PROJECT TITLE - COVERT ADVERTISING

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF: SUBMITTED BY:

Ms. DEEPALI CHOPRA (LECTURER) HIMANSHU RAJPUT

AMITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS BBA (M&S)
AMITY UNIVERSITY ROLL NO. :- A-16
NOIDA ENROLLMENT NO:
A3914708051
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A Project cannot be said to be work of an individual. A research is a

combination of views and ideas, suggestions and contributions of many
people.

I take this opportunity to thank all the people whose cooperation and
encouragement made the completion of this research project a possibility.

First of all I wish my sincere gratitude and for all the support
throughout the project study to my faculty guide Ms. Deepali Chopra under
whose guidance the project was undertaken. Without her supervision at each
stage of research, the task would not have been accomplished.

Last but not the least I thank to all my friends who offered useful
advice and many valuable improvement and for there much needed care and
cooperation.

2
 ABSTRACT
Dhoom, Baghban, Phir Hera Pheri, 007 and Matrix are some excellent
examples of movies with covert advertising. Brands such as Coca Cola,
ICICI Bank, Domino’s, Nokia, Aston Martin and Suzuki have placed
themselves in these movies.

Nowadays, these tactics are common in most of the films. Some very well
managed product placements appear to be quiet natural, if not logical. But
some seem to be badly inspired by a commercial spin-off, with all the
negative consequences it may generate on the audience.

Take for instance, the Hollywood flick, ‘What Women Wants’. This Mel
Gibson starrer has a Nike commercial as a part of the script. It gets with the
script so well that you don’t realize you’re watching a commercial
camouflaged in the screenplay.

Now the Bollywood flick, the girls beating the boys fighting sequence in
‘Chak De’ has been referred to as the McDonald’s fight scene merely
because it takes place in one of the outlets. Again there is no mention of
McDonald’s in the entire film as it has been seamlessly embedded.

3
 Table of contents

S.NO: CONTENTS PAGE NO:

01 CHAPTER 1: Introduction 05
02 1.1 Objective of the study 06
03 1.2 Covert Advertising concept and scope 07
04 1.3 Examples in movies 07
05 1.4 Failure in Covert advertising 12
06 1.5 Covert advertising in video games 13
07 1.6 Connection between brand and films 15
08 1.7 TV placement vs. movie placement 18
09 1.8 Product Placement 19
10 1.9 Product Placement types & strategies 21
11 1.10 Product Placement & Positioning 25
12 1.11 Case study on Om Shanti Om 29
13 CHAPTER 2: Research methodology 32
14 CHAPTER 3: Annexure 35
15 CHAPTER 4: Conclusions and recommendations 37
16 CHAPTER 5: Future prospects 40
17 CHAPTER 6: References 41

INTRODUCTION
Over the years Advertising has emerged as a key component of integrated
Marketing communication. Moreover, it has adjusted with the changing

4
economic environment and consumer behavior. The clutter in the product
market and media has made the task challenging for marketers to reach their
consumers. Thus both the Media and Advertiser’s search for innovative
advertising techniques led to ‘Covert Advertising’.

Covert Advertising is a medium through which branded products are placed

in movies, which is visible to consumers without any distraction. Leveraging
on the entertainment value, emotional quotient of the film and its
psychological impact on viewers has led the advertisers to utilize this
medium. The phenomenon is gaining momentum due to its clutter free
feature and advantages of celebrity endorsement for the product or brand in
a movie. This advertising technique brings in an additional source of income
for film producers, advertisers, corporate’s and it has proved to be a
technique to strengthen their brand.

A few firms get product placement at no cost by supplying their product to

the movie company (Nike does not pay to be in movies but often supplies
shoes, jackets, bags, etc). Scripts are tailor made for the desired brand so that
when they are incorporated they look natural.It is done through special
mention in the programs, placement of logo or may be a shot of that
particular brand. Movies have been used as the most popular platform for
product placement. Showman Subhash Ghai’s Yaadein showcased brands
like Pass-pass and coca-cola. But recall the Rishi Kapoor starrer Karz by the
filmmaker, which had an entire song sequence with the Emami banner at the
backdrop. Similarly time and again we have witnessed so many brands like
ICICI, Yamaha, Pepsi, Lays in movies Aakhein, Baghban, Dhoom, Khushi
and Krissh respectively. Product placement, as the numbers suggests is
bringing revolutionary change in entertainment economics.

5
Objectives of the study

"Any task without sound objectives is like Tree without roots".

