Fashion Brands Historically Score Big Time In Hot TV Series
TV offers brands of all categories a phenomenal launching pad to showcase their products being held by, in a scene with or even dressing the leading actors and actresses on screen. This practice is typically referred to as Product Placement, and it's one we write about often, as it's a base to build our agency services from. There are two approaches - either loaning product to a production to help them save on costs of purchasing, or money being paid to a production to create a bigger storyline around the product.
For fashion brands, many opportunities exist to simply loan product, as their high dollar value means massive savings to TV storylines that require that air of luxury to be shown on screen. And for years, fashion brands have taken advantage of this opportunity in some of the most popular shows on air. In this blog, Hollywood Branded shares an infographic and research by Winkelstraat on the top fashion brands in TV series.
The Most Popular Show For Fashion Brands
The first show off anyone's tongue when asked about what MUST be the most popular show for fashion brands is... drum roll please... Sex and the City! The series was on HBO, a network known for not taking money from brands as their typical practice as a paid subscriber channel is to truly have no advertising - including paid product placement. Which means each and every one of those brands you saw in Sex and the City over the years either was in the show because the writer's just naturally wrote it in... or the costume department found a beloved fashion item and truly wanted it it... or the brand's product placement agency kept knocking on that door and ensuring their relationships with production (props, sets, transportation, wardrobe, director, and more) were solid and that they were able to ship loads of items to be seen on screen.
And for fashion brands, the show was a mecca - a haven for the top names in fashion worn by those New York fashionistas who defined and influenced the future of many who strive to be in the now-world of fashion influencers.
We wrote a blog about Sex and the City and the number of brands that were featured in the series... PLUS included a video highlight reel you should check out: Top 10 Brand Mentions In Sex And The City
And Then There Are More...
And while Sex and the City tops the list - there are dozens of other shows that have served as elevated platforms to highlight fashion in all its glory. Winkelstraat, a Dutch platform for high-end fashion, recently analyzed over 100 TV series and gathered data about which fashion brands were mentioned the most. And their results aren't all that surprising.
Anytime you put glamour and actresses together in a scene that has some wealth to it as well, you are going to see a launching pad for fashion brands to be featured.
In their study, in the episodes of Sex and the City that were analyzed, Winkelstraat counted 126 fashion brand mentions. Ugly Betty which took place at a Vogue-like fashion magazine had 117 mentions, Gossip Girl which revolved around the glitz and glamour of some very well-to-do high school then college and then graduates 117 mentions.
The Fashion Brands That Led The Pack
The most mentioned fashion brand from their research was Prada, which received over 50 mentions across all TV series. Gucci was the second runner up with 47 mentions and Chanel 46 mentions - keep in mind this means really all three are about equal as this was from a sampling of TV shows as not all TV shows on air were monitored.
The CEO of Winkelstraat had an interesting take to the prevalence of these fashion brands being in TV shows, saying ‘’We see that younger luxurious street wear-brands, such as Michael Kors and Philipp Plein, are popular and trending, specifically in Europe. TV series simply can’t keep up with the current trends in the world of fashionistas’’.
There is another reason for that though as well - it's not that the TV series is not keeping up with current trends, it's that those younger fashion brands are simply not recognized by a vast audience number who watch TV, and don't resonate with that fan base as being "it" in the world of glamour. Secondly, those younger fashion brands often haven't spent the time (and money) making the product lines easily accessible to the costume department decision makers on set. Prada, Gucci and Chanel all very actively work with Hollywood and have for years.
The Infographic
So which brands were the most popular?
Those brands included Prada, Gucci, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Manolo Blahnik, Christian Dior, vera Wang, Armani, Versace, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Laurne, DKNY, Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin, Fendi, Valentino, Jimmy Choo, Burberry, Yves Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, Roberto Cavalli, Birkenstock, Hermes, Karl Lagerfeld and Michael Kors.
We get it - except perhaps for the Birkenstock mention. All of these brands are the embodiment of "THE" it brands of the luxury world.
Check out the infographic they created below!
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Ready, Set Go! Product Placement In Movies
Our agency was recently interviewed by Luxury Daily for an article on how brands can best workwith entertainment content and celebrities. Check it out here: Hollywood Branded In The News Luxury Entertainment Marketing.
And check out some of our other blogs that talk about best marketing practices for product placement and brand integration partnerships:
- 4 Common Myths About Product Placement Debunked
- 10 Surprising Reasons Why Brands Do Product Placement
- 8 Ways To Use Product Placement Assets To Amplify Your Brand Into Sales
Take a look at our Product Placement and Promotions 101 guide to get a better understanding on how the practice can work for you:
