach would predict that placements in highly informational programmes are better remembered than placements in programmes that are less informational, because the information that is given in brand placements relates to viewers’ gratifications. For example, if branded products that are useful for ‘do it yourself’ (DIY) are included in DIY programmes, the information that is given about the products is likely to fit viewers’ need for information about DIY.

One study on brand placement in print showed empirical evidence for the effects of informational gratifications on brand placement responses. Van Reijmersdal et al. (2005) showed that brand placement in magazines fulfilling informational gratifications gained more attention and was appre-ciated more. These effects for brand placement in magazines may also be true for television programmes. Information provided in brand placement programmes may fulfil informational gratifications. Therefore, audiences might pay attention to the placements and remember the placements better when they are placed in informational programmes than when they are placed in programmes with less informational value. In addi-tion, placements in informational programmes are probably more likely to affect behavioural reactions. Viewers of these programmes are searching for useful information and therefore placements can trigger them to search for extra information about certain products or to buy a particular product.

We propose that programmes that fulfil informational gratifications, or in other words that have high informational value for viewers, have a posi-tive impact on integrated brands:

H1a: Brands placed in programmes with a high perceived informa-tional value will be recognised more often than brands placed in programmes with a lower perceived informational value.

H1b: Brands placed in programmes with a high perceived informational value will more often result in behavioural reactions than brand

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placements in programmes with a lower perceived informational value.

Genre: the mediation hypothesis

Programme genre is the second context characteristic that we studied. A few studies showed that the type of programme in which brands were placed affected brand placement reactions. Although these studies did not examine genre effects, they might indicate what the effects of pro-gramme genre are. In an experiment using descriptions of different brand placements, D’Astous and Seguin (1999) showed that brand placement in information service programmes and quizzes was appreciated more than brand placement in mini-series. Unfortunately, no explanations for these differences were provided in the article. Neijens and Smit (2003) showed that brand placement in programmes about DIY and interior design was appreciated more than brand placement in a soap series or police series. The explanation for these differences might not be the different pro-grammes, but the genre of the programmes. The study by Neijens and Smit (2003) indicates that brand placement in special interest genres is appreciated more than in general interest genres. The present study will test this hypothesis.

H2a: Brands placed in special interest programmes are recognised more often than brands placed in general interest programmes.

H2b: Brand placement in special interest programmes leads to more behavioural reactions than brand placement in general interest programmes.

It might be that not the genre itself but the informational value offered by special interest programmes explains these results. This implies a mediated relation between genre and brand placement effects: the genre of the programme influences brand placement effects via the perceived informational value of the programme. The assumption of a mediated effect is in line with the literature on uses and gratifications, which states that genres can fulfil (informational) gratifications. These informational

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gratifications then affect audience responses to brand placement. We for-mulated the following hypothesis:

H2c: The effect of genre on brand recognition and behaviour is medi-ated by the programme’s informational value.

Attitude towards the programme: the spill-over hypothesis

Although research into the effects of context on reactions to brand placement is limited, a body of literature does exist on the effects of psychological responses induced by the context that spillover to ‘tradi-tional’ advertising (e.g. Pavelchak et al. 1988; Chaudhuri & Buck 1995; De Pelsmacker et al. 2002; Moorman et al. 2006). Effects of several psychological responses, such as involvement, liking and feelings, have been studied (Murry et al. 1992; Moorman et al. 2002). The present study focuses on attitude towards the programme as an evaluative psychologi-cal response to the context. Borrowing from the advertising literature on effects of attitudes towards the context, we may predict effects of context attitudes on brand placement.

With respect to brand memory, some studies showed that context atti-tudes had no effect (Pavelchak et al. 1988; Norris & Colman 1994). Other studies showed positive effects of attitudes towards the context on brand memory. In one of the first studies on the effects of advertising contexts, Clancy and Kweskin (1971) showed that viewers paid more attention to commercials that surrounded well-liked programmes. In an experiment, Thorson and Reeves (1986) also found a positive relationship between programme attitude and recall of commercials. Similarly, De Pelsmacker et al. (2002) showed that commercials surrounding highly appreciated tel-evision programmes led to higher recall. The conclusion of these studies is that the more the context is appreciated, the higher the recall scores of the surrounding advertisements. Hedonic contingency theory explains effects of context appreciation on memory (Lee & Sternthal 1999; De Pelsmacker et al. 2002). This theory suggests that people who are in a positive state of mind are more willing to process information because they believe the outcome will be favourable. Similarly, Isen (1984) stated that knowledge structures, such as associative networks, are generally more extensive when they are associated with positive evaluations than

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with negative evaluations. It seems that memories associated with posi-tive evaluations are better established and therefore more easily acces-sible. For brand placement this might mean that a positive programme evaluation has a positive effect on memory of the placement. Johnstone and Dodd (2000) examined the impact of attitude towards a motion picture (Spice Girls the Movie) on brand salience for several products. They showed that the salience of some brands increased when viewers liked the movie, but for other brands there was no effect. Unfortunately, Johnstone and Dodd (2000) did not provide explanations for differences between the brands.

