The effectiveness of product placement in Hollywood movies

Abstract

A small-scale dissertation had been conducted, investigating the effectiveness of product placement in Hollywood movies. Product placement is an unsaturated method of gaining the attention of the desired target market in an increasingly realistic setting. Essentially, product placement is a means of advertising through the use of subtly placing products in the context of Hollywood movies. The objectives of the research study were to determine how consumers respond to product placement in movies, how product placement influences the purchasing behaviour of consumers and finally, why product placement is used as a form of advertising. This research had employed an approach that was qualitative in nature having conducted 1 focus group consisting of 5 respondents as well as semi-structured interviews, also consisting of a total of 5 respondents. Stimuli had been provided to those who had participated in the focus group with video clips from two popular movies. The first one being a clip from the movie “The Italian Job” and the second one being a clip from the movie “Home Alone 2”. Focus group participants had watched these two clips and preceded to answer the questions that followed. The findings had suggested that the placement of brands and/or products in Hollywood movies is an effective means of communicating the brand’s message to mass audiences and gaining a response from these consumers in the form of brand recognition, brand recall or ultimately, making a purchase decision. Even though the results from the research study could not be generalised to the public at large, useful insights from the dissertation could be acknowledged by marketers when considering whether or not to include their brands and/or products in Hollywood movies.