Marketing

After reading my fellow classmate Patricia Poon’s blog post about companies competing and arguing over Twitter, I couldn’t help but think that this is not a new phenomenon.  Corporations have been subtly and not-so-subtly insulting each other for years.  While some people may consider it to be unethical, the fact remains that undermining the competition can be an incredibly effective way to gain a larger share of the market.  As well, if the attack campaign is presented in an amusing way, it can help the company establish a reputation for having a sense of humor – a likeable but rare trait in the modern business world.

Consider Apple’s long-running “Get a Mac” campaign.  It was so successful that it essentially started Justin Long’s (the Mac) career as an actor.  Yet the entire campaign was built around this simple message: Macs are better than PCs.  It doesn’t seem uncommon for an underdog to fight dirty.  And I know, Apple definitely is not an underdog.  But a few years ago, during the peak of the four year campaign, Macs were significantly less prominent than PCs.  And lo and behold, now that every lecture hall in every university is filled with the glowing Apple logo, the aggressive campaign has ended.

In a sense, Nokia’s recent jabs at the iPhone are a form of revenge, as the hardware makers of a Windows platform are the new underdogs, challenging an industry giant because of what could be considering copying.

Whether these ads are fighting dirty or just an effective strategy to battle the competition, I’m sure that these campaigns will continue to exist as long as there is competition in the marketplace.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles chomp down on a freshly ordered domino’s pizza.  Daniel Craig drives a brand new Aston Martin as James Bond.  Tom Hanks manages to deliver a Fed Ex package after being stranded for four years on a remote island.  There’s a list of some of the more obvious forms of product placement here.

Product placement is not a new phenomenon, but it is one that has become more and more frequent as advertisers find it harder and harder to reach consumers.  Due to the explosion of popularity of DVR, streaming sites like Netflix, and downloading shows online ,the normal ad space on TV is becoming less and less important as fewer people watch regular TV as it airs live.  Marketers are struggling to find new means of advertising their products in a way that can reach reach consumers in the way that commercials once did.  And that lies in product placement.

Take the three examples I’ve provided above.  Children watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles eating Dominos pizza will want some themselves.  If James Bond drives an Aston Martin, it must be an incredibly classy vehicle.  And how fantastic is Fed Ex’s service if a courier stranded on an island for four years still manages to deliver a package?

Product placement is a far more subtle, and likely more effective means of advertising a product.  A product can be showcased in action, with a connotation of how cool, classy, or effective it is.  While some people may find it obtrusive and annoying, in reality product placement, unless painfully obvious, does nothing to detract from the medium it lies in.  It almost feels unnatural to watch a movie or TV show where none of the products that are so prevalent in our society are present.  In many ways, it acts as a form of immersion, creating a more realistic feel to the environment of the movie or show.

Product placement is a very interesting, and far more subtle way of advertising a product.  As marketers find it harder and harder to reach their consumer bases, it likely will become far more frequent in the entertainment we watch.