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Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 1083 – 1090

Effectiveness of brand placement: New insights about viewers

Jean-Marc Lehu a,⁎, Etienne Bressoud b
a
Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, CEREM, 17 rue de la Sorbonne 75005 Paris, France
b
European Business School Paris, IREBS, 37-39 boulevard Murat 75016 Paris, France

Received 1 March 2007; received in revised form 1 July 2007; accepted 1 September 2007

Abstract

Since traditional media have become saturated, the technique of product placement has been attracting growing interest. This research explores
new insights concerning viewers' reactions during a second viewing of a movie. A sample of 3532 French viewers of DVDs has been used to link
the way the movie was chosen, viewed and appreciated (or not) with a spontaneous brand placement recall, the day after the film was watched at
home. Results make a contribution to strengthening professionals' interest in the technique, and to adding to academic knowledge of the topic. A
first viewing of the movie at the cinema improves brand placement recall, as does watching the movie at home on a large home cinema screen.
Such an improvement also occurs when a DVD movie is chosen either because of the movie director or when the viewer likes the movie.
© 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Consumer; Product placement; Brand placement; Movie; Film; Branded-entertainment; Spontaneous day-after recall

1. Introduction had been transferred from their TV advertising budget (Consoli,

Product placements (a product and/or a brand intentionally
placed in a cultural medium) are mushrooming in movies
nowadays. In 2007 alone, the fact that in the movie Sleuth,
Bvlgari jewels are a key element of the plot, that MSNBC is the
favored news channel in The Invasion, that the Porsche car
brand is used as a reference in Transformers, that the New York
Post is the unavoidable newspaper in the movie The Brave One,
and that a Sony video camera is used in Vantage Point, a
Columbia picture (subsidiary of the Sony Group), is not
coincidental at all. Those products are part of a so-called
product placement deal. Product placement in movies has
become a communication technique which is used more than
ever by advertisers (Karrh et al., 2003; PQ Media, 2007). A
recent Association of National Advertisers (ANA) survey
indicates that 63% of the American advertisers who responded
already integrated product placement actions in their commu-
nication plan, 52% specifying that financing for those actions
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 169 030 680.
E-mail addresses: jmlehu@wanadoo.fr (J.-M. Lehu), ebressoud@yahoo.fr
(E. Bressoud).
0148-2963/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.09.015
2005). A great deal of research is already devoted to product
placement in all its forms (Nelson, 2002; La Ferle and Edwards,
2006; Gupta and Gould, 2007) and more specifically to product
placement in movies (Karrh, 1998). This paper strives to
present new insights into the viewer's contact with the movie
and the brand placement. This approach originally focuses on
the impact of brand placement on the potential second viewing
stage (Brée, 1996; Bressoud and Lehu, 2007a), by using an
innovative study of DVD viewers instead of the usual movie
theatre viewers. The terms product placement and brand place-
ment are sometimes used interchangeably. In this paper, new
findings are presented to advertisers about the links existing
between the viewers' exposure conditions and the impact of
brand placements.
2. Brand placement in movies
Since the first brand placements appeared in novels two
centuries ago, they have developed with the movie industry
(Turner, 2004; Newell and Salmon, 2004). Product placement is a
crossbreed technique, that combines different communication
techniques into one, taking place in a cultural and/or entertainment
1084 J.-M. Lehu, E. Bressoud / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 1083–1090
environment. Placing a product consists of putting a product and/or
a brand into a movie scene where it can be seen and/or its name
heard. The placement can either be paid for by the advertiser or be
part of a barter deal concerning products and/or services such as
logistics facilities (Karrh, 1998). Ford paid for an Aston Martin car
to be featured once again in the James Bond films from Die
Another Day (2002) onwards, but BMW at no charge supplied 32
Minis with specific features for The Italian Job (2003). Mainly
since the end of the 1980s, several papers contribute to a better
understanding of this communication technique which is dubbed
hybrid by Balasubramanian (1994) since brand placement puts an
ad message in entertainment medium. Its positive effect on attitude
(Fontaine, 2005; Redondo, 2006) and especially its potential
impact on brand recall (Brennan et al., 1999; d'Astous and Chartier,
2000) represent the main core of the research knowledge.
2.1. The reasons for product placement growth
Confronted with the fragmentation of media and their
audiences on the one hand (Deloitte, 2005) and with the rise
of electronic video devices allowing viewers to skip commer-
cials (O'Neill and Barrett, 2004) on the other, advertisers are
increasingly seeking to re-establish the link between products
and their consumers. As brand placement in movies seems to be
well accepted (O'Reilly et al., 2005), sometimes less expensive
than a 30-second TV spot and also more effective (Jaffe, 2005),
this communication technique is becoming more frequently
used. Ways of placing the brand may differ, but the main
