Branded Entertainment: Product Placement & Brand Strategy - Research Paper Example

Branded Entertainment: Product Placement & Brand Strategy I. Introduction As advertisers persist to compete for the attention of a growingly disjointed consumer market, they have resorted to various communication media in their attempts to communicate with the customers. One of the media they have taken advantage of more commonly in recent periods is branded entertainment, the integration of branded products in television programs and movies. Branded entertainment has been defined as “a paid product message aimed at influencing movie (or television) audiences via the planned and unobtrusive entry of a branded product into a movie (or television program)” (Balasubramanian 1994, 29). This inconspicuous entry of an advertisement message in a television program or movie differentiates branded entertainment from other channels of marketing communications. This implanting of advertisement messages in another form of marketing communication is a vivid illustration of the confusing of the boundaries between entertainment and commercial communications, which has developed to be more dominant in recent years (Lehu 2007, 67). By and large, a product is integrated in a television program or movie in return for financial compensation or other marketing concern by the advertiser. Prices can differ for integration, which is dependent on the character of the placement in film, and can span from nothing to millions of dollars. The cost of branded entertainment can be a role of the kind of product that is advertised; a number of product classifications are easier to integrate in film than others. The popularity of the branded entertainment in the movie can also influence the price. For instance, a placement in which the brand is mentioned could be charged more than that where the product symbol is just visible in the backdrop of a scene (O’Guinn, Allen & Semenik 2008, 43). Branded entertainment in movies has in fact been pioneered in the 1940s, even though “it essentially remained a casual business, an afterthought to most marketers and a low priority for studios” (McCarthy 1994, 30). Several scholars have proposes that the original intention for branded entertainment was explicit in the motion picture industry which attempted to improve the realistic tone of the films by integrating actual brands in the storylines. However, motion picture producers gradually became conscious of the advertisement importance of these branded entertainment opportunities, and this form of marketing communication has turned out to be far more dominant (Sutton & Zack 2006, 5). The objective of this paper is to explore the nature of branded entertainment and the various forms of this recently popular marketing communication tool. Moreover, the advantages and disadvantages of branded entertainment as well as the measurement of its efficacy and effectiveness will be discussed. II. Forms of Branded Entertainment In the recent decade or so, branded entertainment has developed into a quite sophisticated industry, with branded entertainment agencies evaluating scripts in an attempt to locate opportunities for branded entertainment for their marketer clients. This amplified interest in branded entertainment was probably initiated by prominent success stories in the 1980s, most particularly the integration of Reese’s Pieces in the film E.T. The ExtraTerrestrial, which boosted the sales of the candy, and the placement of Rayban in Risky Business, which dramatically increased the sales of the sunglasses used by the movie’s main actor, Tom Cruise. Branded entertainment is very popular nowadays and, in several circumstances, requires an agreement between the product and the movie that involves joint promotion and marketing. For instance, Burger King Restaurants and Sprint mobile phone service were product names integrated in the film Men in Black II (Newell, Salmon & Chang 2006, 575). At present, the practice of branded entertainment is not restricted to television programs and movies but is exploited as well in video games and music videos. The integration of a brand in a film can be as straightforward as a product appearing in one scene, a product name being mentioned by an important character in the movie, or a product symbol appearing in the background of a scene. On the other hand, a branded entertainment can be a decisive and vital component of the movie. For instance, AOL internet service in the film You’ve Got Mail was a very important component of the movie and was thoroughly linked to the storyline throughout the whole movie (Newell, Salmon & Chang 2006, 575). Evidently, a product can be integrated in a film or television program in a number of ways and at various levels. The many-sided nature of branded entertainment makes it an appealing, although multifaceted, advertisement strategy to understand and advantageously apply. Branded Entertainment in Motion Pictures French moviemakers Louis Lumiere and Auguste showed in December 1895 their movies in a Paris café basement to the very first paying viewers for exhibited motion pictures. In a matter of six months the first instance of branded entertainment would be filmed. The Lumiere brothers in 1896 entered into a circulation and production contract with a Swiss entrepreneur, Francois-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke, who served as a European circulator and advertiser for Lever Brothers, a U.K. soap producer. In favour of the Lumiere brothers, Lavanchy-Clarke would show movies in Switzerland and also produce motion pictures located in the country