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Literature Review

Definition and Meaning of Product Placement

Most scholarly definitions of the concept aim to distinguish product placements from celebrity

endorsement advertising and other public relation practices. Balasubramanian (1994) referred to

it as a hybrid message a paid message aimed at influencing movie (or television) audiences via

the planned and unobtrusive entry of a branded product into a movie 1. Recogniing product

placement as an alternative route for traditional overt advertising! "arrh (199#) defined brand

placement as a paid inclusion of branded products or brand identifiers through audio and visual

means $ithin mass media programming%! noting that the term product placement is used

interchangeably $ith brand placement.

&ollectively described as ' a cooperative effort of advertisers and creator of entertainment

products in $hich trademared goods are embedded into popular entertainment products in order

to encourage their consumption! overriding entertainment and artistic concerns. Brand

placement is not restricted to movies! it covers television! video games! online videos! plays etc.

espite the plethora of channels! the principal purpose of brand placement remains unchanged*

generating additional finance for the author! the medium or the production and creating a

platform for the advertiser to introduce brand references into the consumers+ e,perience of the

entertainment (-ehu and Bressoud %/0).

1 Balasubramanian! iva ". 2Beyond 3dvertising and ublicity* 5ybrid Messages and ublic olicy 6ssues.2

7ournal of 3dvertising %0.4 (1994)

2"arrh! 7ames 3. 28ffects of brand placements in motion pictures.2 roceedings of the 199 &onference of the3merican 3cademy of 3dvertising.:

3-ehu! 7ean;Marc! and 8tienne Bressoud. 2

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Types of Product Placements

=sing integration and implicitness! +3ustos > eguin4classify product placements (-) into;

Implicit PPL* 3n implicit - is one $here the brand! the firm or the product is present

$ithin the program $ithout being formally mentioned. 6t plays a passive! conte,tual role. 6n

the implicit - the logo! the brand name! or the name of the firm appear $ithout a clear

demonstration of product benefits. ?or instance inRa.One (%11)!

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Evolution of Product Placements in !ollywood

"no$n to reflect and shape societal trends! the oldest instance of product placement is seen in

the movie Shree 420(19) $here RaG "apoor+s entry scene includes a prominent &oca;&ola

banner overhead. Hther e,amples of early years include Mobil in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (19#)

and RaGdoot Mortorcycle inBoy(19/). he practice piced up pace post liberaliation as a

rising middle class! proliferation of modern themes and increased targeting improved audience

receptiveness to$ards product placements.!il "o #agal $ai (199/) featured several brands such

as epsi! -evis and "iller 7eans. he real game;changer $as "aal (1999)! main characters $ere

sho$n not only drining &oe but also mentioning it in multiple conversations and associating it

$ith themes of friendship and love. his $as supposed to have fetched ubhash Ihai nearly 4J

of the budget in a time $hen producers $ere battling $ith increased production costs and $ere

e,ploring alternate sources of fundingK.

"no$n for escapist and e,hibitionist fare! the formulaic approach allo$s easy avenues to place

brands effectively. ongs and dance provide filmmaers a $ay to sho$case brands! as $as seen

in the filmKu%h Ku%h $ota $ai (1999) $here a single song included 1 brands. More recently!

films try and use brands already endorsed by the leading actors. ?or e,ample! 5yundai cars in

hah Ruh "han+sRa Ne Bana !i &odi (%#) and!on 2 (%11). -ately! brands have been

incorporated into the plot of the movies! from the protagonist $oring in the fashion magaine

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Process of Product Placements

hree $ays in $hich - can occur*

6t simply happens. his is done only to add greater credibility to the storyLscenes

6tCs arranged! and a certain amount of the product serves as compensation

?inancial compensation

6t began as a do;it yourself e,ercise before dedicated agencies started sourcing both $ays. Most

of the discussions revolve primarily around the scenes! conte,t! focus and duration of the brand

visibility.

T"eoretical underpinnings

3ccording to (Russell 199#/) product placement can be classified on the basis of three

dimensions visual! auditory and plot connection.

