Weighing the Benefits of Product Placement
How to get the one, like on TV.

Many producers and directors are nervous about the use of product placement in their films. They feel that the deliberate placement of real life products can commercialize a production and that they are not worth the time and effort to arrange. However, producers can gain a variety of benefits from using product placement, including the sense of realism that using every day products adds.

We’ve all seen films containing scenes where a performer picks up a generically labeled product, such as a beer or pop labeled “beer” or “pop”. These moments can cause unnecessary distractions for the audience. Even if a product’s label is more realistic in appearance but unfamiliar, it will still lack authenticity. And subtle changes in the name, for example, from “Jack Daniels” to “Jack Denials”, can still leave you at risk for a trademark infringement claim.

Another advantage that product placement can provide is reducing the cost of purchasing or leasing products required for the production. Imagine the money that the producers of the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies saved in having 007’s cars supplied by BMW.

Producers must obtain “clearances” – that is, permission from the trademark owner to film the registered trademarks found on most products. For instance, if a character in a production were wearing a Nike shirt displaying the “swoosh”, then the production would need to acquire the rights to visually depict that trademark. As a rule of thumb, releases need to be obtained for all commercially identifiable brand name products.

Usually the bigger the writer/ director/producer or star associated with a production, the more likely a corporation will be to provide products for placement and the more they will put up. For example, on the film Minority Report, Nokia designed futuristic communications device concepts exclusively for the motion picture. Another very notable placement was the association of Federal Express in the motion picture Cast Away.

Despite these high profile placements, many corporations, large and small, are not involved in product placement and are skeptical or unsure of its value. Even when presented with what appears to be a golden opportunity for free advertising, producers can find it an uphill battle to get corporate marketers involved. One of the problems with companies that have not been active in this area before, is they have to be educated about what entertainment marketing and product placement are all about. Organizations such as sports teams, that already have a high profile, may be reluctant to provide permission and often refuse.

Gaining permission for use of a particular product can often be a grueling and time-consuming task — especially if the product will be shown in a negative light. As a result, some productions use companies that specialize in arranging product placements. As these companies receive a fee from the corporations that supply the products, there is generally little or no cost in making these arrangements.

You don’t have to sell your soul to arrange for product placement in your film. Used appropriately, such arrangements can make for a more realistic production and can shave dollars off the bottom line.