for circulation in the United States and Europe. In favour of the Lever Brothers, Lavanchy-Clarke advertised Sunlight Soap, their main product (O’Guinn, Allen & Semenik 2008, 76). It was this arrangement between Lumieres, Lavanchy-Clarke and Lever Brothers that led to the first branded entertainment in motion pictures. In early 1896, in the courtyard of Lavanchy-Clarke’s Geneva home, Alexandre Promio, a cinematographer, shot a movie of two females washing barrels of laundry. Positioned notably in front of the barrels were two boxes of Lever Brothers soap. The next month, the movie, entitled Washing Day in Switzerland, was exhibited in Keith’s Union Square Theatre in New York, together with moving pictures of French spectacles, European trains, and a variety of skits. The commerce of branded entertainment had been set in motion (Lehu 2007, 18-20). Even though the very first branded entertainments were most commonly a technique of lessening the cost of production, another explanation observed enlarged application since the 1920s: ‘cooperative promotional arrangements between outside manufacturers and movie makers, in which on-screen product appearances or star endorsements were traded for advertising and promotions paid by the manufacturer’ (Newell, Salmon & Chang 2006, 576). It was viewed as an appealing agreement for both sides, as the industry of the motion picture gained from improved ticket sales because of superior publicity for their pictures whilst producers gained movie spotlight for their products and an advertising leverage by linking their products to screen idols. Normally, a tie-up would encourage national producer to make advertisements that showed the motion picture and the product plus window exhibitions for the product’s local distributors. The operators of local movie houses would then collaborate with the local distributors to make in-theatre endorsements for the movie and the product. By the 1930s, tie-ups become a prevalent industry strategy. As stated by Jack Harrower of Film Daily (Newell, Salmon & Chang 2006, 576): The merchandising tie-ups have been placed on a scientific basis. Working right with the manufacturers of a given product, complete and exhaustive campaigns are available on any big feature that ties the exhibitors show up directly and compellingly with the nationally advertised product right in the theatre-man’s own home town. The impetus and prestige of million dollar national manufacturer campaigns are at the exhibitor’s disposal. He can come in on the ground floor, and cash in by intelligent co-operation with the local dealers on any given tie-up. The variety of tie-ups was enormous. Buick vehicles were used entirely in pictures of Warner Brothers, which was then advertised in Buick commercials. The diamond league of DeBeers provided precious stones used in movies and their main characters, with the eye-catching display and appearance of diamonds as idealistic gift to tactically improve diamond sales in post-Depression America. Branded Entertainment in Radio and Television Browning King produced the first funded radio program around the Browning King Orchestra and hence incorporated promotion with the name of the program. Particularly in radio, talents of the program would carry out double task by changing roles from performers to pitchman for the products of their clients. Inconspicuous mentioning of product names was not uncommon. For instance, Irna Phillips, a radio playwright, habitually mentions the products of her clients in tentative scripts for radio programs (Sutton & Zack 2006, 4). Nevertheless, the funded character of radio and television in the United States constructed a distinct context for branded entertainment from movies, and with the flourishing transmission of television programs into American homes, branded entertainment turned out to be a rivalling relationship between the ‘networks and paid sponsors on one side and product promoters on the other’ (Belch, G.E. & Belch, M.A. 1998, 7). Three main explanations why radio and television networks were hostile to brand entertainment were documented. Primarily, the radio and television networks had approved of the restrictions on the length of commercials, and branded entertainment, even honorary, may not be considered an in-program promotion and hence trim down the sum of marketing time obtainable for sale. Also, the vital profit stream for radio and television networks was the trading of advertising time to promoters (Turrow 2008, 382). Branded entertainments provided non-advertisers privileged access to information regarding what network users were purchasing. The last explanation for the negative reaction to branded entertainment was that the advantages presented to film studies by branded entertainment, such publicities off-screen, were less useful in the not so competitive and low-production expenditure area of radio and television (Turrow 2008, 383). Conflicts between product advertisers and networks were well-known all over the 1950s in the Continuity Acceptance Reports of NBC, initially weekly and afterwards monthly messages from the department of standards and practices of the network, the team that served as the network reviewers for commercial and programming. The memos, written by Stockton Helffrich started in 1948. Interests about preferences in commercials and programming prevail, with issues that involved substance abuse, racial discrimination, sexuality, juvenile delinquency, vulgarity, violence and advertising trustworthiness (Newell, Salmon & Chang 2006, 576). III. The Rise to Popularity of Branded Entertainment The demand to overcome