In January 2023, BENlabs surveyed 500 UK consumers about their TV viewing habits, perceptions, and attitudes toward product placement in order to understand how effective product placement is at driving awareness, consideration, and sales.
Awareness
Half (47%) of consumers say they have become aware of products for the first time after seeing them on TV programmes or in films and 52% believe that seeing products on TV programmes or in films is a good way to know what’s on trend. Furthermore, two in every five (38%) say that it improves their opinion of the product or brand.
Consideration
Consumers are quick to research products and brands they see on TV and films.
Six in every 10 (60%) UK consumers have searched for a product or brand on at least one platform after seeing it on TV or in a film.
Half (48%) of consumers conduct their research as they watch, 22% do so within one hour.
51% of consumers that search for a brand or product after seeing it on TV go on to purchase the same product or a different product from the same brand.
Sales
One-third (34%) of UK consumers have purchased a product seen on TV or a different product from the same brand. Of those who have purchased specific products, 17% made the purchase as they were watching, 29% did so within two hours, 19% waited more than a day, and 26% took longer than one week.
More than half (55%) of purchases happen within one day of exposure, but the time lag between exposure and purchase is somewhat unpredictable. 45% of UK consumers wait more than a day before making a purchase, and more than half of those wait more than a week; there is an opportunity for marketers to re-engage these consumers via digital channels to reduce this lag.
Best Practices
Authenticity is key, and an omnichannel approach helps too—just 9% of consumers are put off if they’ve already seen the product advertised.
Top tips for the most successful product placement strategy:
- Be authentic—make sure the characters using your product or where it’s shown are relatable. Placement that is out of context doesn’t engage consumers
- Avoid repetitive placements—select the content you show your product in carefully, and limit exposure to a few times per episode
- Don’t make it too obvious—subtlety is your friend, mirror real-life use of your product
TV Advertising or Product Placement?
This is one of the questions we get asked all the time! Our research shows that given a choice, consumers would prefer to watch a TV programme with product placement over advertising, and product placement has the potential to deliver better results too.
Product placement generates better recall, is more likely to result in consumers researching products, and generates stronger connections with products compared to advertising.
But that doesn’t mean that TV advertising and product placement can’t exist in harmony.
Contact BENlabs to find out more about how they can help you make the most of your brand on TV screens all over the world.
Download the full report here.
