The measurement of product placement

Abstract

Product placement can be defined as utilisation of a real product or a service directly in audiovisual works, under clear, contractually-agreed terms. The methodology for measuring the effectiveness of funds invested in product placement in audiovisual works has not been developed yet. The authors of this paper propose a possible solution for measuring the effectiveness of product placement, which they applied in the Vinari (Winemakers) TV series. The authors proceeded from the price. A sponsor of a TV commercial would have to pay to reach the target group to the same extent as when using product placement. The CPP (Cost per Point) approach was used, i.e. the cost of reaching 1% of the target group. Reaching the target group was surveyed by means of a primary investigation of the perception of the sponsor's company as a financial backer of cultural activities by using questionnaires. The authors based their calculations of effectiveness regarding the sponsoring of a television series using elements of brand and product placement on a model calculation of the current advertising prices for a thirty-second advertising spot in relation to the CPP. The average recall of the product placement in the sponsored series represented 16% of the target group. It was calculated that if broadcasting TV spots, the price would be CZK 6.7 million, which is more than six times the amount of the value of the sponsorship. The survey shows that there are positive benefits related to the support of the Vinari (Winemakers) TV series. A significant fact is also that respondents were still able to recall this sponsorship even after several days and not only when this information actually reached them. No pricelist or media can guarantee that a communicated message will be recalled, so sponsorship in TV series is concluded to be highly effective for reasonable price and with prolonged effect which surpass advertising expectations. © Institute of Society Transformation, 2016.