The advent of TiVo, enabling television viewers to zap past the commercials, has left advertisers seeking new ways to use the medium.
Enter product placement, on which PQ Media estimates 2006 spending on television and film totaled $2.9 billion in the U.S. The TV portion, accounting for 72% of the total, is projected to better than triple this year.
Film placement made up 26% of the spending, while 2% showed up as other media. But that latter category should show some growth, as placements in video games proliferate.
“Spending grew at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 36.2% from 2001 to 2006 due to the growing use of product placement among major marketers, the shift to paid placements from non-paid added value and barter arrangements, and the emergence of measurement tools,” commented Veronis Suhler Stevenson in its recent media spending report.
IAG Research, which tracks product integration on more than 20 cable networks, notes that viewers who recall the brand cite a positive shift in their opinion of the brand after seeing the integration.
And watch for the fall debut of the ABC sitcom “The Cavemen,” based on Geico’s commercial characters. With so much recognition, it’s as if the series will be a 30-minute advertisement for the insurance firm.
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