The Benefits Of Product Placement Don't End After Airing
Seeing a brand in your favorite television show in an organic product placement is proven to affect buyers' decisions and opinions of that brand. In fact, 51% of consumers admit to purchasing a product after seeing it in a TV show or movie. That's a tremendous number of people who are influenced to purchase not through traditional advertising - but through the brand being embedded in their favored content.
However, if the brand that is featured just leaves all the work to the subliminal messaging power of product placement, they are missing out on the massive untapped potential to increase sales. In this blog, Hollywood Branded takes a look at 8 ways brands share product placement exposure and provides case study examples of some of our clients' most successful repurposing of their product placements.
Eight Ways To Expand Onscreen Exposure
We put together the eight best ways that your brand can capitalize on your on-screen exposure through social media, getting additional publicity to amplify the value of the product placement.
You can check out our agency CEO's podcast on the subject where she supplied even more detail at Hollywood Branded podcast.
1. Behind The Red Velvet Ropes of Hollywood
We call this our “traveling gnome” experience for brands where photos are secured in Hollywood-esque locales where just not everybody could be and shared by the brand. You just never know where the brand may pop up next! It provides an insider’s look behind the red velvet ropes of Hollywood and adds a hipness factor for the brand.
2. Tease An Upcoming Product Placement
Teasing an upcoming placement can be extremely valuable if you know when your product is going to be featured. This is a great way to let your fans know that you will be on TV, and they know to tune in and look for you!
One of our clients, a thermal imagery camera technology company called FLIR, has a great example of teasing an upcoming placement on their social media. They knew their thermal imaging technology was going to be featured in a January 11th episode of The Bachelor, and made sure to tell their fans across social media to tune in to see the exposure.
3. Show Off A Placement
Don't underestimate star power! Even if your audience may have missed the placement, if you show off your placement, your fans will know you got to be onscreen - which is extremely cool to many people.
And don't forget to boost your social media along the way with some additional dollars as well, to drive up the awareness and garner a bigger impact.
Being on television or in a movie is a big deal, so don't afraid to brag a little! It doesn't matter if your placement was huge or small, amplifying it on social media will let the world know you were there.
For example, one of our clients, Mezzetta, a food company that sells premium jars of olives, peppers, spreads, sauces, and more, was spotted in Grey's Anatomy. The jar was sitting on the table as the characters cooked dinner.
Mezzetta didn't rely on just hoping people had seen their placement; they made sure their followers knew they had been on the show by tweeting this:
By using this screenshot, they drew their audience's attention to their moment of fame in a very popular primetime series.
Mezzetta also got creative with a placement in Casual, a Hulu original series. In the scene they were spotted in, the characters were making Bloody Marys, so Mezzetta posted a fun tweet with a recipe for the "perfect" Bloody Mary made with Mezzetta. They shared this through Instagram:
The best way to take advantage of your product placement exposure is by doing everything you can to repurpose them in a creative way to promote your brand and let your audience know your product is good enough to be used on their favorite television shows and movies.
4. Add A Socially Driven Promotional Campaign To Support The Placement
When we were negotiating the placement exposure for Coffee Beanery's product placement partnership with Dolphin Tale 2, we took it a step further beyond the on-screen deal and brokered the opportunity to create a retail and digitally-driven co-promotional of the film. This meant that not only did Coffee Beanery get hands-on placement with Ashley Judd and the lead child actress drinking from their cups, but they had the ability to bring the film into their retail franchises, with co-branded printed point-of-sale items with the movie poster and cast featured, and fun sweepstakes for customers of the brand to participate in. This partnership was further extended with a premiere party sponsorship with coffee and chilled drinks (and cocoa!) provided to cast and attendees in a carnival-style booth setting... another way in which brands can extend their partnership which we discuss further in step 7!
5. Sponsor A Premiere Party To Extend The Partnership And Share The Photos & Videos
Chinese smartphone company OPPO recently created a massive integration with America's Next Top Model. They were featured in every episode, used in multiple challenges, created a retail and digital microsite-driven promotional strategy for the Middle East, Southeast Asia, China, and Australia, and sponsored the winners' victory trip in three countries in Southeast Asia.
To put a bow on the integration, however, the company exclusively hosted the premiere party for the popular TV show. In attendance were all the models from this cycle of the reality contest, as well as the judges and show creator Tyra Banks.
