Observations: Unpaid product placement

Abstract

Paid-for product placement was permitted for the first time on commercial TV in the UK by media regulator Ofcom in February 2011. At the time of writing, some 12 months later, estimates suggest there have been fewer than 20 paid placement deals, amounting to revenue less than 2% of the £150 million¹ that optimists estimated the industry to be worth. In this commentary we draw on confidential and informal interviews with industry insiders to set previous academic research in the field within the UK’s unique regulatory context, and we highlight problems inherent in the new industry. Foremost among these is the reluctance of the broadcasters and Ofcom to acknowledge that the free prop supply system that has provided branded scene props to UK productions, including the BBC, for some 30 years, has been and continues to be a de facto product placement industry. Given that, even in a mature paid-for placement market such as the US, industry insiders estimate that 80% of brands on TV are not paid for,² we argue that unpaid product placement, also known as free prop supply, is the elephant in the room in regulation and academic research. We make suggestions as to how the impasse in the UK TV product placement industry might be resolved, and we outline ways in which academic research might play a supporting role.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chris Hackley

Chris Hackley is Professor of Marketing in the School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. His PhD, from Strathclyde University, explored the creative development process at top advertising agencies. His research has been published in various journals including the Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Business Ethics, British Journal of Management, European Journal of Marketing and International Journal of Advertising. His books include Marketing – A Critical Introduction (2010) London, Sage and Advertising – An Integrated Marketing Communications Approach (2010), also with Sage.

Rungpaka Amy Hackley née Tiwsakul

Rungpaka Amy Hackley née Tiwsakul is Lecturer in Marketing at Queen Mary, University of London. Previously, she was Lecturer in Marketing at Durham Business School, Durham University, and prior to that, at the University of Surrey. Amy’s PhD entailed a cross-cultural exploration of consumers’ experiences of TV product placement. Her research on various aspects of consumer culture has been published in Advances in Consumer Research and several book chapters, and in the journals International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Marketing Communications, Business Ethics: A European Review, Journal of Business Research, and is forthcoming in Journal of Marketing Management and Marketing Theory.