I spent this past weekend in the Pocono Mountains with eight of my friends. We lounged around my friend's house in our PJ's, did some shopping, and ate some good, home cooked food. We also watched Meet the Fockers and The Devil Wears Prada. Besides being great movies, I noticed that at one point in each of the movies, there was a character in it that was using an Apple Computer. BOTH MOVIES!! What product placement this was on Apple's part, I thought. I knew from my marketing class here at IC that Apple is becoming a dominant and thriving computer and technology company with strategic and successful marketing campaigns. I was sure that this product placement strategy was a part of it. I decided to check it out for myself, and what I found was very interesting.
According to this article I found from the Washington Post, Apple products were mentioned or viewed 250 times on TV shows alone over the past four months. "The Office" recently had an entire episode where the boss on the show gave a his employees an iPod as a "cool" gift. Using the iPod in the show gave Apple four minutes of exposure for the product - and it turned out to be free! Free, you say?
Yes, while Apple has actually used product placement since the beginning of its time and used to pay for it, now, it seems as if they do not pay for it and are more likely to get "free exposure." While it is unclear how Apple gets this exposure, it could be due to a new trend in the media business in which the movie or the TV show "barter" with a company who wishes to place their product in the show or movie. In turn, people working on the show or movie receive products from a respective company in exchange for air time of the placed item.
Whether or not Apple is doing this, Apple may be receiving so much placement because the company's sales are steadily growing and its products are gaining popularity in the US technology market with the iMac and iPod. Everyone seems to have one of them these days!
Apple has also branded itself as a company that offers hip and artistic products. You see this from their upbeat iPod commercials with popular Top 40 songs playing in the background, as a young man or woman jams to the songs on their iPod. Also, why is it that "cool" characters like Carrie in Sex and the City is using a Mac or that the "good guys" in 24 are using a Mac and the "bad guys" are using PCs or unbranded computers. This is because Apple has come to create positive and fun associations when using the product. In turn, more and more TV shows and movies are jumping on this company and placing Apple products into their projects to demonstrate that they are "cool," too. Apple is indeed a perfect opportunity to place in a movie or TV show to promote those exact feelings and attitudes. The fact that they may doing it for free is even more awesome!
We can now bow down to Apple...
According to this article I found from the Washington Post, Apple products were mentioned or viewed 250 times on TV shows alone over the past four months. "The Office" recently had an entire episode where the boss on the show gave a his employees an iPod as a "cool" gift. Using the iPod in the show gave Apple four minutes of exposure for the product - and it turned out to be free! Free, you say?
Yes, while Apple has actually used product placement since the beginning of its time and used to pay for it, now, it seems as if they do not pay for it and are more likely to get "free exposure." While it is unclear how Apple gets this exposure, it could be due to a new trend in the media business in which the movie or the TV show "barter" with a company who wishes to place their product in the show or movie. In turn, people working on the show or movie receive products from a respective company in exchange for air time of the placed item.
Whether or not Apple is doing this, Apple may be receiving so much placement because the company's sales are steadily growing and its products are gaining popularity in the US technology market with the iMac and iPod. Everyone seems to have one of them these days!
Apple has also branded itself as a company that offers hip and artistic products. You see this from their upbeat iPod commercials with popular Top 40 songs playing in the background, as a young man or woman jams to the songs on their iPod. Also, why is it that "cool" characters like Carrie in Sex and the City is using a Mac or that the "good guys" in 24 are using a Mac and the "bad guys" are using PCs or unbranded computers. This is because Apple has come to create positive and fun associations when using the product. In turn, more and more TV shows and movies are jumping on this company and placing Apple products into their projects to demonstrate that they are "cool," too. Apple is indeed a perfect opportunity to place in a movie or TV show to promote those exact feelings and attitudes. The fact that they may doing it for free is even more awesome!
We can now bow down to Apple...
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