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Advantages of Prod!t P"a!e#ents

E$%osre

Large no&of %eo%"e

over a"ong t'#e

Fre(en!)

Peo%"e*at!+

#ov'es#ore t+anon!e

Sor!eAsso!'at'o

n

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ent ,)!e"e,r't'es

Re!a""

-'de!overage

and#"t'%"ee$%osres

.)%assReg"at'o

n

"a*sre"ated to

,anned

%rod!tss!+ as!'garettes a"!o+o"

Target'ng

R'g+t 0'ndof #ov'e

garantees e1e!t'verea!+

R's0s of Prod!t P"a!e#ents

T'#e ofe$%osre

Un"ess t+e!a#era2oo#s3eas) to

#'ss

L'#'tedA%%ea"

Can4t

des!'r,edeta'"edfeatres

La!0 of!ontro"

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!ontro"6na"

%rod!t

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So!'a"!on!erns

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Negat'veP"a!e#en

t

O%%os'te

'#ages*'"" +ar#

,rand

here can only be t$o situations in $hich the combination of modality and plot connections can

be established@ Match and Mismatch. he combination can said to be a matchC $hen the

auditory method of placement is higher in use than the visual and the brand names are audible in

narration and is deeply lined $ith the story $hereas the combination can said to be a mismatchC

$hen the visual method of placement of brands is higher in application than auditory in plot

connection. "ey e,amples of a match includeBaghan (%%) $hich creatively integrated varied

brands such as 3rchies! 6&6&6 Ban! ?ord and ide into the story. ?ailures include films such as

Salaam(E()sh* (%#) $here the camera ooms more on the brand 6ra 7e$els rather than the

Ge$elry and +aadein ,200- $hich had an anti;materialism theme contrasted against multiple

product placements.

9 &rai! ?ergus! 6.M and Robert .-. (19/%) D-evels of rocessing* 3 ?rame$or for Memory Research!: 7ournalof

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Mar#et tructure

Bolly$ood movies can be categoried on the basis of follo$ing three factors*;

Ienres! -ead 3ctors and Budget

$% &enres

ifferent types of genres in Bolly$ood movies are;

i% 'ction(in this genre of movies the protagonist usually ends up in a desperate situation

due to a risy turn taen. 8.g.!/%tion &a%son(%14)!Ro1dy Rathore(%1%)!!hoom

(%10)

ii% 'dventure( here the story is about a Gourney taen by the protagonist to reach a

destination $here the protagonist encounters a lot of obstacles to reach hisLher

destination. 8.g.!E Chalis Ki 3ast 3o%al(%/)!indagi Na 'ilegi !oara(%11)

iii% )omedy(these types of movies are intended to mae the audience laugh through a series

of funny or comical events. 8.g.!&aane Bhi !o +aaron(19#%)!Khosla Ka Ghosla(%K)!

$era #heri(%)

iv% )rime(it sho$s story $here a crime has already been committed or is being committed.

8.g.! Satya(199#)! Gangs O5 6asseypur ) 7 )) (%1%)! Shootout at 3ohand1ala(%#)

v% *antasy(here the story is mostly about supernatural or a magic. 6t may also include

elements lie science fiction in it as $ell. 8.g.!#K(%14)!/8ooa(1991)!&oer(%1%)

vi% +istorical(it is usually a biography! period piece etc. $here a story about a real event or a

person is sho$n in a te,tboo manner. 8.g.! /shoa "he Great(%1)!'angal #andey(%)!

"he 3egend o5 Bhagat Singh(%%)

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vii% +orror(here audience is deliberately tried to frighten or scare through use of shoc!

suspense or shoc. 8.g.!$aunted ( !(%11)!Ragini ''S 2(%14)!Kaal(%)

viii% Mystery( the story evolves through a series of mysterious events and the suspense is

prevailed till the very last. 8.g.! "alaash (%1%)!Kahaani (%1%)ix% Romantic(it mostly involves a story about the protagonist+s relationships! engagements

etc. he maGority of these films features mutual attraction and love bet$een a man and a

$oman. 8.g.! Saathiya(%%)! Cheeni Kum(%/)!Ku%h Ku%h $ota $ai(199#)

x% Drama( these movies portrays realistic character in a serious! plot driven presentations

involving intense character development and interaction. 8.g.! Shor in the City (%11)!