OPPO's logo was everywhere at the premiere, and the company's presence was highly felt. From their logo on the step and repeat to their mascot showing up everywhere, OPPO was a massive part of the premiere. They had extensive social media coverage at this event as well and were able to share the experience with their audience.
6. Repurpose The Content Again...Much Later!
Yes, it is important to get the message out that your brand made an appearance on TV or in a movie in a timely manner. But a common misconception is that once the content is posted, it's there and it's reached its full potential.
That couldn't be more wrong of a thought! There are many different ways your content and assets from exposures can be used again...and again. For example, your brand can republish a screenshot of your product on screen with an actor or actress when it is their birthday wishing them a happy birthday. You can also take advantage of #ThrowbackThursday or #TBT for short to repost a favorite placement.
One of our favorite ways to repurpose content is during awards season. If your brand was featured in a show that wins an award, take advantage of it! BlackBerry recently did this very well.
If you had a chance to catch the Golden Globes, it would have been hard to miss the buzz surrounding Mozart In The Jungle. A seemingly underdog in the categories it was nominated for, the show surprised and delighted, winning two Golden Globes. The show's star, Gael Garcia Bernal, won Best Actor in Television - Musical and Comedy, and the show itself took home the Best Television Series prize in the Musical and Comedy category.
Many people instantly wondered, "What could this show be? It must be pretty good!" and in the weeks following the awards ceremony awareness rose. But BlackBerry was already ahead of the game and familiar with the series - and was ready to show that to anyone who was looking.
Hollywood Branded is no stranger to the show either. We have been working with them to place BlackBerry devices since the show's first season. When the show started gaining popularity, especially after its big night at the Golden Globes, BlackBerry was ready with screenshots of placements and a congratulatory note that included shots of the characters using BlackBerry devices.
They used these assets in a brilliant way, amplifying the content through their social media accounts:
From @BlackBerry's Twitter:
7. Write Blogs About The Exposure Or Partnership
Social media is one great way to amplify your exposure, but don't miss out on the value of blogging about it. To add to its social campaign after Mozart In The Jungle won its Golden Globes, BlackBerry wrote a blog about its involvement in the show on its corporate blog site.
The post was on their Inside BlackBerry blog and congratulated the series on its win. They also highlighted the BlackBerry devices used by certain characters and in pivotal scenes and moments. By using the opportunity to amplify their product placement in the show through every outlet available, BlackBerry didn't let a single bit of their onscreen exposure go to waste. And they got further engagement by encouraging feedback - and received big thumbs up from BlackBerry employees and customers alike!
BerryFlow, a prominent and esteemed BlackBerry fan blog at the time, published an article on “5 Things BlackBerry Is Doing Right In The Media.” And reason number one? The BlackBerry Product Placement program.
“BlackBerry doesn’t get enough credit for their clever and often subtle product placement. BlackBerry is known world-wide as a device used by the most powerful governments, law enforcement and health professionals. As one would expect, art imitates reality whenever any BlackBerry device graces the screen. BlackBerry gets more than a few thousand eyeballs on its products whether intentional or not when show producers include BlackBerry devices as props in successful TV series such as Blue Bloods, Scandal, or Madam Secretary. This serves as a tacit reminder to those who have been asking the question ‘BlackBerry is still around?’ that the answer is a resounding YES.“
When FLIR, a thermal imaging camera our agency represents was featured in a fictitious trade show setting in HBO's Silicon Valley, the NY Times took notice, including the brand in their coverage about the show's creator, Mike Judge The Bard Of Suck. The writer noted he had never heard of the brand - but he certainly noticed it. And he shouldn't necessarily have... it's primarily a B2B brand, which leverages product placement to target purchase decision makers in their downtime - watching TV and movies.
As another stellar case study example of third-party coverage of product placement, OPPO's partnership with America's Next Top Model resulted in a three-page spread in the monthly magazine, complete with in-depth coverage of the product placement as well as a step-by-step guide on using their newest phone's technology for the perfect selfie.
Don't Miss An Opportunity To Use Your Product Placement Content
Want to learn more tips? Check out more in our content library on Product Placement!
Have you ever wondered how a comprehensive product placement program works? Or do you want to know how to create a promotional partnership strategy with a movie partner? This video will answer all of your questions as it shows the steps and processes taken by Hollywood Branded that lead to your brand increasing both consumer engagement and sales!