Similarly in case of any research study undertaken, initially the objectives
of the same are determined and accordingly the further steps are taken on. A
research study may have many objectives but all these objectives revolve
around one major objective which is the focus of the study. In this study, the
focus is on the covert advertising.

The following are the objectives of this research study :-

♦ To study the present scenario of covert advertising in the world.

♦ To study the future prospects of covert advertising and their scope for the

multimedia.
♦ To study the techniques used by the film makers, directors and

companies.
♦ To measure the success of advertising campaign of brands in Terms of

consumer appreciation.
♦ To study the determinants of specification factors which can decide the

success of both the companies and movies.

COVERT ADVERTISING

Covert advertising is when a product or brand is embedded in entertainment

and media. For example, in a film, the main character can use an item or

6
other of a definite brand, as in the movie Minority Report, where Tom
Cruise’s character John Anderton owns a phone with the Nokia logo clearly
written in the top corner, or his watch engraved with the Bulgari logo.

Another example of advertising in film is in I, Robot, where main character

played by Will Smith mentions his Converse shoes several times, calling
them "classics," because the film is set far in the future.

Cadillac chose to advertise in the movie The Matrix Reloaded, which as a

result contained many scenes in which Cadillac cars were used. Similarly,
product placement for Omega Watches, Ford, VAIO and BMW.

Aston Martin cars are featured in recent James Bond films, most notably
Casino Royale.

7
Hayabusa in Dhoom, John Abraham uses Hayabusa in the movie as a thief,
from that time only many of Indians came to know about that bike.

Transformers (2007), used many cars which can turn into robots. The one
was Chevrolet Camaro, named as Bumblebee.

8
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE – Lamborghini

Domino’s Pizza in Phir Hera Pheri

Domino’s is known as much for the quality of its pizzas, as for its promise
of “delivery within 30 minutes or free”. Paresh Rawal—who is also the

9
Domino’s brand ambassador—was seen in the movie happily munching on a
Domino’s pizza. On being asked how he could afford a pizza even though he
was broke, he informed that after ordering the pizza he hid himself till 30
minutes passed. Thus he got the pizza free even though the delivery boy had
arrived well in time. The execution of this scene not only communicated the
Domino’s value proposition but also created a light moment in the film with
the seamless integration of branding and entertainment.

Baghban for ICICI Bank, Amitabh Bachchan is shown as a trustworthy,

reliable and focused ICICI bank employee who is dedicated to his
customers. ICICI is visible for around 8-10 minutes in the film.

Consumer electronics and computers

The 2006 film Casino Royale features many Sony product placements
throughout, all characters use VAIO laptops, Sony Ericsson cell phones and
GPSs, BRAVIA televisions, and Bond uses a Cyber-shot to take photos.

Apple's products frequently appear in films and on television. In video

games, products that most often appear are placements for processors or

10
graphics cards. For example in EA's Battlefield 2142, ads for Intel Core 2
processors appear on map billboards. In the video game F.E.A.R all of the
laptops have a Dell screensaver on them.

Tourism
New Zealand as a destination was positioned well in the movie ‘Kaho Na
Pyar Hai’. In fact such was the impact it became a popular holiday
destination after that. Previously it was not widely spoken of or considered
as potential location among the film makers or tourists from India. Now it is
being considered by students for higher studies and also by low skilled job
seekers. The place is now being looked at by new perspective among
Indians.

Advantages:-
• You have a captive audience (they have chosen to watch the film or
regularly tune in to the television show).

• It is cheaper than overt advertising or sponsorship.

• If the programme or film is a success your advertising gets a wider

audience.

• The product becomes linked to the film or programme and the

Ideology/lifestyle inherent in that text. This attracts people to buy into the
image through the product.

• Has an immediate effect but it can be short term Sponsorship of television

programmes.
Failure in Covert Advertising :-

11
Ta Ra Rum Pum : After you see drivers and cars layered by brands of their
sponsors, Ta Ra Rum Pum a film on racing cars would seem like the perfect
avenue to showcase such similar branding. After all seeing these brands is
what we’ve come to expect, but corporate honchos didn’t seem happy just
with ‘being there’. So they must’ve insisted on special close-ups and zooms
for their brands. As a result we get a good dose of Castrol, Goodyear and
Chevrolet periodically.

