Product Placement as an Advertising Tool in Movie and Television Productions: the effect Placement Type and Repetition Frequency may have on Consumers’ Attitude towards given Brands.

Abstract

The subject of advertising has become increasingly important for companies in their communicational and promotional strategies. This study introduces the concept of advertising and how it has grown over the past 60 years, which may have lead to the use of product placement as a marketing tool. With this in mind the purpose of the paper is to provide a deeper understanding of the topic of product placement and to determine the effect it may have on consumers, with regards to the attitude caused by placement type and repetition frequency. Most importantly to see if there is a relationship between the two variables. An overview on the subjects of product placement, the evolution this marketing strategy, as well as the critiques and benefits for the consumers point of view was conducted. An overview of previous research was provided and the results from their findings presented. All of this set the foundations for this study and helped determine how to go about completing the paper. In order to do so, a methodology was developed to conduct the research and gather the required data. After gathering the data, the results were analysed through statistical means and presented in tables and graphs. The results concluded the importance product placement may have as a marketing strategy, as well as consumers attitude and opinion towards placement type (subtle verses prominent) and repetition frequency. The extent of the relationship between the two variables, of placement type and repetition frequency was also examined, although the results proved to be inconclusive. Moreover, the paper looks at the reasons behind consumers opinions towards product placement, both positive and negative. This study also looked to relate the findings to marketing practices and advise marketers on strategies they could adopt to reap the benefits of product placement, taking into account the findings. Finally, the limitations of this study were scrutinised and further research in the area was proposed.