Product Placements Up 6% in First Quarter

Product placements for the first quarter of 2008 rose 6% on primetime programming for the 11 measured networks on broadcast (ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, MNT, NBC) and cable television (A&E, Bravo, HGTV, MTV, TLC), according to Nielsen, writes MarketingCharts.

Among the key data that Nielsen reported:

• Broadcast television placements rose 39%, while cable television was essentially flat at -1%.
• There were 117,976 brand occurrences on cable and broadcast networks in the first three months of the year, according to Nielsen Product Placement Service.
• The most prevalent placement type on broadcast television was “foreground,” which represented 35% of all product placements.
• On cable television, “wardrobe” placements were most common, accounting for 32% of all placements.

Broadcast Television Product Placements

Top 10 Broadcast Television Programs (see table)

• The top 10 programs featured 15,404 occurrences in the first three months of this year-compared with 8,893 occurrences in the same time period in 2007.
• “The Biggest Loser,” with 3,977 occurrences, was the top program in number of placements.
• Four of the top 10 programs aired on CW, and six programs had over 1,000 placements.

“Deal Or No Deal” featured a special NFL-themed episode, originally aired in September 2007 and re-run in the first quarter 2008, which featured an NFL logo on the stage, NFL helmets throughout the set, and models and contestants clad in NFL apparel. That episode alone had 1,372 product placements. All other “Deal or No Deal” episodes during the first quarter of 2008 had fewer than 100 occurrences.

Top 10 Broadcast Television Brands (see table)

• The top 10 featured brands on prime-time broadcast network television increased by 52% in the first quarter this year, from 4,253 occurrences in 2007 to 6,453 during the first three months of 2008.
• Coca-Cola, primarily through its association with “American Idol,” was again the top brand, with 2,380 occurrences for this time period.
• The February 21 episode of “American Idol” with Coca-Cola was especially well received by the viewing audience- nearly 60% recognized the brand and responded positively to it.
• 24 Hour Fitness Centers (1,545 occurrences) and Pussycat Dolls Lounge Nightclubs (479 occurrences) rounded out the top three brands on Broadcast television.
• Notably, six of the top 10 brands are associated with sports/exercise.

Top Broadcast Television Product Categories

• The top five product categories on broadcast network television had more than 1,000 placements each.
• Soft Drinks ranked first, with 2,502 placements. Of these, Coca-Cola accounted for 2,380.
• The Apparel, Fitness Centers/Clubs, Football Team, and Exercise Equipment also made the top five.

Cable Television Product Placements

Top 10 Cable Television Programs (see table)

• The top 10 cable programs that featured product placements accounted for 59,308 occurrences in the first quarter of 2008 - an increase of 16% from 50,940 during the first quarter of 2007.
• “American Chopper” on TLC was again the top program, with 16,164 placements.
• Half of the programs in the Top 10 air on MTV, and three air on BRAVO.

Top 10 Cable Television Brands (see table)

• The top 10 featured brands on prime-time cable network television in this year’s first quarter accounted for 17,356 occurrences - a 28% increase from 13,501 occurrences in 2007.
• Under Armour Apparel was the top brand, with 2,960 occurrences for this time period - mainly through its association with the program “Real World Road Rules Challenge.”
• Each brand in the top 10 placed more than 1,000 placements.

Notably, the top performing placements were not heavyweights in terms of activity: They included Home Depot on the February 10 episode of HGTV’s “Color Splash,” Flow Power Tools on TLC’s “American Chopper,” and Hershey’s integration on BRAVO’s “Project Runway.” Each had an impact on more than half the viewing audience in terms of brand recognition and positive feeling.

Top Cable Television Product Categories

• With 18,307 placements, Apparel was easily the number-one product placement category on cable television during the first quarter of 2008.
• The top three apparel brands each had more than 1,000 placements during the first quarter: Under Armour Apparel (2,960 occurrences), Orange County Choppers Apparel (2,264 occurrences), and Big Black Apparel (1,149 occurrences).
• Nike Apparel and Sean John Apparel also ranked among the top five apparel brands.
• Four of the top five cable programs with the most apparel placements air on MTV.