Types of Product Placement

There are many ways of using product placement on TV: it can be physical, virtual, seen but not used, mentioned, contextual. Here are some examples.

Physical or Virtual Product Placement?

Products can of course be physically placed, interacted with or mentioned during the production process. And once this has happened, content and brand are pretty much bound together wherever the programme is subsequently broadcast or streamed. This is the process of most placements to date.

An alternative approach to this is virtual placement as pioneered by companies such as MirriAd, which partners with broadcasters and brand owners to place products digitally into existing media content. This enables one item of content to be associated with different brands across territories and at different times. It also allows placement to happen after production.

Both approaches have their advantages and also can be used at the same time.

Examples

1. Product used onscreen

Philips partnered with Channel 4 to place their brand into Made in Chelsea. In one scene, cast member Joel Mignott is seen shaving his chest using the Philips OneBlade Pro 360 razor. In another scene, Harvey Armstrong shaves his face and in another Liv Bentley is seen using a Lumea IPL hair removal device on her legs. The programme provided an opportunity for Philips to show three different products being used for a variety of shaving needs.

The use of the products was naturally integrated into the programme as the cast members went about their normal self-care regime.

Along with the product placement, there were QR codes that appeared on screen giving viewers instant access to the shaving products as well as additional information about the programme.

2. Product seen clearly but not used.

It is part of the set and fits with the scene. For example, Best Cereal have a product placement deal with Love Island on ITV. The deal includes two types of cereal, both of which are low in sugar and nutritious - Choco Crunch and Caramel Gold. In the villa, the contestants eat breakfast every day, so featuring cereal is a very natural integration for the show and provides valuable exposure for the brand.

3. Verbal mention. 

It could be that your product is not seen but has a verbal mention. A great example of this comes from Audi and their partnership with Sky Sports. Audi are the Official Innovation Partner for Sky Sports. In 2023, they created some branded content called the Audi Performance Zone that ran in golf coverage on Sky Sports. Whilst an actual Audi was not seen, Audi technology was talked about as they created innovations to help improve your performance as a golfer.

4. Contextual

There are a few ways that brands can use product placement in a contextual way. For example, in real life, we see lots of ads, on a billboard, a taxi, a bus shelter, in a magazine or on our phone. So it makes sense for us to see these types of ads in programmes and it looks and feels very natural. Advertisers can take advantage of this and product place ads in programmes that are then seen by millions of people.

A good example of this is Vinted who used various forms of product placement in Hollyoaks on Channel 4.

As well as sponsoring the show, the brand was fully integrated into the programme, with poster ads on the set in 32 episodes, an ad in a fashion magazine being read by one of the characters and even an occasion when a character was using her phone to look at the Vinted app and it appeared on screen in a way that is very normal on Hollyoaks.

A different version of contextual product placement can be seen with Sainsbury’s / Argos and Coronation Street. In the popular soap on ITV, there is a Sainsbury’s Local and Argos store. Not only do we see the store itself, but characters are also seen carrying Sainsbury’s shopping bags and there are Argos click-and-collect references in the storylines.

Another type of contextual product placement comes from Adidas. They became the official apparel partner for Sky Sports Golf. The deal means that Adidas clothing, footwear and accessories is worn by all Sky Sports Golf presenters, commentators and crew during live coverage of different golf tournaments and at all Sky Sports’ events. It’s a great way to showcase the different Adidas products and to build an association with golf at the same time.