The spill-over theory that explains effects of context attitudes on memory of advertising may also hold for television brand placement. We propose that positive evaluations of the context have a positive effect on brand recognition; therefore, we formulated the following spill-over hypothesis:

H3a: Attitude towards the programme is positively related to recogni-tion of brands placed within the programme.

Until now, only a few studies on brand placement have focused on the effect of programme evaluations on the brand. In an experiment, Weaver and Oliver (2000) showed that participants with a positive attitude towards the sitcom Seinfeld exhibited more favourable attitudes towards the placed brands than those with a less positive programme evaluation. The evaluation of the programme did not only affect recognition but spilled over to the evaluation of the brands within the programme. Van Reijmersdal et al. (2007) found that repeated exposure to brands within a television programme led to a spillover of the programme image to the audience’s perceived brand image: the brand image began to resemble the programme image. For brands placed within a racing game, Nelson et al. (2006) showed that game liking had an effect on self-reported attitude change, via the perception of being present in the game. This means that gamers who liked the game felt more present in the game, which resulted in positive brand attitudes.

We propose that the evaluation of the context, in this case the pro-gramme, has an effect on the attitude towards the brand that is placed within the context. As a result, we formulated the following hypothesis:

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H3b: Attitude towards the programme is positively related to attitudes towards brands placed within the programme.

A small number of studies on brand placements have focused on effects on consumer behaviour – for example, in product choice tests (Gould et al. 2000; Law & Braun 2000; Morton & Friedman 2002; Auty & Lewis 2004; Yang & Roskos-Ewoldsen 2007). These studies showed that brand placement in movies and television programmes affected behav-ioural intentions, brand choice and reported purchase behaviour. None of these studies investigated effects of attitudes towards the programme. Therefore, we borrow from the literature on advertising once more to predict the effect of programme evaluations on behaviour related to brand placement.

Two advertising studies examined the effects of television programme evaluations on intent to purchase advertised brands. Norris and Colman (1994) found no significant relationship between programme liking and purchase intention. However, in a later study, which offered participants a choice among four programmes, Norris et al. (2003) found a positive rela-tionship between the two variables. Viewers who liked the programme showed higher intentions to purchase the products shown in commercials surrounding the programme than viewers who liked the programme less. Similarly, Cho (2003) showed that viewers who held positive attitudes towards a website were more likely to click on the website’s banner advertisements. Cho (2003) proposed that the positive evaluations of the medium spillover to the advertisement, resulting in more positive atti-tudes and positive intentions towards the brand. As previously mentioned, these studies focused on advertising in commercial blocks that were sepa-rate from the programme. Brand placement is an intrinsic part of the pro-gramme, therefore programme evaluations are likely to play an important role in effects on brand placement. To test the phenomenon of spillover of programme evaluations on behavioural reactions after exposure to brand placement, we formulated the following hypothesis:

H3c: Attitude towards the programme is positively related to behav-ioural reactions on the brands placed within the programme.

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Method

Materials

Four different programmes were used as stimulus material. The first selection criterion was that the programme had to be broadcast during the period of data collection. The second selection criterion was the presence of at least one brand placement within the programme. The third crite-rion was the programme’s genre. Two special interest programmes were included, namely Topkok (Super Chef) and Eigen Huis & Tuin (Your Home and Garden). The other two programmes were drama series, namely Evelien and Goede Tijden Slechte Tijden (Good Times, Bad Times).

Respondents’ reactions to one episode of one of the four programmes were investigated. The episodes included comparable brand placements. In all programmes, the products were portrayed visually, brand names were not mentioned, the products were used, and for each genre there was a short placement (less than five seconds) and a larger, integrated place-ment (between one and two minutes). Although placement length did not differ between genres, it did vary between programmes. Therefore, brand placement length was included in the analyses to control for the variation in placements across programmes.