!(!ay(%10)! Shanghai(%1%)

xi% Musical(these cinematic forms are those that emphasie full;scale scores or song and

dance routines in a significant $ay. 5ere the narrative is mostly centered on musical or

dance performance. 8.g.!3ondon !reams(%9)!Ro% On9(%#)!Ro%star(%11)

$% Lead actors

Most of the Bolly$ood movies are highly influenced by the lead actors in featuring in it*

i. uper tars@ ii. tars@ iii. Ae$ &omers

,% !udgeti. 5igh Budget@ ii. Budget@ iii. -o$ Budget

Product )ategories

hought there are many categories of product that can be placed through Bolly$ood movies!

ho$ever! follo$ing $e shall be $oring $ith only follo$ing three categories of product*;

i. ?M&I@ ii. 3utomobiles@ iii. 8lectronics

3 study $ill be made to find out $hich for a product category $hat is the mi, of 0 factors

defined above that $ill have the ma,imum impact.

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In-Dept" Interviews and *ocus &roup Discussion

./0ectives

o understand the fre1uency of movie vie$ership! the preference for t"e viewing

locationand for the different type of movies

o no$ the level of awarenessand recall for product placement in Bolly$ood movies

o chec $hether the consumers feel the product placement as relevant and suitable for

brands

o identify the various attri/utes2c"aracteristics of product placement that consumers

feel necessary for creating a positive e,perience (in terms of attentionLliingLinterest to

buy)

Met"odology

3 sample of 4 respondents (movie buffs) $ere intervie$ed in an unstructured format to

understand their interest levels for different types of movies and to get their vie$s and attitudes

on certain product placement in movies by sho$ing a couple of clips. 3 detailed depth intervie$

$as conducted for each of the respondent to find their preference for the location of vie$ing!

type of movies and the various characteristics that they ideally e,pect to be in a product

placement. 3 prior consent $as taen from each of the respondent regarding their $illingness to

participate in the intervie$.

Respondent3s Demograp"ics 4 In-dept" interviews

he respondents $ere chosen to holistically represent the target population both in terms of

mentality and behavior. he selection of respondents $as carefully done using a screening test of

1hether they ne1 aout produ%t pla%ement in Bolly1ood mo:ies. 3lso the behavioral attitude of

the respondents $as taen into consideration i.e.! all the respondent $ere regular vie$ers of

Bolly$ood movies. heir ages ranged from %% to 04 and all of them $ere from an urban

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bacground. 8Nual number of men and $omen $ere intervie$ed to get a fair picture and to

avoid the gender bias. $o out of the four respondents $ere movie critics! $ho $rite revie$s on

different movies periodically. hese four people from different bacgrounds connected on a

common note of interest to$ards the Bolly$ood movies $ere enough to obtain! understand and

analye the diversity of thoughts! differences in preferences! and variations in attitudes to$ards

various types of product placement in movies. ,"rans%ripts o5 t1o o5 the inter:ie1s is gi:en in

/nnexure -

Location Respective +ostel Rooms

'verage Duration per respondent 1;% minutes

*ormat Hne;to;one personal intervie$

tructure =nstructured

"ale ( 'ethodology employed 5or depth(inter:ie1

Respondent3s Demograp"ics 4 *ocus group discussion

he respondents $ere chosen using the follo$ing criteria

eople $ho #now a/out product placementin movies

eople $ho are ardent viewers of movies and $rite critical revie$s on the same

Mar#eting ent"usiasts lie;minded people interested in mareting

he group consisted of eight people and it had an eNual representation of both men and $omen.

here $ere in the age group of %%;%# years. 3ll the participants $ere from M35 club

(Mareting club of 66M Bangalore) $ho ne$ $ell about product placement in movies. he

group $as formed $ith these people to get critical insights for the budding concept of product

placement%

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.verall Insig"ts

&onsumer Behavior

Respondents on an average $atch to K movies in a month. hey believe that it is a

leisure activity and the fre1uencycan vary based on preference for an actorLactress or

even a director.

