Brands Shifting Media Buys Into Product Placement, Study Finds

With ad-avoidance at all-time highs, brands will shift around 10% of their media budget into product placement.

Nike Jordan tank top in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

With advertising frequency and reach issues continuing to challenge the media industry, one recent study says 70% of brands will look to shift around 10% of media budget into entertainment product placement — on TV and film.

The study was conducted by BENLabs, an AI-driven product-placement company, which adds that 75% of U.S. consumers have searched for a product or brand after seeing it in a TV show or film — with 57% looking to make a purchase.

Global product placement is estimated to exceed $25 million in 2026 — rising to $41.4 billion by 2026, according to PQ Media.

In the U.S., product placement in U.S. entertainment TV shows, film and music in 2022 was estimated at $15 billion — and forecast to grow to $23.5 billion by 2026.

TV is the most dominant media platform — with 75% of all product placement going to that channel. Film is next at 15% with digital media at 4%, according to PQ Media.

One of the key arguments for brands, according to the study, is that product placement can extend much-needed reach for many marketers — especially those who use traditional linear TV as a big piece of their media campaigns.

Product placement used to provide incremental TV reach grew 29% to those who use TV. This comes to 57% of those in the total sample of 277 marketing executive respondents, according to BENLabs.

This piece was originally published by MediaPost and was written by Wayne Friedman.

What's Trending?

See all Trending

The latest and greatest product placement news and industry insights in one place.