Product Placement: Its Just Infotainment

While screenwriters, TV writers and other "ethical artists" have been balking at the notion of incorporating subliminal and not-so subliminal product placement ads and messages into scripts, Gail Collins from the New York Times opines today on whether that war is worth waging at all.

Especially when wages (and ad revenue) is so hard to come by in this new period of economic reflection. I was actually intrigued by Gail's take on on the topic (click the link to read her column), but...

My opinion? Am I insulted when I see a Starbucks coffee cup sitting in front of a news anchorperson? Or does it bother me that the producers of Boston Legal are getting paid for William Shatner to pitch Viagra?

Nah! Its all fair and fun, and it doesn't lead me to say "How could they do something as unethical as pitch a product on the news or within the script of a favorite TV show??"

Next question: Does it influence me to buy the product that's subliminally promoted? Nah. Not yet anyway. But, I'm a lousy shopper, especially these days.

Last question: Will these types of product placements have a negative impact on the brand?
I'll leave that to the rocket scientists that analyze consumer behavior. My guess is the answer is "no". I'm actually waiting for some pharmaceutical company to invent a pill that triggers visuals of certain products when the brain sends a mood change message.

Capturing Eyeballs: Stimulus Packages For Shock and Awe

Do I have your attention? You bet I do.

And, if you're like 95% of those that we canvassed, you're going to look at both of these photos for at least 45 seconds. (photo credits to Ed Cameron at Air New Zealand and to FeelUnique.com) And you're going to tell at least two people to come to this blog and take a look.

The eyeball catching strategies aren't necessarily new. But they are fun.
And, they're extremely low cost to implement. (Shaving cream and a razor cost $2/person, and you can hire human billboards for as little as a slice of pizza)
And, they create buzz.
And, the recall rates jump off the charts.


The full story is courtesy of the Feb 17 edition of the NY Times...Good coverage credit belongs to NYT Advertising columnist Andy Newman

What Advertising Vehicle Really Works Best?

As advertisers carry on the debate over the next great marketing medium, a study released by the Advertising Specialty Institute found that it's not TV, print or radio that is grabbing customers attention the best; but promotional items.

One of the riveting results of the survey-- the cost basis for eye-ball catching, long-lasting (durable), utility-centric premiums is as low as 4/10 of a penny.

Not a $40 CPM, not a $4 CPM, not a $.40 CPM... but a fraction of a penny...

And, prescient pundits that we are, merely a month ago, we profiled a brilliant premium idea; the Laptop Cabana from MGS Brands



The ASI survey asked 600 participants (mostly over the age of 21) to recall promotional items received over the last 12 months and their effect on their purchasing habits. Key points raised by the study were:

• 8/10 respondents remembered a brand based on a product they had received.
• 24% said that they were more likely to do business with an advertiser based on items they receive
• Nearly 2/3 indicated they had done business with an advertiser after receiving a promotional gift.
• 80% of promotional items were kept as they were considered useful.

These statistics concluded that marketers get a more favorable return on investment from CPI, significant recollection amongst those who received promotional gifts, and improved purpose amongst recipients to make purchases from the promoter.

Crisis Management: When All Else is Failing (?)

We don't often copy and paste private emails, but somehow this wound up in the wrong blackberry. We can't verify whether its real or not, but gee whiz...since it seems like every IR expert across the country has been laid off by their corporate employers, maybe there's something to the approach below?


NEWS ALERT from The Wall Street Journal

The White House's nominee for director of the CIA, Leon Panetta, has earned more than $700,000 in speaking and consulting fees since the beginning of 2008, with some of the payments coming from troubled banks and an investment firm that owns companies that do business with federal national security agencies. Panetta is set to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday about his nomination.

FROM: The Office of The President of The United States

TO:Mr. Mark Murph, CEO LeadershipIQ

Dear Mr. Murphy-

As you can see from yet the latest news story profiling the blunders being made by my SVP of HR, I've decided to fire my current HR director and I'm hoping that you'd be interested in the job?

I thought at first it might have been the job application forms that were being used, but I discovered this morning that nobody was actually even looking at the forms. Probably because we had brought some people over from the SEC to help with the vetting process and review the documents. I'm correcting that issue too; we've offered Harry Markopolos the job of overseeing Mary Shapiro over at SEC.

The good news is that your salary will be capped at $400k, the bad news is we might have to do what my good friend Governor Arnold out in Cali did--i.e. hold off weekly paychecks until the dust clears.

But, you'll have the use of a car and driver, which has been donated to the White House by Tom Daschle. Apparently, just three days before I arrived, auditors here determined that the US Government was actually bankrupt.

Making matters worse, Hank Paulson left here with the keys to not only the executive washroom, but also the keys to the US Mint. So, we're getting by on donations for the time being. Tim G. says he's getting a copy of the key to Mint made just as soon as his Ace Hardware credit card account gets cleared up. If Geithner can't get the problem resolved, I might be forced to bring in Bernie Madoff to raise some short term cash, but I'd need a new HR director to make that decision.

Yes, we've got some serious problems on the HR side of the equation. I need you to help address them. The good news is that morale here is high, its just that the people we've hired, or are trying to hire, are a bit light-headed when it comes to judgment skills.

It might be because the entire White House staff, including the Treasury team had tuned into that CNBC special last week about the marijuana industry...and I'm thinking some of it went to their head, literally. I'm hearing Rachel Maddow is starting to use phrases like "Foggy Heads living in Foggy Bottom " --and if she goes on air with that..well, it could be a national security issue.

And if O'Reilly over at FOX gets wind of this, I might have to reconsider the decision to close Guantanamo Bay and get him a room there.

I've included my blackberry contact info. Only four other people in the world have it. That should illustrate how important it is that I hear from you soon.

Short of getting you to join the team, my only other option is to invade Pakistan, which would serve as a good short-term distraction about what's going on here, but even with oil down at $43 a barrell, Hilary's Mobil card wouldn't cover more than one full tank of gas for the battleship we'd want to sail over there.

Your's truly,

President Barack H. Obama