the dissonance of marketing messages intended consistently toward the general public has triggered interest in new and revolutionary means for companies to reach their target audience. The union of entertainment media and advertisement persuasion, which is commonly classified as ambiguous communications, is a solution. Product sponsors shell out for messages that are integrated within various channels of the entertainment media, but the identity of the sponsor remains concealed (LePla and Parker 1999, 44). Remarkable boost in popularity of the branded entertainment over the recent decades makes it crucial for marketing scholars to increase their knowledge on the trend of integrated brands. The most recognised kind of blurred communications is branded entertainment. This marketing communications exploits components of various forms of marketing techniques, most particularly from advertising and media hype (Eastman 2000, 132). While a great deal of attention has been granted to placements that take place in television programs and movies, blurred communication is gradually more covering other mainstream media, such as magazines, newspapers, books, and even music and video games. With revenue and continued existence at risk, companies make every effort to make consumers conscious of, be concerned in, attempt, and finally promote the products and services they need to put forward. Given the frantic tempo of the present competitive setting, companies persistently barrage consumers with convincing information in efforts to generate, strengthen, or change approaches and ensuing purchase attitudes. It is thus in the concern of companies to comprehensively grasp whether persuasive efforts with these goals are valuable or not. One technique to understand changes in attitudes and persuasion is by exploring the mechanism of the dissemination of communication. In general, the process of communications could be broken down into its essential components such as its content, source of message, recipients and the responses produced afterwards. Features of all components should be explored to identify the effect each has on general efficacy (Mathieson 2005, 135). Apparently, branded entertainment became very popular because companies can select from various media alternatives available to them, such as movie, radio, television, magazines, for publicising message. Each medium possesses distinct qualities. For instance, particular alliances could be established with written media that cannot be established with visual media. A number of readers could prefer to trust that newspapers generally have impartial content, while a good number of movie audiences think films are sources of entertainment; or distinct features could be linked with particular channels within a specific medium (Shrum 2004, 102): Take, for example, a TV soap opera, such as Melrose Place, versus a TV news show, such as 20/20; a tabloid magazine, such as the National Inquirer, versus a news magazine like U.S. News and World Report; any mainstream movie, such as the James Bond movies versus a nonmainstream film, such as In the Bedroom. In each instance, the former’s contents are more apt to be typified as messed up and the latter’s as substance. Thoughts of commercial intentions could be feebler for the latter against the former. Consumer responses to branded entertainment within media content could thus be dependent on the qualities of the involved media vehicle (Shrum 2004, 102). Nowadays, television and movie studies have departments for branded entertainment, and this marketing communication tool is viewed as a practical advertisement vehicle by numerous companies. With marketers looking for new means to be conspicuous, and broadcasters seeking new revenue sources, branded entertainment have escalated in number. Basically, branded entertainment seems to be a viable arrangement for manufacturers (Shrum 2004, 64): ...they often cost less than traditional advertising, appear in a low clutter environment, appeal to a worldwide audience, get recycled with the program, imply a celebrity endorser, and are in an optimal environment where consumers are captive to the product’s placement (no remotes!). In spite of these advantages, a continuing concern for advertisers is whether branded entertainment really delivers; and how to make it work. So far the research on branded entertainment has been largely subjective and is not consistently credible. For instance, the E.T. case thrived because of the marketing department of Hershey’s. The real placement was quite trivial, a few hidden bags, and there is no reliable empirical evidence that the branded entertainment itself affected behaviour (Morgan 1999, 27). The movie business has had no encouragement to use research in this field. For corporations, the portion of marketing allotments dedicated to branded entertainment was, until currently, quite insignificant to validate any thorough research (Morgan 1999, 158). But now as branded entertainment turn out to be very popular, and as advertisers turn toward untraditional advertising domains, the requirement for research in this field enlarges. IV. Strengths and Weaknesses of Branded Entertainment A number of major advantages of branded entertainment, provided with constructive brand connections and strategic positioning, have been suggested in marketing literature. Several advantages address cost-effectiveness, durability of message life, breadth of message reach, and understood advertisements, and other benefits raise branded entertainment against more conventional types of marketing such as commercials, in which