• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, September 26, 2008

The Nielsen Company recently reported that product placements for the first half of 2008 fell by almost 15% on primetime programming for the 11 measured networks on broadcast and cable television. Broadcast television placements grew by almost 12%, while placements on cable television declined by 20%.

There were 204,919 brand occurrences on cable and broadcast networks between January and June of this year, according to Nielsen Product Placement Service.  The most prevalent placement type on broadcast television was "foreground" which represented 30% of all product placements.

On cable television, "wardrobe" placements were most common, accounting for 28% of all placements.  "Foreground" placements, which accounted for 26% of all placements, were also prevalent in cable programs.

Prime-time product placement occurrences on broadcast network programs increased overall by almost 12% during the first and second quarters of 2008.  The top 10 programs featured 21,427 occurrences between January and June of this year-compared to 17,370 occurrences in the same time period in 2007.

The increase in the overall broadcast occurrences can primarily be attributed to "Biggest Loser" and "Hell's Kitchen." During the first half of 2008, "American Idol," was the top program, in terms of the number of placements.  Four of the top 10 programs aired on NBC.

The top 10 featured brands on prime-time broadcast network television increased by 38.5% in the first half this year, from 6,848 occurrences in the first half of 2007 to 9,485 between January and June of 2008.  Coca-Cola was again the top brand. 24-Hour Fitness Centers and Chef Revival cooking apparel rounded out the top three brands on broadcast television.

Among the top five product categories on broadcast network television, Apparel ranked first, with 4,493 placements.  Of these, Chef Revival apparel accounted for 1,308 occurrences.  The Soft Drinks, Fitness Centers/Clubs, Football Team, and University categories also ranked among the top five.The top 10 Cable programs featuring product placements accounted for 85,480 occurrences in the first half of 2008-a decrease of 8% from 92,925 occurrences during the first and second quarters of 2007. 

The decrease in cable occurrences stems from changes in program line-ups.  Several shows that featured a significant number of product placements were aired less frequently, or were removed from Cable networks' primetime line-ups in the first half of 2008.

During the first half of 2008, "American Chopper" on TLC was again the top program. Four of the programs in the Top 10 air on TLC, and another four air on MTV. 

TLC's "Trading Spaces," which aired six of the top 10 best performing placements during the first half of this year, had the most successful product placements.  Home Depot offered the highest impact levels - almost 75% of viewers recognized and responded positively to those placements.  Overall, nine Home Depot placements - on "Trading Space" and HGTV's "Colorsplash" - ranked among the 10 top performing product placements for the first half of 2008.

The top 10 featured brands on prime-time cable network television in this year's first half accounted for 22,334 occurrences-a 19% decrease from 27,696 occurrences in 2007. 

Orange County Choppers apparel was the top brand and Orange County Choppers motorcycles claimed second place.

With 26,063 placements, Apparel was easily the number one product placement category on cable television during the first half of 2008.  The top three apparel brands include:

• Orange County Choppers Apparel
• Under Armour Apparel
• Big Black Apparel

The chart below lists the top cable programs with the most Apparel placements. MTV dominates the list.

For more information, please visit Nielsen here.