Yaadein :

Covert Advertising in Video games

12
Today, advertisers are much more interested in the $24 billion video game
industry. Spending on in-game product placement was estimated at $300
million this year, with projections of $1 billion in spending by 2010. Nielsen
ratings in 2003 showed a 7% decline in television viewing among 18 to 34
year-old males. This decline was directly attributed to the growing
popularity of video games. 66% of males 18-34 own at least one game
console, as do 80% of males ages 12-17. In 2006, 62.3 million game
consoles were sold. Market researchers anticipate that this number will grow
by an additional 26% in 2007.

Currently, there are over 148 million gamers. As gamers age, become
parents and continue to play games, older demographics become more
highly represented while increasing the overall reach of the video game
medium.

PEPSI :

CARS :

13
CASTROL :

And so on……

14
Connection between Brands and Films

There is a evidence of shortened attention spans and a greater efforts to

break through the clutter of multitudinous brands and media vehicles. The
best way to deliver the message is to catch the customer off-guard when the
rational defenses are down. The best to do so is to use the emotional gate
rather than the rational gate.

The rational gate examines the advantages, benefits, features and seeks value
for money; the emotional gate is all about trust, love, identification and
belief. These aspects have been leveraged by all kinds of brands wherein
movies and brands flash identical messages at their target audiences.

There is a need to examine synergies between the brands and films. The
successful integration of product placement within the film’s storyline has a
long history – the first example being the yellow Rajdoot bike used in Raj
Kapoor’s Bobby and Subhash Ghai’s Hero and Karz.

Hollywood also leveraged brands such as BMW(Bond movies), Jaguar,

Ford, McDonald in Eddie Murphy (Coming to America), Ray Ban (Tom
Cruise in Risky Business and Mission Impossible), Starbucks coffee, AOL,
AT & T and lots in advertising world arena.

Artistic integrity is crucial for successful brand successful brand placements

and the operation has to be woven into the script.

15
There is no fixed formula but the factors that are taken into consideration
during the negotiation stage include: cast and credits; size of the projects and
the producers; timing of the release; brand impact; number of screen during
release and post – release phase; and the possibilities of brand associations
through contests and promotions.

Depending on the content of the film and its story line, the agency can
sketch a profile of viewers who could appeal to the targeted viewers. This is
followed by a 360 degree marketing plan for cross promotions during the
various stage of a film’s release.

16
Covert Advertising is different from
Celebrity Endorsement

The celebrities endorse products and brands with commercial reasons, which
normally comes in the breaks in television programmes or cinema halls. The
phenomenon of zipping and change in television usage behavior due to
surfing during the commercial breaks has reduced effectiveness of television
commercials.

Similarly commercials of cinema halls are found to be of low involvement

as audience takes them as blocks between the reasons of visiting the cinema
hall and the time available to them entertainment. So the brand
communication and the entertainment product are viewed differently from
audience of both media.

Brand placements provides an opportunity where the involved audience gets

exposure to the brands and products during the natural process of narration
of movie or television commercial.

17
TV Placements As compared to Movie
Placements
• Movies as against TV placements offer a greater scope for value
additions. The product that is placed in films is high on reachability.

• First the product gets exposure in theatres, then through DVDs (home
video) and at a late date it may gain a wider access when it is aired on
satellite television.

• There is no point in doing a one-off placement, as all it gets is flitting

attention.

• Television offers a relatively more 'controllable' medium than films.

• Placing brands in a certain television program allows the advertiser to

know who he is targeting whereas in films the brand reaches relevant
and non relevant target audiences and the returns are difficult to
allocate.

• Apart from providing a fine focused audience to the advertiser,

television also provides a cheaper option to the client.

18
PRODUCT PLACEMENT :- A TECHNIQUE OF
‘COVERT ADVERTISING’

A product placement is the inclusion of a product, brand name or the name

of the firm in a movie for increasing memorability of the brand and instant
recognition at the point of purchase. It is an advertising technique in which
the companies pay a fee or provide service in exchange for a prominent
display of their product.

Product placement appears in plays, film, television series, music videos,

video games and books. Product placement occurs with the inclusion of a
brand's logo in shot, or a favorable mention or appearance of a product in
shot.

This is done without disclosure, and under the premise that it is a natural
part of the work. Most major movie releases today contain product
placements. The most common form is movie and television placements and
more recently computer and video games.

19
There are three ways product placement can occur :

• The placement simply happens

This placement occurs without any type of formal contractual agreement to

place a particular product or brand. The likely scenario in this instance
involves some member of the cast or crew selecting a product to use in a
scene because it will enhance the scene though the product itself may not be
seen or presented in a favorable light.