In Topkok, three amateur chefs were invited to participate in a cooking contest in the studio. The programme included a two-minute segment showing the participants in an Albert Heijn grocery store buying ingre-dients for the cooking contest. The camera zoomed in and out on Albert Heijn products (visible for ten seconds). In the studio, Albert Heijn prod-ucts were used and were clearly visible for ten seconds.

In Eigen Huis & Tuin, a programme about DIY and gardening, the Praxis brand logo was visible on several occasions. A table was constructed using parts from a Praxis box. The logo was clearly visible for three seconds. Later in the episode, a doorpost was renovated and the parts again came out of a Praxis box, which was visible for one second.

In the episode of Evelien, a series about the life of a young mother of two living in Amsterdam, a Samsung mobile phone played an important role. Evelien’s youngest daughter received a pink Samsung mobile phone for her birthday. She wore the phone on a chain around her neck, constantly

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used the mobile phone, and even slept with it in her hand. The mobile phone was visible for a total of one minute and ten seconds.

Royal Club soft drinks were placed in the soap series Goede Tijden Slechte Tijden. The servant of one of the main characters poured fruit juice from a Royal Club carton. The camera focused on the typical black car-ton of Royal Club, and the carton and logo were visible for two seconds. Thereafter, the main character drank the juice.

Procedure

A total of 3200 (800 per programme) members of the Dutch Intomart GfK Online Panel were asked to watch an episode of one of the programmes the day before the programme would be broadcast. The request was made without any reference to the purpose of the study. The panellists were free to watch the programme or not. The respondents watched the pro-gramme in their own homes, without the presence of a researcher. This provided the unique naturalistic setting. The day after the programme was broadcast, respondents could go online and fill out a questionnaire relat-ing to the programme. The response rate was 37%. Viewer profiles from the Dutch Audience Research Foundation were used to select members of the Dutch Intomart GfK Online Panel. This selection method led to a sample that reflected the viewers of the programmes with respect to age, sex and level of education. For example, the percentage of highly edu-cated males between 20 and 34 years old in the sample was the same as the percentage of this group among viewers of the programmes.

Respondents

A total of 1195 viewers filled out a questionnaire the day after they had watched the episode (n = 290 for Topkok, n = 302 for Eigen Huis & Tuin, n = 302 for Goede Tijden Slechte Tijden, n = 301 for Evelien). Respondents were between 14 and 85 years old (M = 42.47, SD = 16.36) and 70% were female. As the sample was based on figures from the Dutch Audience Research Foundation, these characteristics match the characteristics of viewers of the four programmes. However, the over-representation of females might affect the results, therefore gender was included in the analyses as a control variable. The level of education varied from ‘primary

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school’ to ‘master’s degree’ and was normally distributed (Skewness = 0.25, SD = 0.07, Kurtosis = –0.96, SD = 0.14). Respondents were either potential users of the products in the programmes or were already using the prod-uct (percentage brand use 87%, SD = 0.34). In the analyses, effects were controlled for brand use.

Measures

Context characteristicsProgramme evaluation was measured by asking respondents to rate the programme on a scale from 1 (very negative) to 10 (very positive) (Yang & Roskos-Ewoldsen 2007). Informational value was measured with three statements based on uses and gratifications studies (Palmgreen & Rayburn 1979; Payne et al. 1988). The statements were: ‘This programme provided me with new ideas’, ‘This programme gave me information about …’ and ‘This programme gave me the opportunity to learn more about …’. The statements were completed with ‘people and relations’ for the drama series, ‘cooking’ for Topkok, and ‘DIY’ for Eigen Huis & Tuin. The scale ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The scores were averaged to create a single index of informational value (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.85).

Audience characteristicsTo control for the differences between viewers, questions were posed about sex, age, level of education and brand use. Brand use was measured on a scale from 1 (never used) to 6 (often) in response to the question ‘How often do you use brand X?’

EffectsThree effects of brand placement were measured in this study. First, rec-ognition was measured by asking respondents to mark the brand they had seen in the programme using a list of brands from the same category of which some appeared in the programme (Russell 2002; Van Reijmersdal et al. 2007). The results for recognition indicate the percentage of view-ers who correctly recognised the brand that was shown in the programme (M = 0.47, SD = 0.50). Second, because of the realistic setting of the study, a pre measure was not possible. A pre measure would have alerted

