Marketers should forget about product placement. In this era of high-tech magic, such a strategy seems archaic at best. The new trend is all about digital product integration, where a marketer's
products can suddenly appear in scenes of TV shows
after they've been shot. Currently, advertisers including Chevrolet and Dannon yogurt are using the new technology, which is expected to grow
in popularity as marketers continue to seek new ways to reach consumers who routinely record programming and then skip through commercials during playback. While traditional product integration can be
obvious and sometimes heavy-handed, the digital technique strives to be more subtle by making the product relevant to a storyline, sneaking a brand name or ad message in while people are watching
their favorite show. For instance, when Kellogg wanted to get its products into a TV show, Marathon Ventures, a marketing firm that specializes in digital product integration, found a scene in which
stars of "Yes, Dear" were drinking wine and eating cheese and fruit, and inserted a highly visible box of its Club crackers on the coffee table. "Digital brand integration is part of the evolution of
product placement. It's simply another tool marketers use to get products integrated into shows," said Marathon founder and president David Brenner. "If you can put it in a package, we can put it in a
show."
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