Placement Finds Female Favor

As more marketers open up to product placement in films and on TV, young women are the consumers most receptive to those ad messages, according to a global online survey of 10,000 consumers to be released this week by WPP Group’s Mediaedge:cia.

In the study, which was conducted in September and included only 500 U.S. respondents, nearly 30 percent of men said they are persuaded to buy brands based on product placement, while more than 60 percent of women said they would be so inclined.

The study also revealed that while 62 percent of consumers ages 15-34 agreed “it makes sense” to see brands featured in films, only 44 percent of those over 55 agreed with that sentiment. The study found that women were twice as likely as men to favor product placement.

“Overall, these findings represent an endorsement and a general acceptance of product placement,” said Fran Kennish, senior partner at MediaLab, Mediaedge:cia’s New York-based research unit. She added that women are more likely to be persuaded to try an advertised brand, regardless of the venue.

In other findings, the survey revealed that 65 percent of respondents identified as “movie buffs,” or people with an affinity for a specific show or film, said they notice a product in an entertainment setting, compared with 50 percent of the total.

The study also measured reactions to product placement in Die Another Day (which featured Ford’s Thunderbird and Range Rover) and ABC’s All My Children (for which Revlon was written into a critical part of the storyline).