3lthough most of the respondents love to $atch movies in the multiple,es or theatres!

there is no fi,ed pattern observed in the vie$ing location. Based on the convenience! the

respondents also $atch movies online! on rental or even on 5 platforms.

3ll of the respondents generally $atch commercial(or even masalamovies). ome of

the respondents also $atch art movie! though it is uncommon and some are indifferent.

roduct placement a$areness

3ll of the respondents $ere Nuicly able to recall product placement in Bolly$ood

movies.

Ehile some of the respondents $ere able to recall the brands placed in the movies (e.g.

)diots ?ortis!

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Researc" 7uestions 8 +ypot"esis *ormulation

MRP$( Understanding consumer response 9/e"avior and /elief constructs: towards

different types of product placements across different demograp"ics

RQ1 Do consumers notice product placements in movies?

5 &onsumers notice products in movies.

RQ2 Doesproduct placements in movies influence buying decisions of consumers?

5 roduct placements influence the product consideration set of consumers.

RQ3 Does the type of product placement influence the consumer response?

5 he product visible on the screen affects the consumer response.

5 he product mentioned by name by any of the characters affects the consumer

response.

5 he product used by any of the characters in the movie affects the consumer

response.

MRP,( Estimating correlation /etween factors li#e genre of t"e movie; star cast etc%; wit"

t"e product placement

RQ1 What type of product placement leads to highest recall?

5 =sage by a principal character leads to highest recall.

MRP

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5 8,cessive appearance ( P4) is looed at favorably.

RQ2 Does product placement particularly ne! launches impact a!areness set of

the consumer?

5 roduct placement! particularly ne$ launches! e,pands the a$areness set of the

consumer.

RQ3 Is the impact "favourable recall# of product placement influenced by the star

cast in the movie?

5 3ssociation $ith leading industry stars leads to favourable recall for products.

RQ$ Does pro%ection levels&'oom gets the attention of the user thereby enabling

recall?

5 Ooom levels do influence the attention given by the vie$er

RQ( Is it necessary for the products to gel !ith the conte)t of the movie?"i*e*

should it be fit and relevant to the story to improve remembrance#

5 Fes! it maes it easy to remember the product

RQ+ Is brand name visibility necessary to help vie!ers associate !ith the product

easily?

5 Brand name helps for easy association $ith the product

RQ, Does the duration for !hich the product appears matter significantly?

5 uration of the product on screen matters

egmentation of T"e Respondents

he psychographic and demographic characteristics of the respondents from both the depth

intervie$ and focus group are as follo$s; ( this is the pro5iling o5 the respondents 1ho represent

the target population i.e.; ardent :ie1ers o5 mo:ies

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sychographics emographics

Usage 5eavy users of movies (i.e.! K to /

movies a month)

'ge8 Place Respondents are in the age

group of %%;0% years! 66M students

Lifestyle ependent! ?un loving! Hutspoen

'ttitudes Movies are seen for rela,ing and

leisure activities

.pinions 5igh inclination to$ards

commercial and bloc buster movies

Interests -ies to hang out $ith friends or

relatives for $atching a movie

&eodemograp"ic =rbanL MB3 college

students $ith a similar mentality to$ards

movies (high degree of affect behavior

to$ards $atching movies $as e,hibited during

the intervie$)

Life stage tudent (MB3) and 8,ecutive

professionals (8I) $ho are in their final

years

&ender here $as an eNual representation

of both men and $omen to ensure a fair

representation and to avoid the gender bias

+o//ies 8ntertainmentLportsL-iterary

interests

Income and social status Most of the

respondents in this category are e,troverts $ho

lie to enhance their social capital! income

levels are not significant because of their life;

stage (students)

!enefits oug"t -aughterL good storylineL

3ctor or 3ctress favoritism

7uantitative Met"ods To !e Used 9*uture cope:

6n addition to primary analysis! $e $ould use the follo$ing Nuantitative methods*

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$% )orrelation 'nalysis( Based on the Nuantitative Nuestionnaire! $e $ould be conducting

a correlation analysis bet$een the maret structure and product categories to get a best fit

for products in different movie segments.

