Why Product Placement Works So Well

Stacy Jones | August 2, 2022 at 8:30 AM

Media is Forever

If you've been following our blog for a while, you know that we talk about product placement a lot. But, can you blame us? It's our bread and butter!

Every day, we get new inquiries from brands who want to explore product placement programs with us. However, oftentimes, it takes us a bit to truly explain the importance of product placement and why it's such an incredible and unique advertising tool. In this blog, Hollywood Branded shares why product placement works so well - and why your brand should get involved in the space.

Why Product Placement Works So Well

Think Long Term

That’s the same with your marketing when you invest in long-term strategies, like Product Placement or any celebrity partnership initiative. Advertising solutions that deliver overnight results are rare and fleeting. Even if they provide a punch and lift immediately – they typically do not have long tails that keep on delivering in the weeks, months, and years ahead. Nor do they allow you the opportunity to create ‘more’ that will help give your brand team new content to leverage across your socials, PR, and sales conversations.

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Ads Only Run Once Versus, Well… Forever

Most advertising requires continual purchase. Over and over again, you need to buy more media, regardless of the platform. The life of a single ad is fleeting. It runs and then is done in just :15 seconds or :30 seconds – delivering no more. That means in every TV show on the air, the ad that ran delivered just that one time - regardless of whether it worked.

Yes, I hear my media agency friends/clients saying that ad buys are cumulative. Of COURSE, no single ad is expected to deliver what an entire campaign can provide. Each ad builds upon the other ads run to get in front of a potential customer repeatedly. With more and more dollars added with each ad that runs. I get it. Yes. Advertising works.

Something Else Works Even Better

But hear me out for a moment because the type of marketing campaigns our agency specializes in works – even better. I firmly believe there is no feasible reason a brand should not be actively doing product placement with our agency or another - if it’s not market of your marketing tactics, it’s time to seriously rethink what you are missing out on.

I get it. An ad is entirely about THE BRAND in a very controlled space. But that’s the problem. Those ads are not always very engaging unless you have a team of creative geniuses. And they certainly are very often skipped through, run during a bathroom or snack break, zoned out on, and ignored.

Imagine for a moment that for the same price of a single ad in broadcast prime time, or perhaps two or three at max – you can have a product placement program or celebrity campaign that runs for a year - and keeps delivering for years to come while building your brand reputation in the process. And your brand is not only seen – but part of the story, bolstered by the fact that it is Hollywood and celebrity-approved. Your brand has gone through an incredible casting process and is an official co-star.

Seriously. That’s what we do. We make your brand a star, like Talent Agents, make actors a star. We strategize, educate, secure, amplify and then report on those partnerships we build. Over and over again.

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Lowest CPMS Available With Massive Results

Comprehensive product placement programs typically range from $25k to $300k at our agency and most others in our industry, depending on the brand category and life stage. The film, music video, or series airs and is watched on the initial release date and repeatedly throughout the year. Take a look at a few examples of what I mean.

Series One Example

We partnered Ralph Lauren with Netflix’s hit series Elite for a multiple-season partnership. The series has consistently been a top 10 watched on the streamer. The brand was worn exclusively by three characters in seasonlong and received logo inserts and verbal mentions. The series was chosen due to its global popularity and that its original language of Spanish was dubbed for English-speaking markets, as well as German, Italian and French. The CPM? Under $1.50 and still being watched around the world. Watch a recap from just a single season.

Series Two Example

One of our clients had a mega win as part of their flat-fee product placement program with Netflix’s hit series and, sadly concluded, Ozark. The client did not pay for this outside of what they paid for our yearly retainer, which is similar to how a PR program for earned media works. About 60% of content DOES NOT take integration fees, and brands can ONLY get exposure through relationships with props, sets, transportation, and wardrobe departments.

FLIR’s thermal/infrared camera technology is used for first responders, the military, and many industries, including marine. FLIR became part of the storyline because the product enhanced the writers’ ability to tell their stories. And we won awards for the partnership, with the series watched worldwide by tens (and tens) of millions of people. Read about it.

Music Video Example

New fintech bank Oxygen became part of DJ Snake’s music video co-starring alongside DJ Snake, Lisa of BlackPink, Meghan Thee Stallion, and Ozuna. The music video came out in October 2021 and today has reached 167 million views. The CPM? Under 74 cents. Yes. CENTS. Watch it here!

For celebrity partnerships, a celebrity on one level or another also fits within those pricing ranges. Of course, more extensive partnerships and major integration campaigns can be built at higher investment levels. Those, too, will continue to deliver in even more significant ways.

The benefit of leveraging pop culture is that you are paying for an immediate impact and investing in the future brand reputation building as content to air for years to come.

Eager To Learn More?

Can't get enough of product placement? Neither can we! Take a look at some of the blogs below to learn all you can about the wide world of product placement and brand integration.