srp product placement in films the new age branding mantra
TRANSCRIPT
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Title Product Placement in Films: The new age branding mantra
Author Mahima Kapoor
Rohit Bhatt
Source Insights Inside
Reference 1) Balasubramanian (1994), "Beyond Advertising and Publicity: Hybrid
Messages and Public Policy Issues", Journal of Advertising 23 (Fall), 29-
46
2) Karrh (1998), "Brand Placement: A Review," Journal of Current Issues
and Research in Advertising, 20 (November), 31-493) Wikipedia
4) Babin, L. & Carder, S. (1996), Viewers' recognition of brand placed within film,
International Journal of Advertising , 15(2), pp.140-151.
5) Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Saunders, J., & Wong, V. (2002). Principles
of Marketing (3rd Europeaned.). England: Pearson Education Limited .
6) Wikipedia. (2005a). Advertainment. Retreived 2005-04-14, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_portmanteaux
Document Type Secondary Research Paper
Subject Marketing
Date November, 2006
Abstract
With increasing spends on conventional advertising yielding lesser returns for marketers,
newer avenues like placement of products in films and television are being sought. This
paper studies the phenomenon of product placement in movies in detail and examines its
nature and scope. The article discusses recent promotions in films and their impact on the
top line sales.
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Exposition :
Executive Summary
With increasing spends on conventional advertising yielding lesser returns for marketers,
newer avenues like placement of products in films and television are being sought.
This paper studies the phenomenon of product placement in detail and to understand its
nature and scope. This study has been done keeping in mind the growing popularity of
this medium of promotion.
There has been equal focus on both Hollywood as well Bollywood movies and we have
attempted to elaborate a comprehensive history and listing of movies and the productsfeatured in them. The study has been more on the qualitative side with focus on the
product placement process and its effects, advantages and disadvantages. The results
from the study have been tabulated to provide easy access to information at a glance.
A few recent examples from Bollywood have been taken up to demonstrate the changing
nature and scope of product placement in commercial Hindi cinema.
This paper aims to serve as a comprehensive source of information for anyone looking
for information about product placement, its origin, the process involved, its effectiveness
and advantages.
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Introduction
David Lubars, a senior ad executive in the Omnicom Group, explains the industry'sguiding principle with more candor than most."Consumers," he says "are like cockroaches - you spray them andspray them and they get immune after a while."
Wall Street Journal May 30, 1997
The advertising and marketing industry worldwide is in the throes of a serious problem. It
is becoming increasingly difficult to grab eyeballs and break through the clutter. The
average consumer is bombarded with messages every second which have led to him
becoming immune to any sort of communication attempt being made by marketers.
The resistance shown by the consumers has forced advertisers and marketers to think
beyond conventional means of advertising. This is where product placement comes into
the picture.
Product Placement Demystified - Some definitions
Product Placement is not a new phenomenon, however, it has gained the attention of
researchers only in recent times. Several definitions have emerged over the years and we
mention a few below.
1) 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 (Balasubramanian, 1994)
2) Paid inclusion of branded products or brand identifiers, through audio and/or
video means, within mass media programming (Karrh, 1998).
3) Product placement is a promotional tactic used by marketers in which a real
commercial product is used in fictional or non-fictional media, and the presence
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of the product is a result of an economic exchange. When featuring a product is
not part of an economic exchange, it is called a product plug . Product placement
appears in plays, film, television series, music videos, video games and books,
and is a relatively new idea (first appearing in the 1980's). Product placement
occurs with the inclusion of a brand's logo , or a favorable mention or appearance
of a product. This is done without disclosure, and under the premise that it is a
natural part of the work. Most major movie releases today contain product
placements. The most common form is movie and television placements and more
recently video games. (Wikipedia)
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Exhibit IProduct Placement in Hollywood
Brief Overview over the years
Movie Product (s) RemarksScarface (1932) White Owl Cigars $250,000 worth of
advertisingDinner at Eight(1933)
Coca Cola Pictures of Jean Harlow andother glamorous starsswigging soda pop
Youll never get rich(1941)
Chesterfield cigarettes Starring Fred Astaire
The African Queen(Early 1950s)
Gordons Gin Product thrown overboard by Katherine Hepburns
character in the movieSuperman II (1979) MarlboroE.T. (1982) Reeses Pieces Sales up 65%
Never say never again(1982)
Winston and Camel cigarettes Sean Connery and othersshown smoking these
brandsRisky Business(1983)
Ray-Ban Sunglasses
Bull Durham (1988) Jim Beam WhiskeyLicense to Kill (1988) Lincoln, Larks Aston Martin replaced by
Lincoln Continental Mark VII; free cars donated for the film
Home Alone (1990) Budget Rent-a-Truck Groundhog Day(1993)
Jim Beam Whiskey
The Firm (1993) Stripe Beer Sales increased by morethan 50%
Strictly Ballroom(1993)
Coca Cola
Pulp Fiction (1994) McDonalds & Burger King A lengthy conversation
about the two brandsGoldeneye (1995) BMW Z-3 One of the most successful
new-car launches ever Jerry Maguire (1996) Reebok Backfired, company bad-
mouthed in movie by CubaGooding Jr.
Anastasia (1997) Chanel perfume Product placement in ananimated movie; Chanel did
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not pay for the visibility,though
Men in Black (1997) Ray-Ban sunglasses Worn by Will SmithTomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Visa card, Avis car rentals,BMW cars and motorcycles,
Smirnoff vodka, Heineken beer,Omega watches, Ericsson cell phones, L'Oreal makeup
Reckless use of productsthroughout the movie; Over
$100 million placement deal
Armageddon (1998) Ray-Ban SunglassesSmall Soldiers (1998) Hasbro action toys Movie based on action toys;
script revolved around thesetoys made by Hasbro
Where the heart is(2000)
Wal-Mart Character lives in the store
I am Sam (2001) Starbucks, Nike Sean Penn shown as anemployee of Starbucks
The Italian Job (2003) Mini CoopersShrek 2 (2004) Baskin-Robbins ice cream Shrek & Fiona drive
through a town that has aBaskin-Robbins store; threenew flavors tied to themovie created in real life
Pearl Harbor Pepsi (Coke) Negative placement for Coke as Coke bottles shownas being used as bloodcontainers, while characterssipped Pepsi sodas
The Faculty Tommy Hilfiger Cast given outfits from theTommy Hilfiger Jeans linein exchange for appearing inan ad
Back to the Future Pepsi productsDemolition Man Taco Bell In the future, everything is
Taco Bell.Youve Got Mail AOL, Apple, IBM and
StarbucksAustin Powers Pepsi and StarbucksCast Away (2000) FedEx and Wilson
Men in Black II Mercedes Benz, Ray-Bansunglasses, Sprint, Burger King
Waynes World Nuprin, Pepsi, Pizza Hut,Reebok
Characters shown hawkingthese products
Josie and thePussycats
America Online , AmericanExpress , Bebe , BillboardMagazine , Bugles , Campbell'sSoup , Coke , Entertainment
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Weekly Magazine , Evian , Ford ,Gatorade , Kodak , KrispyKreme , McDonald's , MilkyWay , Motorola , PepperidgeFarm Cookies , Pizza Hut ,
Pringles , Puma , Ray-Ban , Sega,Starbucks , Steve Madden ,Target , and T.J. Maxx
Herbie, The Love Bug Volkswagen BeetleRoboCop Ford TaurusBack to the Future DeLoreanSmokey and theBandit
Pontiac Trans Am
The world is notenough
BMW Z8
Lara Croft : Tomb
Raider
Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
I, Robot (2004) Audi RSQ concept car Audi created the concept car for the movie
The Matrix (1999) Duracell batteriesBeauty Shop Fiji Water What Women want NikePanic Room EvianMy Big Fat Greek Wedding
Windex
Youve Got Mail AOL, Starbucks, New York Times
Films title changed fromYou have mail to
Youve got mail to matchthe AOL phrase exactly
Jurassic Park Ford Explorer Jurassic Park 2 Mercedes Benz SUVRocky Wheaties, Hugo BossMax Keebles BigMove
Nike, Coca Cola, Applecomputers
Coke being consumed in thecafeteria
How High Nike, Adidas, Sam Adams beer O PumaBandits Adidas, PepsiThe One PepsiHardball PepsiHearts in Atlantis PepsiLife as a house Coca ColaSerendipity Coca Cola, USA Today
newspaper Glass House Coca Cola, AOL Coke shown being
consumed at dinner and at
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the movies, main character shown using AOL
Rat Race Coca ColaBubble Boy Coca ColaKate & Leopold Apple computers, Colgate,
Gillette, Hungryman frozen TVdinners
Hugh Jackman shown
trying to use these products
Slackers Apple computersDomestic Disturbance MSN An MSN account shown
being used by John TravoltaSnow Dogs Kawasaki, Powerade, ESPNOrange County Spongebob Squarepants
(Nickelodeon cartoon)This cartoon is popular withkids as well as teenagersand adults
Black Hawk Down USA Today newspaper Vanilla Sky Kodak and Marriott Hotels Billboards for these