there is less assimilation within realistic contexts, and media hype, in which there is a reduced amount of control over message content (Lehu 2007, 94). Primarily, some have claimed that embedding brands within programming gives a valuable cost-effective option. Even though difficult to measure the value of branded entertainments, their cost is quite smaller than that of advertising. Moreover, entertainment media have expansive national, local and international customers. Even though no established measurement process has been designed for the business, Creative Entertainment Services make use of ticket sales as a substitute for the quantity of ideas surfacing from film placements. More particularly, ‘box office earnings divided by average ticket price’ (Shrum 2004, 103) generates a considerable number of ideas for film viewers. Ticket sales for a somewhat successful movie internationally well surpass the reach of an ordinary advertisement. Also, these product name impressions persist to build up over the lengthened life of a feature presentation. Entertainment media have capably more extended shelf lives, and impressions persist to be generated even after their first release (Shrum 2004, 103). Furthermore, integrating brands within a setting strengthens the influence of the message and constructs a form of brand promotion. And, lastly, appearance of a payment process provides funding companies greater power over the style of product depiction. Possible unconstructive brand connections can be prevented in this manner (LePla & Parker 1999, 22). Balasubramanian (1994) also argues that branded entertainment facilitates companies to prevail over the drawbacks of advertising and publicity. Cohen (1988 as cited in Shrum 2004, 102) illustrates advertisements ‘as messages that are paid for by clearly identified sponsors and publicity as messages that is not paid for and over which the publicised company has no control’ (Shrum 2004, 103). Sponsors have power over publicised content, and viewers recognise broadcasting media as unprejudiced publicity sources. Conversely, publicised messages are naturally prejudiced, and companies have no power over publicity content. Messages from branded entertainment, which are paid for yet hide the identity of the sponsor, have the capability of prevailing over the misgiving of consumers toward advertisements. In this instance, involved media are believed to be the unprejudiced sources of message, and the real product sponsors keep hold of control over message content. The influences of branded entertainment have been measured in a variety of ways in previous literature (Turrow 2008, 595). On the other hand, branded entertainment could be advantageous for manufacturers and advertisers, but it poses critical ethical and regulatory issues for consumers. The question is, if product name comes out in television shows for marketing intentions, should they be subjected to content regulation just as ordinary advertising? It is misleading to embed brands in programs if audiences are not conscious of the intention to persuade? Should harmful products such as alcohol and cigarette be allowed to be used in television programs and movies under the pretext of authenticity? Policy concerns surrounding branded entertainment in television programs and movies have been fervently deliberated by consumer supporters and lawyers. Research suggests that the practice in films is previously well documented, but a handful of studies have explored the magnitude and extent of the problem in the television. The differentiation between television and movies is relevant. A good number of audience views television programs more than movies and, even as consumers particularly choose to watch a movie, television programs are more persistent in the lifestyles of consumers (Eastman 2000, 136). Moreover, because audiences of television shows usually watch preferred programs for longer periods of time, they have a tendency to become profoundly affected and involved in the stories, and grow a passionate and steadfast dependability to the programs. The elevated exposure and repetition of television viewing is bothersome for the reason that brand loyalty is notably linked to the regularity of brand exposure. Moreover, the combination of products with screen idols openly or utterly can be an influential promotion since a celebrity attaches his/her qualities to the brand and determines a powerful message of endorsement. These pieces of evidence indicate that the commercial influence of a brand entertainment could be greater in television programs than in movies. In line with this concern, another group of communications research claims that television is a representative context that is exceptionally persuasive in shaping cultural principles, specifically among those television viewers who are uneducated. This concern is reinforced by research in the social learning theory discipline, which proposes that frequent exposure to represented behaviour can lead to substantial behavioural alteration (Lehu 2007, 27-30). A great deal of the public debate regarding the mechanism of branded entertainment has concentrated on the appearance of hazardous products in television programs and movies, particularly in movies and shows that are advertised for viewing by youngsters. Others with more expansive concerns are looking for possible solutions to the believed problem on the whole rather than for particular product classifications (Lehu 2007, 30). V. Branded Entertainment Efficacy and Measures Message sponsors normally shell out for embedded messages while hiding their identities. The