“The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Apprentice,” “Survivor: Guatemala – The Maya Empire”: General Motors' Pontiac division has enjoyed product placement success on all of them. But Pontiac marketing manager Mark-Hans Richer says that no two product placement opportunities are alike.
"All our product placement opportunities share the same strategy, but every one has a different way of execution," Richer says. "It's all about product fusion. Your brand literally has to enhance the reason the fan base watches the show. If you can become part of that experience, your brand is going to get more recognition and appreciation." In other words, the personality of the brand has to fit with that of the chosen television property. If the product placement does not help enhance the story line, Richer says it is probably not worth the investment.
Pontiac has used product placement to introduce the Torrent SUV, the G6, the Solstice sportster, and the Montana Sports Van. The campaigns increased brand awareness and acceptance, which Richer says has been the ultimate goal for the automaker. "It's hard to put a sales number on a marketing effort,” he notes. “They all have different objectives, but they all eventually get down to same end benefit – introduction of a new car, lead captures, brand awareness, and improvement of opinion of the brand."
Among Pontiac's current and recent product placement success stories:
- “Survivor: Guatemala” and the Torrent SUV
Richer says Pontiac placed “the show within the product” this season by putting six former Survivors in a series of weekly short features, “Survivor Search in the City,” where they traveled in Torrents to hit the "urban jungle." A sweepstakes tie-in allows consumers who spot one of the stars in a Torrent to take and submit a photo for a chance to win five of the SUVs. "‘Survivor’ is harder to measure because it's more viral than a call to action to buy a Torrent,” Richer says. “Traffic to the Torrent Website is up 500% since the season began [on Sept. 15], and traffic to CBS's ‘Survivor’ Website has been up. We can't attribute it all to the product placement, but there seems to be a good cause and effect." - “The Apprentice” and the Solstice
The contestants' task on the April 14 episode was to design a brochure for Pontiac's new sports car. During the NBC reality show, Pontiac ran a 60-second ad that showed off the vehicle and directed viewers to its Website, where they could register to be one of the first 1,000 owners, who would received a limited-edition version of the car. Only 15 minutes after the announcement, traffic at the site increased 1,393%. Viewers could take their registration forms to their local dealer beginning at 2 p.m. the next day for the prebuy; the first 1,000 units were sold by 2:41 p.m. Orders were received from more than 650 dealers in 47 states, and thousands of people were put on the waiting list. - “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and the Solstice, the G6, and the Torrent
Pontiac struck a deal with ABCs late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to present a series of televised outdoor concerts at a venue it built in Hollywood, the Pontiac Garage. The concert series began June 21, and so far more than 30 performances by established and up-and-coming artists have been held. The public attends the concerts, which are streamed live back to the studios. At the events (and on the show), Pontiac showcases its Solstice, G6, and Torrent. - “Regis & Kelly Live” and the Montana
Between Jan. 17 and 24, more than 2 million viewers entered a sweepstakes to win one of 20 2005 Pontiac Montana SV6 Sport Vans to viewers who collect clues necessary to enter the sweepstakes. Contestants had to submit five correct “clues” to have the chance to be contacted via phone between Jan. 31 and Feb. 25 for their shot at answering, live on the air, a trivia question about a previous show. In addition, the show's Travel Trivia wheel was transformed into an Extreme Van-A-Day prize wheel, giving contestants a chance for add-ons including XM Satellite Radio service, OnStar "Directions and Connections" service, a maintenance contract, gas for a full year, and a mobile entertainment package of DVDs, music, and games. A chance to win an additional SV6 was also on the wheel, and three of the daily prizewinners received that premium. - “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and the G6
Oprah kicked off her 19th season on Sept. 13, 2004, by giving 276 audience members – all of whom had been determined to need a set of wheels – a fully loaded 2005 Pontiac G6. The audience members were able to customize their cars with a choice of color, sunroof, heated leather seats, remote start, telescoping steering wheel, adjustable pedals, OnStar Safety and Security, and XM satellite radio. The day before the episode aired, Pontiac had about 33,000 visitors to its Website. That grew to 85,000 the day of the episode and 114,000 the day after. In the six months after the placement, 27,332 G6s were sold, according to automotive research group Autodata. "It was in no way, case, or form a traditional deal,” Richer says, “but the $7.7 million we spent on that product placement was probably the most efficient thing we did all year."
Pontiac is currently running an in-game sweeps through college football telecasts on ESPN. Viewers vote weekly for the Pontiac Game-Changing Performance, and one contestant has a chance to attend the 2006 Rose Bowl and appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Richer says a few hundred thousand votes a week are received, and that number grows as the season progresses.
And Richer says another product placement that fits the current “Survivor” storyline will take place the first week of December: "What will happen on the show will be very consistent with our product placement strategy – how do you let the product placement enhance the show further."