products shown in the background
The Caretakers PepsiGood Will Hunting Dunkin DonutsAmerican Gigolo Giorgio ArmaniBoogie Nights Fresca, 7-Up, Chevrolet
CorvetteReferences to the mentioned
brandsForrest Gump Dr. Pepper Incorporated into the
dialoguesGrease Philip Morris cigarettesRocky II Philip Morris cigarettesLittle Shop of Horrors Philip Morris cigarettesCrocodile Dundee Philip Morris cigarettesDie Hard Philip Morris cigarettesWho framed Roger Rabbit
Philip Morris cigarettes
Field of Dreams Philip Morris cigarettesAnalyze This Merrill Lynch
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Exhibit 2Product Placement in Bollywood
Brief Overview over the years
Movie Product (s) RemarksTaal Coca-Cola,Thums Up,BMW,ScreenMagazine,Sony Cam,DietCoke,Nescafe,MTV,BPL,Honda
20% of the Taal production budget just from Coca-Cola.Rumours also haveit that Subash Ghaishot two sets of scenes, one withPepsi and the other with Coke,
Hum Tum Times of India Group, Lays
Koi Mil Gaya Karizmaa. Hero Honda,Prem Diwane Prem DiwaneLove Ke Liye KuchBhi Karega
Mc Donalds,
Dilwale Dulhania LeJayenge
Canned Stroh's Stroh's is said tohave paid Rs 15 lakhto the producers for 15 sec display
Jo Jeeta WohiSikandar
BSA SLR
Hum Saath Saath
Hain
Coca-Cola.
Chalte Chalte Hyundai Santro, CastrolKuch Na Kaho Coca-Cola,MentosBaghban Ford Ikon, ICICI Bank, Tata Tea Total benefit to the
producers fromassociating with the
brands is in therange of Rs 3-4crore.
Khakee Thums UpRoad Tata Safari
An Evening in Paris Coke
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The Process
The product placement process is explained below as consisting of three main agents,
namely
1) the companies that wish to place their products in a media,
2) the product placement agency that acts as an intermediary
3) the film studio or the production company that want props and the extra revenue
for placing products in their production
Source : Sandahl (1998)
The various steps involved in this process are elaborated below
1) The script is sent to the product placement agency at an early stage and accordingly,
the script is analysed and broken into scenes where it might be possible to place products
in a realistic manner. The placement agency then waits for a written decision that the
movie is given the green light from the production company.
2) After a written decision is obtained, the film production crew and the placement
agency meet up to discuss the budget, possible products etc.
3) Upon reaching an agreement, the placement agency contacts potential companies and
offers them the various possible placement options.
4) If the company is interested, they will discuss all details of the placement and make
sure that their marketing strategy is consistent with the target audience of the film.
5) The placement agency and the film production company collaborate closely duringthe making of the movie and the placement agency ensures that the product(s) are
shown in the agreed upon scenes, context and number of times.
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As depicted in the diagram with the help of the dotted arrows, there might be alternate
steps in the product placement process. Companies interested in a certain movie may
contact the placement agencies themselves to get their products placed.
Effectiveness of Product Placements : A few rules
A few rules and pointers to be kept in mind for effective product placements are
mentioned below :
1) A product being used by characters in the movie is better than simply advertising
the product in the movie.
