Compared to the $50bn advertising industry, the $2bn spent on product placement is relatively small. But one of the ways that advertisers think they can get around the PVR ad-skipping problem is with product placement.Product placement is nothing new. Just think of all those Subway Sandwiches logos you saw in Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore, or the over-the-top use of Head and Shoulders in Evolution.
Product placement is normally done through slow and lengthy business deals between content producers and advertisers. This in itself is a hurdle to getting products placed.
NextMedium, a venture capital startup, now hopes to change that by automating the process. To put it simply, NextMedium has a website where content producers can place requests for product placements, and advertisers can come in and search.
To be honest, I am surprised that this has not been done already. I guess some of the best ideas are just simple and staring you in the face.
Even though product placement is definitely becoming more important as a result of ad-skipping PVRs, it's not necessarily the overall answer.
Product placement only really works for branding, other messages are difficult to get across. Interactive adverts, like the recent Sony ad, are one alternative.
