Product placement “dramatically shifts” TV viewers’ perception of brands
New research carried out by BDRC Continental and Channel 4 has revealed that product placement significantly shifts television viewers’ perceptions of brands.
Two years ago Ofcom allowed product placement in UK television programmes, with New Look and Blackberry the first brands to take advantage, using Channel 4 for their New Look Style Nation and Live and Lost with Blackberry.
Since then, a number of brands have developed partnerships with Channel 4, including L’Oreal, Nokia Lumia, Yeo Valley and PG Tips.
The Channel 4 research revealed that product placement can dramatically shift television viewers’ perception of a brand, as well as enhancing the credibility of TV content.
Consumers exposed to product placement are much more likely to purchase a brand because of their knowledge about it, its likeability and its talkability.
Product placement engages in “para-social relationships”, whereby people are more inclined to show interest and have an increased purchasing intent if they like and trust the TV figure that the product is placed with – with Yeo Valley’s placement deal with Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals showing that 52% of viewers would buy Yeo Valley when they next purchased yoghurt.
A huge 87% of viewers said that they trusted the products used in Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals overall.
“This consumer research is incredibly valuable in demonstrating the effectiveness of product placement as an advertising solution – and it backs up what we have learned through a range of partnerships Channel 4 has already brought to screen,” said Jonathan Lewis, Head of Digital and Partnership Innovation at Channel 4.
“Product Placement has enormous potential and we look forward to sharing this research with agencies and clients to find innovative editorial partnerships for their brands.”
Max Willey from BDRC Continental added: “Now that we have evaluated enough campaigns to create reliable normative data it’s fascinating to see the strengths of product placement compared to other advertising media.
“Results consistently show that placed brands feel more familiar and ‘every day’ to viewers; on some less established brands this impact has been phenomenal.”