Imagine this scene in a movie: The protagonist is driving his fancy Porsche, drinking a bottle of soda and then parking next to a KFC delivery truck.
People may not notice, but the sitting in that scene was not chosen randomly; there is always a reason behind this ‘embedded marketing.’ In Sociology, that reason is called Product Placement, and it is more prevalent than one might suspect.
According to sociologists, product placement can be explained as an advertising or marketing tool in which companies pay a fee or provide services in exchange for a prominent display of their products. People frequently see this technique in movies, the story life of Television shows, or news programs. However, it has also been prevalent in sports, from professional sports to college sports and it even extends to sport video games.
Clearly, people now pay greater attention on sports events than they used to do in the past. Therefore companies are using that as an advantage to market and advertise their products to sports fans. However, this phenomenon is intensively spreading everywhere that its few advantages are turning to overwhelming disadvantages. For example, consumers are angry about the growth in the number of product placements. They feel that their favorite shows are being turned into commercials.
In addition to that, some sociologists has discussed major problems of the process of integrating ads into the content of sports programming, which include the following:
First of all, by this technique, some companies can easily advertise ethically charged products that may destroy a culture's belief, such as guns, cigarettes, and alcohol to a huge audience and portray them as appealing.
Secondly, product replacement in sports can create huge marketing risks. This risk is not only for the producers or studios, but also for the consumers themselves. For example, it creates clutter for both sides. Consumers may get frustrated with the placements or feel that these placements prevent them from watching their favorites matches. It also creates clutter in consumers’ choices of certain products such as, Coke versus Pepsi or Mac versus Windows, and that may negatively impact the companies’ revenues.
In conclusion, product replacement is greatly increased in sports and it is becoming a threat to the businesses fields and other sectors. However, I think product placement can be a useful tool if controlled and executed properly. For example, it may attract new potential customers and produce mutual beneficial relationships between the companies and consumers.