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respondents to the purpose of the study, interfering with their natural viewing behaviour. To avoid this, a self-reported measure of attitude change was used to measure effects on brand attitudes. Following previ-ous research on brand placement (Nelson et al. 2006), respondents were asked how their opinion about brand X had changed after seeing it in pro-gramme Y on a scale from 1 (very negatively) to 5 (very positively) (M = 3.03, SD = 0.42). Third, behaviour was measured with four questions on a scale from 1 (never) to 4 (often) (Gould et al. 2000; Morton & Friedman 2002). As viewers were questioned the day after the exposure, they had little time to search for information or purchase the product. Questions were posed about behaviour as a reaction to the specific brands in the programme in general, not simply to one episode. Examples of the questions are: ‘In general, how often did you search for information about brand X after see-ing it in programme Y?’ and ‘How often did you buy brand X after seeing it in programme Y?’ Scale items were averaged to construct a single index of behaviour (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.90, M = 1.60, SD = 0.74).

In the next section, we present the results of our study. The section is structured based on the effect variables, brand recognition, brand attitude change and behaviour.

Results

Brand recognition

To test hypotheses 1a, 2a and 3a, a logistic regression analysis was con-ducted with all context factors and demographic characteristics as predic-tors, and brand recognition as the dependent variable (see Table 1). As the spill-over hypothesis predicted, programme evaluation was positively related to brand recognition, Exp(B) = 1.37. In addition, programme genre affected brand recognition Exp(B) = 7.41: brands placed in special interest programmes (M = 0.68, SD = 0.44) were recognised almost three times more often than brands in general interest programmes (M = 0.27, SD = 0.46). Thus, H3a and H2a are supported. Contrary to our expecta-tion, informational value had a small negative effect on brand recogni-tion Exp(B) = 0.077, refuting H1a. Overall, genre was the best predictor of brand recognition. All effects held when controlled for age, level of education, and sex. Additional control analysis with the four different

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programmes and placement length did not change the results. In addition, this analysis showed a positive effect of placement length on recognition, Exp(B) = 0.99, p < 0.01, R2 change = 0.05, p < 0.05.

Brand attitude change

To test hypothesis 3b, a regression analysis was conducted using context factors and demographics as predictors, and brand attitude change as the dependent variable. Although we did not formulate hypotheses for the effects of informational value and genre, we added these factors to the analyses to incorporate their possible effects. The results in Table 1 show that programme evaluation affected brand attitude, as predicted by the spill-over hypothesis. Viewers who evaluated the programme positively were more likely to positively change their brand attitudes after seeing the brand placement (Beta = 0.19). Thus H3b is supported. Informational value and programme genre had no effect on brand attitude change. With respect to audience characteristics, the analysis showed that less edu-cated viewers were more likely to show a positive attitude change than highly educated viewers (Beta = –0.10). However, the effect of education was smaller than that of programme evaluation. All effects held when

Table 1: Effects of context and audience characteristics on reactions to brand placement

Brand recognition2 Brand attitude change3 Behaviour4

Variable B(SE) Exp(B) B(SE) Beta B(SE) Beta

Genre1 2.00(0.17) 7.41** 0.05(0.05) 0.05 0.18(0.08) 0.11*

Informationalvalue –0.26(0.10) 0.77* 0.04(0.03) 0.10 0.16(0.04) 0.19**

Attitudetowardsprogramme 0.31(0.06) 1.37** 0.06(0.02) 0.19** 0.07(0.03) 0.13*

Sex –0.15(0.15) 0.87 –0.07(0.04) –0.08 –0.07(0.06) –0.04

Age –0.01(0.00) 0.99 0.00(0.00) 0.05 0.01(0.00) 0.11**

Education –0.05(0.04) 0.95 –0.03(0.01) –0.10* –0.08(0.02) –0.16**

Branduse – – –0.05(0.06) –0.04 0.34(0.09) 0.15**

Notes:1Genreisadummyvariable(1=specialinterest,0=generalinterest)2Chi2(6)=234.71,p<0.001,NagelkerkeR2=0.25,–2LogLikelihood=1322.743F(7,527)=9.05,p<0.001,adjustedR2=0.104F(7,526)=24.30,p<0.001,adjustedR2=0.23*p<0.05;**p<0.01Brandusewasmeasuredonlyforpeoplewhorecognisedthebrand.

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controlled for sex, age and brand use. Additional analysis with brand placement length and the different programmes as predictors neither led to a different result nor to a significant increase in the model’s explained variance.

