<FONT COLOR="#FF0033"><B>FICCI Frames ’06:</B></FONT> In-film placements set to give advertising a run for its money

Watching films in one’s living room is just not the same as watching them in a cinema hall. In such a scenario, is there a possibility that brands can actually do better through in-film placements than advertising on the idiot box?

“Yes!” exclaimed Atul Phadnis, chief evangelist, Media e2e, emphatically. Phadnis was speaking at FICCI Frames ’06, addressing the matter of brand building through in-film product placements. Phadnis supported his theory with research facts. “Studies indicate that the theatre environment is more engaging for the viewer than the living room one, despite same content in both situations,” he said. “This is leading to a greater acceptability of brands in cinema.”

According to a study, brand recall through advertising is 18 per cent, but it is three times more – 53 per cent – through product placements in films.

Phadnis pointed out some ways in which the medium of cinema could be leveraged to build brands. Some of these are cinema exhibition, product placement, brand promotion and ground activation.

Phadnis also threw light on the three kinds of product placement that help in gauging how a brand is being treated in film content – Active Placements, Passive Placements and Hyperactive Placements. Within these, it was noted that a Passive Placement in a film along with an additional trigger (in the cinema environment) led to a whopping 191 per cent increase in brand awareness. An example of a Passive Placement would be a shot of a man strolling into a McDonald’s outlet.

Active Placements, on the other hand, are like showcasing a product to its fullest, such as a man talking about an Audi and later driving away in one. An Active Placement, when coupled with an additional trigger, leads to a 17 per cent increase in brand awareness.

Hyperactive Placements involve introducing the brand as a surprise element of sorts in the storyline. These, when mixed with the additional trigger, lead to a 54 per cent increase in brand awareness.

“The value of a placement boils down to the quality of the placement and the understanding of the target audience,” Phadnis explained.

In the future, Phadnis pointed out, digital placements might become a huge thing for exhibitors and brand managers. “In addition,” he said, “as content becomes more and more mobile, one won’t be able to ignore the worth of product placements.”

Embedding the brand message in content might become even more vital in the case of media such as mobile phones, which won’t be very ‘commercial break friendly’.

“For instance, if someone is watching a movie on his mobile phone, he will not entertain commercial breaks. The only option left is product placements,” Phadnis stated.

Traditional advertising may just have to watch out.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!