,% )lustering 'nalysis(Based on the survey responses! $e $ould cluster vie$ers based on

various attributes of product placement.

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'PPENDI> $( Transcripts of Dept" Interview

'nnexure 4 Interview $

Participant 9"auna#; Male 4 ,? years:Person Discussion

6ntervie$er 5o$ often do you $atch Bolly$ood moviesQ

articipant6 used to $atch lie K to / movies a month but it is no$ reduced to once a

$ee

6ntervie$erEhere do you prefer to $atch the moviesQ Eill you prefer $atching them

online or multiple, or theatresQ

articipant6 prefer $atching them online in my laptop rather than going to theatres or

multiple,

6ntervie$er

Ehat genres of movies do you lie or associate yourself $ithQ (?or e,ample

commercial! social! art! drama etc.!)

articipant

6 $ould most liely prefer commercial (some type of masala movies or the

big budget ones) but 6 also occasionally $atch art movies (lie the Hscar

$inning ones)

6ntervie$er o you recognie or observe different products being placed in the moviesQ

articipant

Fes it is very much visible in recent movies and the trend of advertising in

movies is also gradually gaining attention amongst the brands 6 guess. Many

placements of the past movies had a bacground presence but no$ it is very

much on the foreground and has a clear visibility.

6ntervie$ero you thin product placement in movies is a good ideaQ o you consider

it relevantQ

articipantFes! 6 thin this is also a medium of communication for the brands to the

customer. But 6 prefer the placements that are subtle and not overdone

6ntervie$er &an you recall a product placement in the movies in recent timesQ

articipantFes! actually many. ?or e,ample ?ortis hospital in 3 idiots! Oandu balm

and fevicol inDabangg; &oe in -aal; uracell in./

6ntervie$er

3 clip from the recent movieI! Iillette product placement $as sho$n and

the reaction to it $as ased

articipant

his clip! since it comes along $ith a short love story! passes pleasantly and 6

do not thin behavior of the consumers $ill result in conation upon vie$ing

this placement

6ntervie$erEhat are the different type of attributes! from the ones listed! you thin are

effective for a product placementQ (participant $as sho$n 1%;10 attributes)

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articipant

?oreground proGection! =sage of the product! Repetition! uration on

creen! opularity of actorLactress! Movie success! 3$areness of the product!

Aumber of product in the entire movie! &onte,t of brand placement

(positive! negative! neutral)

6ntervie$er3re there any other attributes that you thin should be added apart from the

ones mentioned aboveQ

articipant Fes! fit in t"e context! for the products $ith the storyline is necessary.

6ntervie$er han you for your time

'nnexure 4 Interview ,

Participant 9Tanu; *emale 4 ,@ years:

Person Discussion

6ntervie$er 5o$ often do you $atch Bolly$ood moviesQ

articipant 6 $atch % or 0 movies a $ee (occasionally $hen 6 am free! 6 $atch 4)

6ntervie$erEhere do you prefer to $atch the moviesQ Eill you prefer $atching them

online or multiple, or theatresQ

articipant6 prefer $atching them in multiple, or theatres@ but on certain occasions 6

$ould also not mind $atching it in my system

6ntervie$erEhat genres of movies do you lie or associate yourself $ithQ (?or e,ample

commercial! social! art! drama etc.!)

articipant 6 am indifferent to$ards the movie genres but 6 $ould certainly $atch theones $hich are recommended by my friends as good

6ntervie$er o you recognie or observe different products being placed in the moviesQ

articipant

Fes 6 recognie products being advertised in the movies! lie for e,ample on

top of the mind 6 can recall the hah Ruh "han+s description of No#ia

Lumiamobile+s features in Chennai Express.