Behaviour

To test hypotheses 1b, 2b and 3c, a regression analysis with behav-iour as the dependent variable was conducted. The results in Table 1 show that all hypotheses were confirmed. Informational value and pro-gramme evaluation had a positive impact on behaviour (Beta = 0.19 and Beta = 0.13, respectively). Brand placement in programmes that were appre-ciated and valued as informational had a greater effect on behavioural reac-tions than placements in programmes with less informational value, or in less appreciated programmes. The programme genre also affected behaviour (Beta = 0.11): brand placements in special interest programmes led to more brand-related behaviour among viewers (M = 1.75, SD = 0.80) than brand placements in general interest programmes (M = 1.25, SD = 0.41). These effects held when controlled for age, level of education, and sex. The analysis showed that age, level of education and brand use were signifi-cant predictors of behaviour as well. Older people, less educated people or users of a brand were more likely to show behavioural reactions related to brand placements than younger people, more highly educated people or non-users of the brand. Sex had no significant impact on behaviour. Additional analyses with placement length and the different programmes as predictors showed the same results. The analyses did show that brand placement length had a negative effect on behaviour (Beta = –0.19, p < 0.01, R2 change = 0.03, p < 0.05).

Mediation hypothesis

To test H2c, the steps proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) to test for mediation were followed and a Sobel test was conducted. First, the correlation between the independent variable genre and the mediat-ing variable informational value of the programme was investigated. As expected, there was a significant positive correlation between these two variables (Pearson’s r = 0.44, p < 0.001). As shown in Table 1, brand recog-

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nition and behaviour were also related to informational value. However, a Sobel test showed that the effect of genre on recognition (total effect: Exp(B)genre = 6.01, p < 0.01) did not significantly decrease when informa-tional value was added to the analyses (direct effect: Exp(B)genre = 7.41, p < 0.01; z = 1.09, p = 0.28), which means that the effect of genre on recog-nition was not mediated. The effect of genre on behaviour (total effect: Betagenre = 0.20, p < 0.01) decreased significantly when informational value was added in the analyses (direct effect: Betagenre = 0.11, p < 0.01; z = 5.94, p < 0.001), showing that the effect was partially mediated. The analyses showed that the effect of genre on recognition was not mediated and the effect of genre on behaviour was partially mediated by the programme’s informational value. An additional formal test of the indirect effect by means of bootstrap advocated by Preacher and Hayes (2004) confirmed the results: the effect of genre on recognition was not mediated (95% bca CI1 = –0.01; 0.04; Point estimate = 0.14), and the effect of genre on behaviour was partially mediated (95% bca CI = 0.14; 0.31; Point estimate = 0.22).

Conclusion and discussion

The present study was the first to examine effects of the media context variables, informational value, attitude towards the programme and genre on brand placement reactions in a real-life setting. We found support for the gratifications hypothesis. Our findings show that brand placement in programmes with a higher perceived informational value results in higher brand recognition scores and more brand-related behaviours. These results are in line with earlier findings for brand placement in print, which also showed that a magazine’s informational value affected brand place-ment appreciation (Van Reijmersdal et al. 2005). Effects of informational gratifications fulfilled by a programme had not been examined for televi-sion placements before.

We also focused on the effects of genre on brand placement reactions. Brand recognition and behavioural reactions were affected more by place-ments in special interest programmes than by placements in general inter-est programmes. These effects add to findings from D’Astous and Seguin (1999) and Neijens and Smit (2003), who showed that brand placements 1 Bias corrected and accelerated confidence interval.

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in information service programmes, DIY and interior design were appreci-ated more than placements in general interest programmes.

Our mediation hypothesis proposed that the effect of genre on the brand is mediated by the programme’s informational value. The uses and gratifications approach postulates that special interest programmes gener-ally fulfil informational gratifications. As predicted, the effect of genre on behaviour was partially mediated by the programme’s informational value. The effect of genre on brand recognition was not mediated by the programme’s informational value.

As predicted by the spill-over hypothesis, positive programme evalu-ations affected brand reactions. Brands placed in highly appreciated programmes were recognised more often and resulted in positive brand attitude changes and behaviour. This is in line with findings from adver-tising studies (De Pelsmacker et al. 2002; Moorman et al. 2002; Cho 2003; Norris et al. 2003) and brand placement studies (Weaver & Oliver 2000; Nelson et al. 2006; Van Reijmersdal et al. 2007) showing that perceptions of the context in movies, games and television programmes affected recogni-tion and brand perceptions. The present study is the first to demonstrate that attitudes towards the content also influence behaviour.

