Product placement dives into streaming to find audiences again

Future. With audiences moving toward ad-free streaming platforms, advertisers are doubling down on an old-school way to get their product seen: putting them in movies and TV shows. If good data is able to match up content with products that don’t annoy audiences, brands may see an unprecedented return on their investment.

Series & Snacks
With so many streaming services available, audiences are fractured. That means product placement needs to be more targeted and data-driven to stand out, while also being a natural part of the content.

• That’s where companies like the Bill Gates-backed BEN come in. BEN uses A.I. to determine what shows have the likelihood of becoming hits, which it then shares with clients, such as Frito-Lay.
• BEN is also able to “change it in post” — changing products in a film or show for different audiences around the world (as long as it makes sense).
• The company then surveys how audiences feel about a brand after they are exposed to product placement, and it’s also working on ways to monitor how the placement directly affects sales for the companies.

According to data researcher PQ Media, product placement is poised to be one of the biggest sectors of advertising growth, rising 13.8% to $23.3 billion this year… while overall marketing spend is expected to only grow by 5.9%.

Advertising desert
As audiences do everything in their power to avoid traditional TV advertising (or advertising in any form), allowing ads to feel authentic and organic is actually the best way to stand out.

Ricky Ray Butler, the chief executive officer of BEN, said that “if you’re able to navigate the content, and you have the technology to be able to figure out to prioritize and predict how to best target your audience, you can literally have the impact of a Super Bowl ad every week.” It beats paying for a single Super Bowl commercial…