Young adults' perceptions of product placement in films: An exploratory comparison between the United Kingdom and Hong Kong

Abstract

Even though young adults are a major audience of films and the main target group for product placement, very few studies explore how youngsters across cultures perceive and interpret this marketing communication tool. This study explores this issue through thirty-two in-depth interviews conducted in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. The comparative analysis focused on four aspects: (1) young consumers' movie consumption habits and their exposure to product placement; (2) their general views towards product placement and advertising; (3) their perception of different execution styles of product placement and its impact and (4) the regulatory and ethical concerns of product placement. Results indicate that the young generation actively engages in interpreting brand integration in films and they were generally positive about it. Although interpretations of product placement are reported on an individual basis, this study suggests that culture may also affect how individuals perceive product placement. This exploratory study raises important issues about cultural differences in the perception of brands placed in films and provides insights for further research in the area of product placement.

Keywords::

• product placement
• film
• young consumers
• culture
• interpretation
• ethical concerns

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

^1. Email: [email protected]

^2. Email: [email protected]

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fanny Fong Yee Chan

Fanny Chan is Assistant Professor in Marketing at the School of Business, Hang Seng Management College, Hong Kong. Her research interests include marketing communications, culture and consumer psychology. Her work has been published in International Marketing Review, Journal of Marketing Communications,Journal of Promotion Management, Journal of Product and Brand Management, Asian Journal of Communication,The Marketing Review and others.

Ben Lowe

Ben Lowe is Reader in Marketing at Kent Business School, University of Kent. His research interests are in consumer behaviour, marketing communications and consumer acceptance of innovations. He serves on the editorial review board of Psychology & Marketing and a range of other journals, and his work has been published in journals such as Psychology & Marketing, Technovation, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Interactive Marketing, International Marketing Review, Journal of Consumer Behaviour and others.

Dan Petrovici

Dan Petrovici is Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Kent Business School, University of Kent (UK). His research expertise includes quantitative marketing research, consumer behaviour, marketing communications, the development of cross-cultural marketing models and emerging markets. He contributed to 5 books and has published 20 journal articles in journals such as the European Journal of Marketing, International Marketing Review and International Journal of Advertising.