Product placement and prior notification : effect on brand attitude

2013

The aim of this master thesis was to find the effect of prior notification of product placement

on Norwegian television series and film viewers’ attitude towards product placed brands.

We put forward three research questions concerning the relationship between prior

notification and brand attitude, a research area that had not previously been studied. The

first question is concerned with the relationship between prior notification and brand

attitude, whereas the other questions apprehended how the effect would change for different

levels of product placement prominence and program liking. In order to answer the research

questions, we proposed nine hypotheses, which were based on literature concerning product

placement, persuasion knowledge and psychological reactance. Based on our results, the

most important implication for Norwegian television channel and film concept and sponsor

managers is that prior notification seems to have little influence on the effectiveness of the

product placement on brand attitude. Thus, the value of product placements should be

considered equal regardless of whether or not prior notification is existent. Different levels

of product placement prominence and program liking also seem to yield the same results

with regards to outcome on brand attitude. However, we found a significant effect of the

independent variable Brand on brand attitude, in addition to interaction effects for Brand in

combination with both product placement prominence and program liking. This indicates

that decisions regarding the appropriate level of product placement prominence and choice

of media channel for conducting product placements should be adjusted to each individual

brand.