The effectiveness of brand placements in the movies: Levels of placements, explicit and implicit memory, and brand choice behavior

The effect of brand placements within a movie was investigated. Specifically, the influence of three different levels of brand placements and prior information about brand placements on brand placements' effectiveness were examined. The three different levels were a visual brand placement when the brand was in the background, used by main character, and was an integral part of the unfolding story. Prior information was manipulated by either positive or negative information about brand placements as a form of news story and a control condition in which neither positive nor negative information about brand placement was presented.; The effect of brand placements was measured using explicit (recognition) and implicit memory tests (word-fragment completion), and a behavioral choice measure. The results confirmed that levels of brand placements influence the recognition of the target brand. Recognition rates for brand names seen in the movie were highest in the story connection condition, next highest when used by the main character, and lowest when the brand was placed in the background. However, prior information about placements, whether it was positive or negative, did not influence the recognition of brand appeared in the movies.; The results of the word-fragment completion test demonstrated that the presentation of the brand in the movie improved participants' implicit memory for the products regardless of the level of brand placement within the movie. Further, participants who saw the brand in the movie were more likely to choose that brand than the participants who did not see the brand in the movie. Because the choice behavior measure was framed as a token of appreciation for participating in the research project, the findings of this experiment suggest that the brand placement influenced audiences' implicit choice behavior.; The implications of the current study's findings were discussed and the limitations for future research were acknowledged.