most widespread kind of embedded messages is branded entertainment, an innovative yet covert technique of brand integration into mainstream culture. It can be difficult to identify where the end of an editorial commentary is and where the beginning of a commercial persuasion is within the entertainment media occupied by embedded messages. Measures of the efficacy of branded entertainment and circumstances under which this effectiveness can be reinforced or lessened will be discussed in this section. The question of how the effectiveness of branded entertainment can be best measured should be addressed. Intentions of companies for making use of branded entertainment can span from enhancing brand and assert memory to implanting confidence in assertions to cultivating constructive brand impressions, with a vision to improving persuasive effects. It is hence crucial for researchers and practitioners in the marketing field to view the effectiveness of branded entertainment in terms of more than mere attitudinal and memory variables that have been examined in previous literature (O’Guinn, Allen & Semenik 2008, 312). Branded entertainment effectiveness has customarily been analysed from the point of view of businesses aiming to make use of branded entertainment within their promotion mix. The impacts, particularly negative consumer responses, of branded entertainment with regard to media awareness are, nonetheless, scholarly under-studied. A more inclusive evaluation of the effectiveness of branded entertainment should also integrate measures such as confidence in brand assertions and impact on confidence in the medium (O’Guinn, Allen & Semenik 2008, 312-313). Since embedded messages influence impressions of brand as well the participating media, media managers should guarantee that branded entertainment, though they are profitable sources of revenue, do not unfavourably affect trust bestowed upon a medium. In this manner, additional factors for measuring branded entertainment effectiveness and effort to broaden the way in which efficacy of branded entertainment is understood should be considered. Impact of Message Appropriateness and Strength on Branded Entertainment Efficacy Message features such as appropriateness with the environment are essential. People pay greater attention to and understand assertions that have an excellent appropriateness with the environment they are positioned upon. A nonlinear correlation between branded entertainment effectiveness and potency is indicated. Effectiveness is anticipated to be low when embedded messages are remarkably feeble or exceptionally strong. When branded entertainment is quite weak, it is difficult for audiences to perceive them, and when it is exceptionally well-built, consumers become doubtful that a promotional attempt is in progress and become doubtful of the assertions (LePla & Parker 1999, 57). At most favourable effectiveness level, a branded entertainment should be sufficiently well-built to attract attention and internalised but not quite well-built that it spawns negative impression. Impact of Media Trustworthiness on Branded Entertainment Effectiveness Media trustworthiness is anticipated to influence branded entertainment effectiveness in two ways: embedded messages in decidedly trustworthy media are more apt to be trusted, and consumers could create a criticism against trustworthy media if messages that are commercially encouraged get noticed. Trustworthy media are regarded as sincere in their reporting, and end users may feel deceived if core commercial intentions become evident (LePla & Parker 1999, 106). Impact of Consumer Participation on Branded Entertainment Effectiveness Lastly, the influence of consumer qualities, such as the degree of participation, was explored. In instances wherein a message is personally significant or essential to consumers, the probability of criticism is higher. At greater degrees of participation, consumers are more probable to overlook media features, such as trustworthiness, as prompts and analyse assertions thoroughly (Shrum 2004, 150). Two additional concerns with regard to branded entertainment merit further analysis: repercussions of branded entertainment for consumer fraud and the analysis of branded entertainment in media beyond television shows and movies (Mathieson 2005, 88). VI. Conclusions This paper explains the growth of mass media industry justifications for branded entertainment. It demonstrates that in motion pictures, branded entertainment was originally the outcome of business family ties but rapidly changed into a strategy of lessening the production cost of motion picture while offering free product exposure. As the dissemination of programming transformed from local to national, the film business quickly gained knowledge of tying on-screen product placements with advertisement off-screen, hence enhancing the prospective audience while trimming down the additional advertising expenditures. Nonetheless, for television programs, the branded entertainment was viewed as a hazard to advertising profit, and a secretive dealing emerged in which program personnel collaborated with the publicity agents of manufacturers to endorse products on TV. The returns of branded entertainment available to movie makers were less significant to the industry of television programming, and the pressures of embedding movie technique placements into television programs remain obvious at present. Most past studies has examined the impacts of branded entertainment in visual media like television programs and movies. 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