4 September 2006
Mediaedge:cia reveal new product placement insight ahead of Ofcom review
• • • • Product placement actually increases viewers’ enjoyment of a TV programme 45% are more likely to purchase a product if its placed in a TV programme Product integration lifts brand awareness levels by 24% Product placement improves brand affinity* by 22%
London – New research from MEC MediaLab, the research division of Mediaedge:cia (www.mecglobal.com), a leading media communications specialist company and part of WPP's media investment management company GroupM, shows that the introduction of paid-for product placement in UK television could be beneficial for brands, advertisers, broadcasters and even viewers. Mediaedge:cia undertook the research to determine the potential benefits of paid-for product placement to consumers and brand-owners, following Ofcom’s decision to conduct an in-depth consultation on the issue in December 2005.
Product placement - “the inclusion of, or reference to, a product or service within a programme in return for payment or other valuable consideration” - is currently prohibited on UK television. However, in an environment where multi-channel penetration and ad-avoidance technology continues to threaten traditional TV advertising, an additional revenue stream could be appealing. Mediaedge:cia used both qualitative and quantitative** techniques to research viewers’ perceptions towards product placement, with two main objectives. Firstly, to understand the effect of product placement on viewer enjoyment. Secondly, to value its potential brand communications benefit in terms of awareness, brand image and purchase intent. For the purposes of the study, Mediaedge:cia identified product placement as the identifiable appearance of a branded product in a programme, and product integration as the identifiable appearance of a branded content in a programme with product mention and/or use of in the programme. The difference would mean Dot Cotton from Eastenders lighting up a Benson & Hedges cigarette (placement), or Dot asking her husband Jim to buy her some Benson & Hedges (integration). To assess and compare reactions to these two forms of product placement, Mediaedge:cia worked with Canadian broadcaster CTV to produce four versions of one programme – an entertainment news show – featuring four test brands. For each brand, one version was the ‘control’, the programme with no advertising or placement, one had only advertising of the brands featured in the commercial breaks, one showed the ad followed by placement of the brand in the programme and one with the ad followed by product integration within the show. Respondents viewed one of these versions based on the premise that Mediaedge:cia were researching programme formats. Surprisingly, when asked about their enjoyment of the show they had just watched, those exposed to integration and placement had, on average, higher enjoyment scores (22% and 20% respectively) than those who watched the ‘control’ version. A massive 45 per cent also said they would be more likely to purchase if they saw brand placement or integration in a TV programme. Only 9% said it would make them less likely to purchase the product.
Mediaedge:cia reveal new product placement insight ahead of Ofcom review Sep 06 1
When respondents were asked which brands they had noticed in the programmes, product placement lifted awareness by 16% over the traditional 30-second spot, while integration proved even more powerful, lifting awareness by 24% against commercial exposure. However, while integration is the best way to get a brand noticed, it isn’t necessarily the best way to improve its image. Product placement improved viewers’ affinity with a brand by 22%, but this dropped to just 8% for brands using product integration. Brand affinity is a composite of trust, consideration and performance perceptions. David Fletcher, Head of MEC MediaLab, commented: “Where integration offers more in terms of brand recall, placement is more effective in changing brand attitudes, showing that the different types of exposure offer different benefits.” He concluded: “What’s clear is that viewers are sensitive to overt commercialisation. Subtlety and viewer consideration are the two key areas to consider. By respecting the audience within the script, programme makers can build up increased realism and possibly an increasing viewer enjoyment in their shows, whilst brandowners will benefit from increased awareness and stronger brand attributes. A wide range of advertisers could benefit from product placement – especially new brands and launches – as long as the viewer is respected”.
Footnotes: * Brand affinity is a composite of trust, consideration and performance perceptions. ** For the quantitative study MEC interviewed 318 UK adults aged 18-40 in March 2006
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Editor’s notes About Mediaedge:cia Mediaedge:cia (MEC) is the first global communications planning and implementation agency. We get consumers actively engaged with client’s brands, leading to relevant awareness, deeper relationships and stronger sales. Our services include consumer insight and ROI, communications planning, media planning and buying, interaction (digital, direct, search), sponsorship consultancy and activation, branded content and entertainment marketing. Our 4,000 highly talented and motivated people work with local, regional and global clients from 199 offices in 79 countries. MEC is a founding partner of GroupM, WPP’s media investment management group. For further information, visit www.mecglobal.com About GroupM GroupM, the worlds leading full service media investment management operation, was created by WPP Group to oversee its assets in this sector. These assets include Mediaedge:cia, MindShare, MediaCom and MAXUS. The focus of GroupM is the intelligent application of volume and scale in trading, innovation and quality of services, in order to bring benefit to clients and the companies it operates. For further information, visit www.groupm.com About WPP WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY) is one of the world's leading communications services groups, providing national, multinational and global clients with advertising; media investment management; information, insight & consultancy; public relations & public affairs; branding & identity, healthcare and specialist communications. Our worldwide companies include JWT, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, Y&R, The Voluntarily United Group, Grey Worldwide, Bates Asia, MindShare, MediaCom, Mediaedge:cia, Millward Brown, Research International, Kantar Media Research, OgilvyOne Worldwide, Wunderman, 141 Worldwide, Hill & Knowlton, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Burson-Marsteller, Cohn & Wolfe, CommonHealth, Sudler & Hennessey, Ogilvy Healthworld, Enterprise IG, Landor and Fitch among others. Our companies provide communications services to clients worldwide including more than 330 of the Fortune Global 500; over one-half of the NASDAQ 100 and over 30 of the Fortune e-50. We work with over 330 clients in three or more disciplines; more than 130 clients in four disciplines and over 100 clients in six or more countries. Collectively, WPP employs more than 92,000 people in 2,000 offices in 106 countries. For further information, visit www.wpp.com For further information, please contact : Henrietta Mackenzie / Catherine McMahon Eulogy! Tel : 020 7927 9999 Mobile : 07970 002109 / 07779 591894 Email : henrietta@eulogy.co.uk catherine@eulogy.co.uk
Mediaedge:cia reveal new product placement insight ahead of Ofcom review Sep 06 3