SCREENGRAB OF PRODUCT PLACEMENT “P” IN CREDITS AFTER THE BREAK.

SCREEN GRAB OF NESCAFE “DOLCE GUSTO” COFFEE MACHINE ON THIS MORNING!

As the rest of the world wakes up to the results of this year’s Oscars, there is one award that the UK media are particularly interested in…the” Award for the First Product Placement on a UK Television Show”.

…..and the award goes to “Nestle in This Morning”.

With product placement permitted on UK screens from today, ITV are proud to announce that their daytime flagship show “This Morning” will be the first show to feature a brand that has paid to appear on screen.

Nestle is rumoured to have paid £100,000 to have their coffee machine, the Dolce Gusto appear on the screen in the background for 3 months.

The opening credits featured the P logo, albeit very subtly, highlighting to viewers that the programme contains product placement and the P was visible after each commercial break. 

Though, as the logo doesn’t  make reference to the specific brand, it may have left viewers wondering what they were supposed to be looking out for!

Was it the I-Phone that host Philip Schofield holds up to the camera at the start, or the electrical gadgets furnishing The Hub where the viewer’s comments are aired, including 2 x 50inch touch screen monitors, white monitors or even the I-Pad held by Colleen Nolan.

When the coffee machine did make it’s eagerly awaited appearance, it was in the back of shot and only those knowing what to look out would have noticed it…in fact many would have been mistaken for thinking it was the iconic Lea & Perrins Worcester sauce bottle which was far more prominent.

“If Nestle did pay that level of fee – which equates to roughly £1,400 a day to reach an audience of up to 1.6million – then to truly get their money’s worth it’s all about what Nestle can do with their association with the show” says Darryl Collis, Director of Seesaw Media, a UK based product placement agency, who in the past have secured exposure for Nestle products on UK television shows under the prop provision basis.

Having negotiated hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of product placement deals for clients, with Darryl’s vast experience in this area, he knows securing the placement is only half of the process “It’s what the brand does with that placement and association that really makes an impact, with “As seen on This Morning” the most obvious way of promoting their association.”

With the current media interest in product placement, there is obviously a benefit being the first to market and more people will be talking about the coffee machine placement now for that exact reason.

Darryl continues “However, now that first place is gone, brands will need to think smarter and more creatively in order to maximise their association within a show.”

Darryl, like everyone else will be watching how this placement unfolds over the coming weeks with great interest, not only for the audience reaction but also whether Nestle have had their money’s worth in terms of media value and sales. 

Following Ofcom’s announcement to allow Product Placement in UK produced shows, one London based product placement agency has seen an increase in enquiries by over 80%.

“These enquires have not just come from blue chip brands wanting to secure exposure in high profile dramas,” says Darryl Collis, Director of Seesaw Media the UK’s leading product placement agency, “but also from production companies who are looking to tap into the potential revenue that product placement can bring.”

 UK companies are now turning to product placement as a viable medium for getting their message across, through embedding their product or service into the content; something their US counterparts have benefited from for years, where the industry is said to be worth over £2.5 billionand rising.

“With audiences watching on various different platforms, it’s hard to know where to buy your media space.” Darryl continues. ”The one constant is integrating a brand into a film, television show or music video, that way no matter where they are being viewed they know their product is there”

If more and more brands commit their advertising spend – which many analysts predict will come from the on-line sector, PR and direct marketing budgets – the UK industry could follow  the US model where product placement counts for 5% of the total UK TV advertising market which would value it at £150m, probably in the next 10 years.

Seesaw Media are meeting regularly with brands, production companies and media agencies to brief them on what the new Ofcom regulations on product placement mean when they come into force from 28th February 2011 and how they can benefit from this change in legislation.

Darryl points out that “Placing products into content is an ideal way of ensuring exposure to a receptive audience without alienating the viewer or jeopardising the integrity of the production”

 Darryl continues “Unlike the US, product placement in UK productions needs to be in a subtle and less intrusive way otherwise it will turn the viewer off”. 

He goes on to site the placement of Dr Pepper in 90210 as a clunky placement that British viewers would not stand for.

 “It’s about striking the right balance between a brand having on screen exposure and being noticed but not interrupting the viewer’s enjoyment of the programme”

If a brand and a production company understand that and can work together with that aim, it will be beneficial for both parties and product placement will thrive.