Mapping between placement strategies and placed product attributes in television programs

Abstract

Previous research on product placement, the integration of branded information in media content, has mainly focused on its impact on consumer behavior, but very few have examined the association between placement strategies and placed product attributes. Building on the economics of information theory and the message matching model, the purpose of this study is to examine the congruence between the key attributes of the placed product/brand and the placement strategies adopted. A large-scale content analysis of products appearing in Hong Kong prime-time television programs was conducted. In line with traditional advertising, search goods were found to be placed with more details disclosed and with higher prominence than were experience goods. Experience goods placed in television programs were more likely well-known brands. A higher level of character interaction with search goods than experience goods was found in television programs. The pattern in general aligned with the predictions derived from traditional advertising but was somehow manifested in different ways. This study facilitates greater understanding among marketers and academics of the applicability of the theories to the non-traditional advertising context, which may help simplifying marketers’ decisions in formulating placement strategies.

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