IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: product placement

  • The Need for Nielsen

    Imagine being chosen at random to watch hours of television and get paid to rate the shows you watch.  Believe it or not, this is exactly how television shows get their ratings.  The Nielsen Company is the leading consumer research group that collects demographic as well as  media consumption data that produce television ratings- hence the name “Nielsen Ratings”.  Nielsen randomly surveys millions of households nationwide to find trends among viewers based on what they are watching.
    Ratings may not seem that important to you as the viewer, but to the companies that wish to market their brand, these ratings determine when and where they invest their money.  For instance, say you work for a brand whose target market is young adults; where are you going to place your commercial? Are you going to have it air during the premiere of NBC’s provocative new drama The Playboy Club or the season premiere of FOX’s “High-School-Musical-esque” show Glee? This should be a no-brainer, but for  shows that are in the same genre and marketing the same audience, firms depend on these ratings and the demographic data from “Nielsen families” to assist in making these types of marketing decisions.
    So thanks to you, Nielsen Company, for only airing what we want, when we want it.

  • But first, here is an ad from our sponsor.

    Did you find yourself inconveniently plopped in the library studying for an exam during last night’s season premiere of Glee? DVR malfunction? No worries, Fox has you covered. With our schedules growing busier and busier all the time, network TV has to find a way for their programming to reach us. And they have found the solution. By having episodes for free on their website, networks, such as Fox, are able to get their programming to you at your convenience.  This means that you are able to sit and watch the program you missed without any distractions, at the time you want, with no commercials… right? Unfortunately, convenience comes with its price.

    When watching your favorite shows online, commercials are forced upon you at least 2 to 3 times per hour.  This is quite different from the early days of online video where one 20 second ad would play during the course of an hour program. Now, your show is interrupted several times with no means of changing the channel or fast-forwarding. This may be seen as an inconvenience by the viewer, but this is a marketing dream. Not only can you show ads which must be viewed in order to continue on with your program, but it also provides the viewer with clickable links to find out more information about the product or service. It goes beyond anything a TV commercial can do.  Having commercials online, as well as on TV, doubles the network’s advertising dollar. With the ease that episodes can be placed online, this can definitely be seen as quite a bargain.  As always, convenience comes with a price. In this case, frequent commercial interruption is the price we pay for being able to watch our episode of Glee on our computers while we do our laundry today.

    – Lauren Phelps, Jessica Kingman, Alaethea Hensley

  • Turning the Channel

         Over the past week, the American public has been inundated with file footage from the events of 9-11.  Much of this footage has been a tribute to the heroes who gave their lives that day; however, the most graphic content reflects a much more horrific aspect of the moment- death and destruction.  No one can discount the painful reality of that day.  The destruction of the World Trade Center, the attack on the Pentagon, and the downing of the plane in Pennsylvania were an act of war, and with that came violence, chaos, and carnage; realizations that most people find unappealing even if it reflects the truth of the matter.  For those of us who have a tendency to shy away from all things bad, should we have been forced to revisit or see for the first time such graphic representations of the pain and death from that day?  As good Americans, we undoubtedly want to honor those who perished by being tuned in to the tributes presented by the media networks, but how much is too much?

         The videos of people jumping from the towers will forever be a tragic part of the archive of 9-11.  Some would cite these as the most horrific images from that day, yet much of the carnage was never publicly released because it was legitimately too intense for public viewing.  The images of thousands of burnt and twisted bodies is certainly something that few people yearn to see, and rightfully so, yet there lingers a debate about the release of this footage.  Roxanne Silver, a University of California Irvine professor of psychology and social behavior, had this to say about the matter, “It’s very clear to me that the repeated exposure of images of 9/11 serves no purpose for adults or children, and I would discourage parents from allowing their children to be exposed to graphic images.”  In regards to the children, it is easy to agree with this statement as it is a delicate task to educate young ones on these events without overexposing them.

         One of the authors of this post had the opportunity to speak to a fourth grade class about 9/11 yesterday and found himself at times challenged to describe certain events from the war, in particular, without being inappropriately graphic.  Children aside, many of these images, graphic and patriotic alike, serve as a rallying cry to serve justice on the persons who brought the war to us that day and will forever be a reminder of why we continue to remain vigilant.

    – LaPuasa, Claire Dillard, Louis

  • Who really came out on top during the Super Bowl? The Packers or Bud Light?

    Overall, this years Super Bowl commercials were not as satisfying and did not meet the expectations that previous years commercials met. Usually there is a wide array of different brands being represented, but this year the same ones were repeated. Nonetheless, there were a few that caught our eye.

    Bud Light, which always creates entertaining commercials, did not disappoint. The first commercial that appeared mimicked Extreme Makeover Home Edition and other similar shows.

    The target audience for this commercial is women, different from their usual predominantly male target audience. It begins seeming like the couple, with the typical crazed anticipation of the woman, was going to receive a new kitchen.  Surprise! Only Bud Light was added to the room. The wife was shocked at first and a little unsure, but as people started to party in the kitchen, the host says “now this is a room that everyone wants to be in!”. This adds emphasis to their slogan of “a sure sign of a good time.”

    The second one (our favorite) that spoofed how outrageous product placement has become.

    Product placement is meant to be subtle, something to quietly promote a brand name without interfering the television show or movie (for example, a soda can on a kitchen counter). Bud Light took this fad to the extreme by mentioning how every time you place a product, you get free stuff. Bud Light appears almost twenty times in the thirty-second ad. Since it is such a recognizable brand, they do not have to explain what their product is or why you should buy it. Instead, they are able to use they creativity to make funny and memorable ads that people will talk about. This strengthens their brand by creating a buzz (figuratively and physically).

    They also created a commercial in which the dog sitter throws a party and has the dogs do all the work.

    The dogs open the door, serve beer, DJ, bartend, cook, basically running the party. This is memorable because most people can relate to owning a pet but by having the dogs personify human actions, it creates a humorous and different twist. This ties directly into their current slogan. Even though the commercial does not demonstrate the benefits of drinking Bud Light, it creates an image of how much fun you can have while drinking Bud Light.

    As one of the only three beers represented during the Super Bowl, they stood out as the frontrunner in beer ads for the year.  This indicates their financial prosperity as a company.

    -Allison Day, Jessica Berinson, Megan Canny, Melissa Gagliardi, Scott Burgess