• The placement is arranged and some of the product serves as

compensation.

This type of placement a particular product is shown in the Movie/ Serial

and no extra amount is paid for that. The product itself serves as
compensation.

• The placement is arranged and there is financial compensation.

In this type of product placement the company has to pay for the placement
apart from the product.

20
PRODUCT PLACEMENT STRATEGIES

Implicit Product placement :-

An implicit Product placement is not expressed formally. The brand name or

the name of the firm appears without a clear demonstration of product
benefits. It plays a passive, contextual role.

For instance, in a game show like KBC computers of Lenovo are used. In a
movie, some scenes are shot in Pizza Hut. Thus, in an implicit Product
placement the brand, the firm or the product is present within the program
without being expressed..

Integrated explicit Product Placement :-

In this type of Product placement, the attributes and benefits of the product
are clearly demonstrated: it plays an active role. For instance, in a quiz the
questions asked in a series to the participants concern the sponsor's products;
a Pizza Hut, pizza is delivered in a scene where everybody is hungry.

Thus in this type of placement the brand or the firm is formally expressed
within the program.

21
Non integrated explicit Product Placement :-

In a non integrated product placement the product or the brand is not

integrated in the program or movie. The company/brand name may appear in
the beginning of the program (this program is brought to you by) or the
brand or company name appears on the screen.

For instance when ever a cricket match is in progress, some products are
displayed on the screen which has got some relevance to the match situation.
For instance LG vision appears whenever a decision is referred to the third
Umpire.

22
Types of Product Placement :-

Corporate placement

To improve company reputation. Ex - Taj Hotels used for grand parties in

movies, Lenovo used in game shows like KBC.

Generic Placement

To demonstrate the characteristics of a product without a particular brand

name. Ex Sunglasses and Shades used in Men in Black.

Service placement

To present public or private institution. Showing a particular Bank (like

ICICI in KBC) or a particular restaurant in a particular movie.

Idea placement

To include facts, opinions or statements in a plot. Discussing a forthcoming

movie like ‘Kuch Toh Hai’ in a television serial like ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi
Bahu Thi’ is an Indirect promotion for the movie.

23
Historic placement

To illustrate the long tradition of a brand. For instance using the Indian
postal services in a movie or using AIR INDIA as a traditional players in the
field of mails and aviation respectively.

Negative placement

To present a competitor’s product in a negative context. It is generally not

intentional. For instance if a particular flight crashes in a particular plot in
the movie, it is not intentional.

Innovation placement

To introduce a new product. Ex Swift Car was introduced in the movie

‘Bunty Aur Babli’.

24
PRODUCT PLACEMENT AND POSITIONING

Positioning is the act of designing company’s offering and image to occupy

a distinctive place in the mind of the target market. Subtle product placement
can be very effective in positioning a product.

A careful selection of a movie or a TV serial to place a product will help in

reaching the target audience. For instance Krrish targeted children, Dil
chahta hai targeted youth, Vivah targeted audience of small cities, products
like Jewelries and Sarees are feminine products and rightly placed in soaps
like ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi kabhi Bahu Thi’ and ‘Kasauti Zindagi Ki’ which has a
lot of female viewership. Once the target market is accessed the next step is
designing the message to position the brand.

The message can be effectively delivered through movies and TV serials.

This is because the Brand recall, message recall, brand familiarity is higher
with Product Placement technique.

When a person goes for a movie, he makes a voluntary choice for viewing
(exposure) at a cost (financial, time and opportunity cost) for the purpose of
entertainment. So he is more receptive to the information provided to him in
the movie.

25
If he finds product in the settings of the movie, the product recall are
supposed to be higher. Furthermore, retention is enhanced if the products are
fitted to the genre of the movie.

Marketers can take a cue from this. Product Placement in Movies and TV
serials provides them with the right kind of target audience to get their
message through. The objective of positioning is to occupy a distinctive
place in the minds of the target market.

Product placement has shown better product/brand recall. There is a positive

relationship between those Product Placements’ recalled and product
category / brand familiarity.

26
COMPARISON OF COVERT ADVERTISING
BETWEEN TELEVISION AND FILMS.

High level of media clutter, channel switching behavior are some of the
factors responsible for generating sufficient level of research interest at the
practice of brand placements in movies. The basic objective of permitting
product placements in movies is to cover up the possible level of production
cost before the movie is released.