Although audience characteristics were not the main focus of this study, they had some interesting effects. Our study showed that more highly educated viewers were less likely to be persuaded by brand place-ment in television shows. These viewers stated that they had less often changed their attitudes or acted upon seeing brand placement than less educated viewers. These findings add to those from Neijens and Smit (2003), which showed that more highly educated viewers were more irri-tated by brand placement in television shows than less educated viewers. These results might be influenced by social desirability. More highly educated viewers may be less likely to admit that they were influenced by brand placement than lower-educated viewers. Future research might avoid social desirability responses by employing implicit measures or by controlling for people’s tendency to give socially desirable answers (Paulhus 1984).

Our study also showed that age affected behaviour: older viewers were more likely to report that they had searched for information about the brand and had bought the brand after exposure to brand placement than younger viewers. These findings suggest that older people and less edu-

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cated people are more vulnerable to brand placement. This might point to ‘ad literacy’ effects. Ad literacy theory states that higher-educated people and young adults have a greater knowledge of advertisers’ motives and are therefore less easily persuaded (Obermiller & Spangenberg 1998; Buijzen 2007).

Our study showed that older people are more susceptible to brand placement, which seems to contradict ad literacy theory. However, the results might support brand placement literacy. Brand placement is a rela-tively new phenomenon and is rapidly growing (PQ Media 2008). Younger viewers have grown up with interactive media and are used to searching for and determining the quality of information. DeLorme and Reid (1999) even state that younger people have grown up with brand placement and are accustomed to it. As a consequence, younger viewers might be more aware of persuasive intents in all types of television content, commercials and ‘editorial’ programmes. As these effects were beyond the scope of the present research, no clear explanations can be provided. However, effects of demographics related to media literacy, such as education and age, do deserve our attention in future research on brand placement.

The analyses showed a positive effect of brand placement length on brand recognition and a negative effect on behaviour. These findings are in line with previous studies showing that prominence of the placement leads to increased recognition, but to negative effects on brand attitude (Brennan et al. 1999; Russell 2002; van Reijmersdal 2009). These effects can be explained by persuasion knowledge theory (Friestad & Wright 1994). If the placement attracts viewers’ attention, because it is visible for too long or too prominently placed, viewers might become suspicious. Viewers start elaborating on the (commercial) purpose of the placement using their persuasion knowledge, which leads to increased recognition, but also to counter-arguing and negative attitudes and behaviour (Friestad & Wright 1994, 1999). The present study indicates that negative effects of placement prominence occur not only for brand attitude but also for brand-related behaviour.

The fact that respondents watched the programmes in their own homes is an advantage for the external validity of our results. In addition, viewers were free to watch the programme. It has to be noted that the request to watch the programme might have led to higher attention levels and higher absolute recognition scores for some respondents. However, there is no

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reason to assume that the relations between the context factors and brand placement effects are different in real life.

The naturalistic research design did not allow a pre-post measure, so brand attitude change was measured by self-report. Although this measure has been employed in previous research (Holbrook & Batta 1987; Nelson et al. 2006), the question remains as to how well viewers are able to report their own attitude changes. By showing attitude change with both pre measures and post measures, future research on the effects of context fac-tors on brand placement reactions might add to the present results.

Another limitation of the present study is that real programmes were used with placements for different products. Although we controlled for portrayal of the placements, placement length and programme differ-ences, we could not control for the different types of products included in the placements. Although context effects were shown, product types may have played a role as well (Gupta & Gould 1997; McKechnie & Zhou 2003). Caution is therefore warranted when conclusions about genre effects are drawn as retail products were only present in the special inter-est genre. Future research might focus on differences in effects of placing different types of products, for example durables versus fast moving con-sumer goods, as the purchase decision processes are different.

The present study shows strong support for the importance of contexts in brand placement effects. Gratifications theory and theories on viewing motives and spillover help explain these effects. These theories and our results might offer valuable insights to practitioners. The present study shows that certain types of programme provide more effective contexts for brand placement than others. Our results show that brands placed within special interest programmes and programmes with a high informa-tional value are more effective, because the placements fit the audience’s need for information. In addition, brands placed in highly appreciated programmes can benefit from these positive judgements: the evaluations of the programme spillover to the brands placed within the programme, resulting in positive brand effects.

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About the authors

Eva van Reijmersdal is Assistant Professor of Persuasive Communication at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Her research focuses on effect of brand placements in various media.

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Edith Smit is Full Professor of Media and Advertising at ASCoR. Her research interests include advertising, branding and customised communication.

Peter Neijens is Full Professor of Persuasive Communication at ASCoR. His research interests include media effects, sponsoring and public opinion.

Address correspondence to: Eva van Reijmersdal, ASCoR, Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Email: [email protected]

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