The Magic of Movies Part 2: Product Placement in Movies and the Impact on the Consumer

The last post looked at items inspired by a movie, another way movies can have an effect on retailers is by making movies a way for consumers to window shop. There are plenty of examples of how certain retailers handled the interest in their product featured in a movie. I have photos from items that were featured in a film. You can try and guess the film then scroll down for the answer.

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Movie products 1: Hint these were featured in films from the 80’s

In the last post I looked at how the movies Disney creates can be used to help inspire a smaller business in its relationship with a product. Disney creates movies keeping in mind the revenue it can get from the merchandise. A topic for the sites mention the short Frozen Fever that was shown before Cinderella are the dresses that Anna and Elsa wear that little girls will be looking to own. For movies that aren’t animated the line between long infomercial and true product placement that works with the movie can be a challenge. Capitalizing on this also requires some organization. A few examples below will look at the best and the worst  companies for their ability to capitalize on their product promoted in a movie.

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So first movie if you didn’t already guess on the left is E.T. Hershey’s saw major boost in profits about 65%, as well as major brand recognition.

Second, Risky business these shades by Ray-Ban are not only used in the film but also on the poster. Annual sales of this style were 18,000 pairs after the year this movie is released 360,000 pairs were sold. Added trivia these shades are the same that Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Third Back to the Future, another popular movie with an item it seems needed to wait until the future to be bought. Nike failed on this product placement strategy they only created 1,000 pairs to sell. I’m sure there were many people wanted to be rockin the Marty McFly look. The people in charge should have had better forecasting for that product.

What about jewelry though? It’s much cheaper to buy a bag of Reese’s Pieces than buy the necklace from a recently released movie like Focus starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie. Piaget not only had the necklace below featured but watches were worn by the actors and a major event in the movie is sponsored by Piaget so there name is visible. For larger retailers there is a bit of an advantage but smaller designers can have some luck as well.

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The highly anticipated and watch movie know for what wasn’t on the actors had the surprise it piece of jewelry that was mentioned in a previous JCK article. Seattle based brand Veronica & Harold got a major surprise and rush in orders when designer Lisa Richardt saw her necklace on Dakota Johnson. A helpful site to view this and other related pieces is The Take.

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This start-up featured in an article by Wired Magazine, can be accessed from your computer or on an iPhone. The concept is to let you locate an item in the company’s expanding database and buy that exact item or a similar item as seen in the example above for a different price point. If you see a movie that has a star wearing your item or a similar one, trying to submit it on the take would be one new media to use to get expose to that piece. If you have any questions or comments please leave them below or follow me on Facebook for more updates from Data in the Rough!