There are number of examples of how the product’s appearance in a movie

resulted in an increase in brand performance in Hollywood movies. When
agent James Bond made top secret calls on an Ericsson mobile phone in
1997 in the movie Tomorrow Never Dies, the Ericsson trademark got a
upward boost in visibility and market share. Big stars are available at a
fraction of cost against the fee they charge for an independent advertisement.
But this does not imply that the small screen stars are inferior to film stars.

27
Television stars have become favorites with advertisers and enlisted their
names for the second best option as brand endorsers. There are many other
parameters of distinction as well. In-serial brand integration is relatively
cheaper than in-film placement of brands.

Television has emerged as one of the largest medium of mass

communication hence offering wide reach and easy accessibility than films.

Target groups are in regular touch with television than films. Frequency of
watching a serial is more than the frequency of watching a film. In serial
brand placement also offers the benefit of flexibility. This means, if a certain
brand placement is not doing well, then the marketer has the liberty to
change the strategy. This option however is not available in case of product
placement in cinema.

One can even take an instance of in-serial promotion by the Hindi film
industry. Hum Tum, a Yashraj production, was promoted in Sony TV’s
‘Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin’. The lead star Saif Ali Khan even did a cameo in one
of the episodes.

28
CASE STUDY :-

OM SHANTI OM (2007)

29
No. of Prints – 2000 Budget – 35 crore
Cast – Shahrukh Khan B.O. status – Hit
Deepika Padukone
Shreyas Talpade
Arjun Rampal
Director – Farah Khan Producer – Gauri Khan
Om Shanti Om was the biggest hit in the year 2007. Trade analysts have
even gone ahead and claimed that it is biggest hit in the history of
Bollywood. The film featured some top brands of their category and
needless to say, its super success benefited these brands immensely.

The most visible brand of the movie is Nokia. In the film, the lead character
Om (Shahrukh Khan) not only uses cellular devices by Nokia, but also
mention them in his dialogues. Further there are significant close-ups of
different Nokia devices in some very important scenes.

Another interesting observation is that the Nokia devices used are all of
different segments. While the character Om, who’s a superstar uses a high
end mobile and Bluetooth set, Dolly a wannabe actress, uses a middle
segment cell phone and Pappu, a one time junior artist, uses a low end cell.

Thus with one shot, Nokia manages to address its target audience who are
spread across these wide segments.

30
Apart from Nokia other key brands featured were Maybelline, Shopper’s
Stop and Tag Heuer. Debutant Deepika Padukone is the brand ambassador
of the cosmetic giant Maybelline and hence it provided a perfect platform for
the brand to be featured in the film. The brand also boasts of close-up of its
various products and brand name in vital scenes.

Tag Heuer, SRK’s favorite watch, or as the watch company claims is the
brand ambassador for the same. So it was not surprising to see the brand
featuring in the movie. However it’s done very subtly as it appears as a
background billboard in a scene when the reincarnated Om is in
conversation with Pappu. What’s interesting is that the billboard is the exact
replica of the Tag Heuer bill boards we see in life. (As seen in the picture
below)

31
Shopper’s stop majorly had its role in promotion where it launched an
exclusive line of clothes and merchandise styled on the movie. It also
displayed large banners and roof hangers of the film in its exclusive stores.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The study is based completely on Secondary Research. The data has been
collected from:-

• The collection of data was through books, journals and articles on

covert advertising.

• A lot of data was collected from the internet to help compile the
entire study.

Data Collection

• Covert Advertising and its scope

• Effectiveness of covert advertising
• Connection between brands and films

32
 • Case Study

Qualitative Research – Qualitative research allows you to explore

perceptions, attitudes, and motivations and understand how they are formed.
It provides depth of information which can be used in its own right or to
determine what attributes will subsequently be measured in quantitative
studies.

The idea is to develop a clear understanding of the strategies used in a

company and till what extent the companies follow these strategies.

Advantages of Secondary Research

1. Ease of Access – It is easy to gather secondary data from journals,

books, magazines and the Internet has changed how secondary

research is accessed by offering convenience (e.g., online access from
many locations) and generally standardized usage methods for all data
sources.

2. Low Cost to Acquire – This information is much less expensive than if

the research would have been carried out.

Disadvantages of Secondary Research

1. Not Specific to Research Needs – Secondary data is often not

presented in a form that exactly meets the marketer’s needs.

33
 2. Inefficient Spending for Information – Since the research received

may not be specific to the marketer’s needs, an argument can be made

that research spending is inefficient.

