Product placement and prior notification : effect on brand attitude

Abstract

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.