Persuasive Advertising - J. Scott Armstrong [73]
6.3
Brand has its own unique “personality”
6.2
Brand is already well known
6.0
Brand has a number of strong competitors
5.9
Brand is new to the market
5.8
Most viewers already use the brand
5.6
The same experts gave the following advice for movie product placement (7 means extremely important):
How to use product placement in movies
Criterion
Rating
Brand portrayed in a favorable light
6.9
Brand shown in use
6.0
Brand name mentioned in the dialogue
5.9
Brand is shown for a long period of time
5.8
Competing brands are not shown in the film
5.7
Lead actor associated with the brand
5.3
Brand shown in familiar situations
5.2
Placement repeats themes from the brand’s advertising
5.0
Brand used or shown in a new or novel way
4.8
Subtle product placements such as visual-only or background placements might be useful for avoiding counter-arguments. They are also less expensive than prominent placements.
Evidence on the effects of product placements
A lab experiment, comprising of 108 subjects, examined the effects of using a well-known fast-food outlet (McDonald’s) as a product placement in two movie clips. When there was no repetition, the subtle placements (visual only) were just as effective as the prominent placements (audiovisual) with respect to brand attitude. When there were three repetitions, prominent placements were distracting to the subjects, with the result that brand attitude was higher for subtle than prominent placements (4.7 versus 3.5 on a nine-point scale). A second lab experiment used the same design with 155 subjects using Dell notebook computers for the product placement in a different movie clip. The findings closely matched those in the first experiment (Homer 2009).
In a small-scale lab experiment, 111 subjects watched one of two Seinfeld TV shows, supposedly to rate how well they liked the show. The shows contained 13 product placements in total, some of which were prominently displayed and others that were in the background. Afterwards, the subjects were asked if they would be willing to be involved in what was a different experiment in which they were to suggest items for a friend moving to a new apartment. They selected from a list that included products that had been placements on the Seinfeld shows. The subjects’ brand choice changes (versus seeing no product placement) were higher for the products in the background display of the Seinfeld show (9.0 percent) than those prominently displayed (5.8 percent) (Law and Braun 2000).
A lab experiment using 107 subjects who watched versions of the TV show Friends found that “Product placements that were merely placed in the visual background were as persuasive as audio placements that were highly connected to the plot” (Russell 2002).
Checklist 4 summarizes the principles related to mere exposure.
Checklist 4 Mere exposure
4.1. Brand name
4.1.1. When there is no need for information, consider advertising the brand name.
4.2. Product placements
4.2.1. Link the product to familiar and positive situations.
General tactics
Tactics are more detailed than the strategies. They relate to reducing resistance, gaining acceptance, crafting the message, and attracting attention:
Resistance: How can advertisers overcome resistance to change? Much advertising seeks some type of behavioral change, so the section on reducing resistance is often relevant.
Acceptance: Principles for gaining acceptance should be considered for all ad campaigns.
Message: The principles related to crafting the message are broadly applicable. They are especially relevant to high-involvement products with strong arguments.
Attention: It might seem odd that the section on gaining attention comes last. After all, an ad must first gain attention if it is to have any impact. However, attracting attention should not drive the design of the ad. It is only after crafting a persuasive message that advertisers should turn to the issue of gaining attention.
5. Resistance
If people don’t want