2) The products may be promoted by being used by other important cast members inthe movie and not necessarily the lead actors.
3) Audiences want to identify themselves with certain movies and characters, hence
lifestyle products benefit more from product placements rather than daily-use
products.
4) The target audience should be aware of the product that is being placed in a
movie. If this is not the case, the placement, is rendered useless.
5) It has been observed by several researchers that smaller brands benefit more from
effective placements as compared to bigger brands.
6) Tourism Perspective Product placements can really work wonders for countries
and areas that want to promote themselves as tourist attractions as every movie
has to be based at some place and locales can be seamlessly blended into the
storyline.
Advantages
Product placements in film and television are gaining importance increasingly
because of the several benefits that they offer to all the parties/agents involved in the
process. Some of these are :
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1) Efficient placement of products ensures that the audience will notice the products.
2) Audiences have no option but to notice products when they are embedded in a
film or television script.
3) Cost of product placement is quite low compared to the above-the-line methods
of advertising or endorsement.
4) Unlike advertising, product placement does not interrupt programming and hence
is less obtrusive .
5) Products gain greater credibility when popular and respected movie and
television stars use them.
The advantages offered by product placement have also been classified into three
prominent categories by some researchers :a) Conceptual advantages
- Product placement is cost-efficient. Even though it is expensive,
it still costs less than a normal advertising campaign.
- Reaches hard to reach markets
- Demonstrates the product in its natural setting
b) Mechanical advantages
- Product placement can overcome passive viewer avoidance of
TV ads
- Not subject to channel switching and effects of new technologies
like those used in TiVo
c) Behavioral advantages
- Immune to habituation effect and homeostatic processes that are
among the biggest constraints to effectiveness of advertising
- Utilizes context and context learning procedures
Some cases in Bollywood
A) Baghban
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Filmmaker B.R. Chopras Baghban, provides perhaps the best example of multiple
product placements. The movie not only starred the inimitable Amitabh Bachan &
Hema Malini, but also a host of brands that vied for screen space with these veterans.
Some of the brands that were featured in the movie were : ICICI Bank, Ford, Walls &Tata Tea. ICICI is visible for around eight to 10 minutes in the film. Tata Tea has
been placed in two to three scenes of approximately 30 seconds each. Ford has beenincorporated in a five to six minute-long scene in the film. It is believed that more than8 brands were featured in the movie.
The most important factor that was recognized by the filmmaker was that the various products placed in the movie were carefully woven into the script and events in themovie had these products embedded in them.
Also, the credibility of the lead pair ensured that a large number of companies were
vying to have their products featured in the movie.
It is estimated that the product placement deal for this movie set the cash registers
ringing by about Rs. 3-4 crores.
B) Krrish
This movie is being touted as one of the movies that have had the maximum number
of product placements in recent years.
It is estimated that more than 12 crores revenue was generated for the filmmakers only
through product placements. The marketing rights for this 50 crore venture were awarded
to P9 Integrated, a Percept Group company. The movie had more than 10 brands vying
for the customers subconscious attention. However, the questions that this movie raises
are about the effectiveness of this medium when it is overused.
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Product Placements What do ethics have to do with it?
Before this medium emerged as an important revenue channel for filmmakers, producers
and placement agencies, product placement was primarily used as a means of surrogate
advertising for products that could not be advertised on regular mass media. Tobacco
manufacturers have for long been accused of promoting smoking through the portrayal of
the macho hero who is depicted brandishing a cigarette and blowing smoke at the
villains face.
Many critics still feel that it is a medium for hidden but paid subliminal messages.
Their worst fears are that it is the younger generation, generally, that is taken in by the
charms of the products being used by their favorite stars and scrupulous marketers who just want to increase their revenues may exploit this.
Placement of ethically charged products like cigarettes, arms and ammunitions, alcoholic
beverages etc has long been a point of contention between filmmakers and regulatory
authorities.
As mentioned earlier, audiences generally have no means of escaping product placements
embedded in films or television and hence are subconsciously exposed to certain products
that may be harmful for them.
Hence, it is extremely important to have in place regulations that ensure that product
placement is used as an effective marketing tool for products and not as a means for
surrogate advertising of forbidden products.