Involve Friends in Product Placement Plots

Stay aware of product placements in blockbuster movies and on popular TV shows of items your store carries or could carry. Then take two more steps: First, stock up on those items so you have them ready for sale. Second, encourage your shoppers to go see the movie or watch the TV show with friends who are likely to get involved in the plot.
     Notice not only what product is used, but also the personality of the character using the product and the nature of the use. Then in your advertising and personal selling, reinforce the image. This builds sales even further.
     Researchers at Griffith University in Australia analyzed product placements in James Bond movies. They concluded that there were major image types, depending on what character in the story used the product and how the character used it. These researchers along with others at Coastal Carolina University and Boston College fit the image types into a framework based on the work of psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Here’s my adaptation of that typology:

• Superheroes take responsibility for rescuing us. Ads and personal selling should promise to go above and beyond. 
• Coaches reassure us. Shoppers want to be encouraged to buy the product. 
• Gurus bring experience and a sharp mind. The customer expects the ads and salespersons to magically identify the customer’s needs. 
• Playmates love fun. Place more emphasis on how the shopping experience feels than in how the product or service works. 
• Rascals help the customer take advantage of the good will of others. 

     Research findings from Eastern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University, and Illinois Institute of Technology indicate that all this works best when the shopper has seen the product placement in a high-involvement story while sitting with friends.
     The Illinois researchers instructed study participants to silently watch a situation comedy while beside either a friend or someone the participant didn’t know. Woven into the situation comedy plot line were products with brand names the viewer would remember. After watching the episode, each study participant was asked individually about opinions toward the product.
     In cases where the plot line was of limited interest to the participant, opinions of the product were not affected by whether the co-viewer was a friend or stranger. But when the participant got involved in the plot, attitudes toward the product were more favorable when the silent co-viewer was a friend than when a stranger.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

Click below for more: 
Sell to Fit Story Product Placement 
Mythologize Your Store