6ntervie$ero you thin product placement in movies is a good ideaQ o you consider

it relevantQ

articipant6 thin it depends on the audience pool and the type of movie. 6 believe there

is a correlation /etween t"e movie type and t"e product type6ntervie$er &an you recall a product placement in the movies in recent timesQ

articipant3s 6 said! Chennai Expressis one that 6 recalled! others $ould include the

brands that actors use! lie for e,ample hah Ruh "han using &'P s"irts

6ntervie$er3 clip from the recent movieI! Iillette product placement $as sho$n and

the reaction to it $as ased

articipant his is in;fact good! 6 lied the $ay the song is conceived to gel $ith the

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love-story%6 thin this might create a positive effect since at the end of that

t$o;minute ad ind of song! they sho$ the /rand3s namefor the full screen

6ntervie$erEhat are the different type of attributes! from the ones listed! you thin are

effective for a product placementQ (participant $as sho$n 1%;10 attributes)

articipant ?oreground proGection! =sage of the product! Repetition! uration oncreen! 3$areness of the product! uration of Brand name visibility

6ntervie$er3re there any other attributes that you thin should be added apart from the

ones mentioned aboveQ

articipant

Fes! relevance of t"e product to t"e story line ! for e,ample some hi;fi

bies and cars being used in action seNuence of 7ames Bond movies and so

on.

6ntervie$er han you for your time

'ppendix ,( Movie 'nalysis

)'E TUD5(0appy e! ear 9,A$=:

No of Prints(4 !udget( Rs. 1% crore

)ast(hah Ruh "han! eepia aduone! 3bhishe Bachchan

!ox office status(uper 5it

Director(?arah "han

Producer(Iauri "han

!rands featured( -enovo! Aoia! Renault uster! ommy 5ilfiger! 5itachi! uma! Microsoft!

Basin Robbins! Marriott! 3tlantis! Iroupon! -u, &oy!

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he 3tlantis in ubai is the location of the film+s second half. Eith multiple dialogue references

and shot from several vantage points! the hotel even received space on all posters and

promotional material. Aoia $as the ne,t most $idely publicied brand as it is mentioned in

dialogue more than once $hen the vie$ers are encouraged to vote using their Aoia phones. Aot

Gust that! ey installations and hoardings are seen times on;screen. otal time captured by the

brand stands at around 1% minutes. imilarly! the lead actor is sho$n driving the Renault uster

in the first half of the movie capturing nearly %% minutes of total screen time. -enovo gained

from association as one of the characters a hacer is sho$n using the eNuipment resulting in 1%

screen appearances for the brand. Hther ey brands such as Basin Robbins and Mad over donuts

$ere also involved $ith commercial tie;ups preceding the release of the film. 3pparel brands

such as ommy 5ilfiger and uma also received close;ups during costume change seNuences.

Hther R";sponsored brands such as

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!udget( Rs.4 crore

)ast(3amir "han! 3sin! 7iah "han

!ox office status(Blocbuster

Director(3. R. Murugadoss

Producer(3llu 3ravind! Madhu Mantena

Aot very often you see a particular brand hogging the same

limelight as the movie itself (in $hich it is placed) even before

the release of the movie. &irca %#! during the promotions of Gha8ini!

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total runtime! appro,imately 1#J of the total runtime. But the maGority of it is dominated by

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herefore! sample sie S (1.9K)%T (.) L (.)%S @CB%

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MRP=-

R7$9i:

roduct featuring only

once in a movie is more

favourable

MRP=-

R7$9ii:

roduct featuring %;4times in a movie is

more favourable

MRP=-

R7$9iii

:

roduct featuring more

than 4 times is more

favourable

MRP=-

R7,

roduct placement in

movies is favourablefor ne$ product launch

MRP=-

R7