Ever notice the brand of vehicles driven by your favorite characters on prime time television? OEMs are betting that you do. Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a veiled form of advertising. Branded goods or services are placed in a context, such as movies, television shows, or news programs. Automobile companies are working the product placement angle more than ever before.
Vehicles associated with a television series is not a new concept. Who can forget the GMC van used by the A-Team? Remember "General Lee" a 1969 Dodge Charger from The Dukes of Hazard? Or were you reminiscing about the 1984 Jaguar XJ6 as seen in The Equalizer?
In more modern times, vehicle placement usually falls into one of three categories: New model launch support, brand reinforcement through character association, or vehicle placement to reinforce the character.
A vehicle launch strategy most likely includes embedded marketing. For example, a year or so ago, Hyundai made a big push for its Genesis model to be featured in Leverage, a TNT series. In addition, Season 7 of the dramatic series 24 also featured the Hyundai Genesis as a way to show off its high tech features. The drama series Heroes featured the launch of the Nissan Versa. The show often zoomed in/out on the logo or featured vehicles, which were shown for a few seconds at the beginning of a new scene. The CW series Smallville promotes the Toyota Yaris; including promotion through character dialogue.
Here is an example from Smallville Episode "Blue" (Season 7, Episode 8):
Clark: This is why I need you to give me a ride. I need to get this ring off my finger and go to the Fortress.
Chloe: Look, Clark, my Yaris gets awesome mileage but I seriously doubt it will get us all the way to the North Pole.
Clark: How about to my barn?
The second type of placement of brand reinforcement cashes in on owner expectations. Consumers, a.k.a. car owners, have an expectation of each brand. For example, a Mazda has the heart of a sports car and should go "Zoom Zoom." The deeper the level of engagement, the more fixed the expectations. Vehicles positioned within a series play on this relationship. Dodge has placed the black Charger with Special Agent Gibbs from NCIS – a tough no nonsense power machine for a former Marine. Along the same lines is the featured 1973 Dodge Charger being driven by Michael Weston from Burn Notice, the hit cable series.
Then, there are brand placements wherein the type of vehicle being driven further defines elements of the series' characters. For example, steady and sure Marshall from the USA series In Plain Sight usually drives a black GMC, while his erratic and moody partner until recently sputtered around in a beat-up temperamental old Ford Probe. Similarly, our cool and brainy CSI investigators out in Las Vegas drive a GMC Yukon Denali.
Most agencies will measure the impact of auto placements through primary research on the ability to recall the vehicle featured. Off the top of your head, can you tell me what vehicle Evan R. Lawson sells to save Hank Med in the USA series Royal Pains? (Hint: Search here - http://www.usanetwork.com/series/royalpains/ )
Posted by Theresa Gorman, Manager, Sales & Client Services, Polk (07.15.2010)
Vehicles associated with a television series is not a new concept. Who can forget the GMC van used by the A-Team? Remember "General Lee" a 1969 Dodge Charger from The Dukes of Hazard? Or were you reminiscing about the 1984 Jaguar XJ6 as seen in The Equalizer?
In more modern times, vehicle placement usually falls into one of three categories: New model launch support, brand reinforcement through character association, or vehicle placement to reinforce the character.
A vehicle launch strategy most likely includes embedded marketing. For example, a year or so ago, Hyundai made a big push for its Genesis model to be featured in Leverage, a TNT series. In addition, Season 7 of the dramatic series 24 also featured the Hyundai Genesis as a way to show off its high tech features. The drama series Heroes featured the launch of the Nissan Versa. The show often zoomed in/out on the logo or featured vehicles, which were shown for a few seconds at the beginning of a new scene. The CW series Smallville promotes the Toyota Yaris; including promotion through character dialogue.
Here is an example from Smallville Episode "Blue" (Season 7, Episode 8):
Clark: This is why I need you to give me a ride. I need to get this ring off my finger and go to the Fortress.
Chloe: Look, Clark, my Yaris gets awesome mileage but I seriously doubt it will get us all the way to the North Pole.
Clark: How about to my barn?
The second type of placement of brand reinforcement cashes in on owner expectations. Consumers, a.k.a. car owners, have an expectation of each brand. For example, a Mazda has the heart of a sports car and should go "Zoom Zoom." The deeper the level of engagement, the more fixed the expectations. Vehicles positioned within a series play on this relationship. Dodge has placed the black Charger with Special Agent Gibbs from NCIS – a tough no nonsense power machine for a former Marine. Along the same lines is the featured 1973 Dodge Charger being driven by Michael Weston from Burn Notice, the hit cable series.
Then, there are brand placements wherein the type of vehicle being driven further defines elements of the series' characters. For example, steady and sure Marshall from the USA series In Plain Sight usually drives a black GMC, while his erratic and moody partner until recently sputtered around in a beat-up temperamental old Ford Probe. Similarly, our cool and brainy CSI investigators out in Las Vegas drive a GMC Yukon Denali.
Most agencies will measure the impact of auto placements through primary research on the ability to recall the vehicle featured. Off the top of your head, can you tell me what vehicle Evan R. Lawson sells to save Hank Med in the USA series Royal Pains? (Hint: Search here - http://www.usanetwork.com/series/royalpains/ )
Posted by Theresa Gorman, Manager, Sales & Client Services, Polk (07.15.2010)
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