3. Incomplete Information – Many times a researcher finds that research

that appears promising is in fact a ‘teaser’ released by the research

suppliers. This often occurs when a small portion of a study is
disclosed, often for free, but the full report, which is often expensive,
is needed to gain the full value of the study.

CONCLUSION
Advertising occupies a major place in Integrated Marketing Communication
strategy of corporates It has evolved in sync with the changing media
environment. They are constantly in search of innovative technique which
has grabbed the attention in recent years is ‘Covert Advertising’.

It existed in a very small and unorganized way from the beginning of the 20th
century. But the techniques have evolved manifold during the past century.

In India, this type of advertising in movies existed since 1970s. The famous
product placement in Hindi movie was the yellow coloured ‘Rajdoot’ bike
in the movie ‘Bobby’. However the first recognized covert advertising in
India was of ‘Pepsi’ in the film ‘Taal’ in the year 1999.

Thereafter, Indian film producers, advertisers and corporates began to show

interest in this advertising technique. They began to use it as a part of their
Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy.

34
A conclusion drawn from the research was that products placed prominently
in films were better recognized than those placements placed subtly within
the context of the film.
Another aspect closely considered in this research was the effect product
placements have on the realism of the film.

The research shows that product placements in films are a viable alternative
to traditional forms of advertising. The reason for this is that product
placement (especially prominent product placements) is readily recognized
by viewers. Product placements therefore offer numerous benefits to the
marketer in terms of reach and diminishing cost per viewer.

Product placement is an immense field of research within which much is yet

to be discovered.

Why are covert advertising successful?

• Low cost per exposure.

• Catches the audience when its rational defenses are down.
• It can help target particular employees as movies are made keeping in
mind different genre’s of people.
• Movies are an expensive affair, and any source of revenue is welcome
by film makers.

35
Annexure :-

Questionnaire

DETAILS:

Name : ______________________ Age : _______

Sex : M( ) F( )

Occupation : Working ( ) Student ( )

Education : School pass () Monthly Household Income

Under Graduate ( ) 10,000 – 20,000 ()

Post Graduate () 20,000 – 30,000 ()

Others () 30,000 – 40,000 ()

40,000 + ()

36
Contact :

_____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
________

Do you watch movies?

Yes ( ) N ()

How often do you watch them?

Once a month ()
Once a week ()
Two to five times a week ()
Daily ()
Which movie have you watched recently?

_________________________________

Have you watched Om Shanti Om?

Yes ( ) No ( )

If yes,

Did you notice any brand featured in the movie?

Yes ( ) No ( )

Can you list them?

_______________________________________________________

37
 Tick the brands they mention.

Nokia
Maybelline
Shopper’s stop
Tag Heuer
Sia Jewellery
Compaq
Do you think that Brand Placement is a good alternative to traditional
advertising?

Yes ( ) N ()
Why_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

Does the way a brand is used in movies affect your feeling about the brand?

Yes ( ) N ()

Why_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

Does product placement in movies affect your buying decisions?

Yes ( ) N ()

Why_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

38
 FUTURE PROSPECTS

The current research provides a foundation for increased understanding

about the concept of product placement and its effectiveness In Mainstream
films. The paper has highlighted number of key issues within this research
area.

It is fairly evident that Bollywood movies have distinct nature and format
which distinguishes them from western cinema, in particular Hollywood
movies, so there needs to be a research agenda which focuses more
extensively upon understanding specific placement strategies, which would
then be able to link more closely with specific film themes and structures.

Future research could examine the attitude and interests of audience towards
brands and branded goods, to understand individual’s propensity to get
influenced by brand image. It can also identify additional variables to further
segment the market on basis of behavioral intentions in accepting brand
placements.

39
Future studies can also measure relative scores of product categories (FMCG
goods versus consumer goods) and well known versus lesser known brands.
The increasing use of brand placement in other media like television, books
regional language and art films, and computer games can also be studied.

REFERENCES

• http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/economic/friedman/advertising.htm#

• http://www.visionenterprise.biz/advertisingindia.htm#

• http://www.idef.org/industry/mediaentertainment.aspx

• http://www.pwc.com/in/eng/insol/publ/IndianEntertainmentIndustry-
ExecSumm.pdf

• www.agencyfaqs.com

• www.financialexpress.com

• Advertising, Edited by Prateek Kanchan, ICFAI University Press

40
• http://www.slideshare.net/sujalahv/brand-placement-in-moviescase-
study-of-brands-placed-in-movies-presentation

41