The Case for Product Placement

The authors expand on the managerial implications of research that examines the economic value of product placements in movies over four decades. In an event study, they find a positive but inverted U-shape relationship between cumulative abnormal stock market returns and year of movie release and a similar pattern for tie-in advertising campaigns. Using contemporary and quintessential examples for illustration, they make recommendations to boost placement efficacy and conclude that it is important to recognize the enduring effectiveness of the many forms of product placement (e.g., alternative, reverse, category, destination) across multiple platforms in a changing marketing landscape.