purpose of obtaining brand recall and improving brand image
remains (Lehu, 2007). That is why in 2006, for instance,
Heineken beer was generously drunk in Madea's Family
Reunion, why Chief Inspector Clouseau drove a Smart car in
The Pink Panther and why Dole bananas were eagerly eaten
in Curious George.
Movies are not the only medium used for brand or product
placement. Some can be found in television series or shows,
theatre plays, songs, videogames, novels… (Kretchmer, 2004;
Moser et al., 2004). The primary reason remains the same:
generating complementary income for the author, the medium
or the production on the one hand, while offering an opportunity
of branded entertainment to the advertiser (Russell and Belch,
2005). Car makers were among the first to use the technique
because of the potentially very large audience for a low cost
(Parrish, 1976). Moreover the same movie can now be seen in
theatres, on DVD, cable/satellite TV, syndication and reruns.
Besides, building a fake car would be too costly for a production
and somehow could appear too obvious to the audience (Moser
et al., 2004).
2.2. Modalities and effectiveness of a product placement
Research into product placement usually focuses on
effectiveness or spectators' acceptance of this hybrid technique.
Nevertheless, most research in this field explains and gauges
effectiveness by the way the placement is made, meaning that
most of the results show how the characteristics of the brand
placement affect its effectiveness (effects from the placement).
Balasubramanian et al. (2006) identify several measures of
effectiveness: brand typicality/incidence, placement recogni-
tion, brand salience, placement recall, brand portrayal rating,
identification with brand/imitation, brand attitude, purchase
intention, brand choice, and brand usage behavior. Three
placement modalities are usually distinguished: prominence,
audiovisual and plot insertion. Prominent placements occur
when the product is made highly visible by the virtue of the size
and/or position on the screen or its centrality to the action in the
scene (Gupta and Lord, 1998). The audiovisual characteristic
refers to the appearance of the brand on the screen and/or to the
brand being mentioned in a dialogue (Russell, 2002). Finally,
plot insertion refers to the degree to which the brand is
integrated into the story itself (Russell, 1998). Such research
contributes to a better understanding of product placement
effectiveness (Vollmers and Mizerski, 1994; Russell, 2002;
Karrh et al., 2003; Bressoud and Lehu, 2007b), and more
specifically brand communication effectiveness.
Several researchers have worked on placement effectiveness,
and still do, either in movie theatres (Ong and Meri, 1994) or in
TV program, including series (Stern and Russell, 2004).
However, even if they recognized that a movie placement has
a first life in theatres and a second life in the home (Vollmers
and Mizerski 1994), little research has focused on this topic
(Brée, 1996). Research into product placement concentrates on
placement conditions which can be partly controlled by the
advertiser.
2.3. Research objective
Because the link between a spectator's conditions of
exposure and brand placement effectiveness cannot be con-
trolled, less research focuses on this relationship. But a
spectator's attitude influences such effectiveness (Johnstone
and Dodd, 2000; Fontaine, 2002), and the advertiser could have
chosen the movie on the basis of the attitude the story was
supposed to generate. This primary analysis leads us to one
goal: exploring the influence of the spectator's attitude on the
effectiveness of a second life brand placement in a film on DVD
watched in the home. This goal is achieved by explaining the
effectiveness of the brand placement in terms of the spectator's
attitude while watching the movie during this second viewing;
the effectiveness is analyzed using an experiment with DVD
viewers.
3. Hypotheses
The extent of spontaneous day-after recall (SDAR) in terms
of number of brand placements seen on screen and remembered
is used in this research as the measure of brand placement
effectiveness. In determining this, the role of the consumer
becomes pregnant, discussing how many brands a consumer
should remember, given the conditions pertaining when he or
she was exposed to the movie. The advertiser's objective is
obviously to make sure that the consumer recalls the specific
brand and that he or she does so regardless of the modalities of
the brand placement.
 J.-M. Lehu, E. Bressoud / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 1083–1090
Four hypotheses have been formulated to link brand
placement and the consumer who has been exposed to this
communication technique. The main innovation in this research
is to focus on the second wave of potential exposure—DVD as
opposed to the cinema. The first two hypotheses focus on this
aspect, before and during the exposure to the movie. The last
two hypotheses concentrate on the spectator's attitude towards
the movie before and after viewing the movie in which brands
are placed.
3.1. Second life of the placement
Among the respondents, some may have seen the movie
previously, in cinemas. Johnstone and Dodd (2000) first test the
hypothesis that SDAR might be higher if viewers were watching
the movie for the second time. Unfortunately, they conclude that
prior exposure has too little impact upon brand salience level to
support this hypothesis. Their hypothesis is tested on a sample of
53 viewers. The present research employs a sample of 3532
viewers. A brand placement has several lives (Brée, 1996) which
interact through the many viewings of the movie. Consequently:
Hypothesis 1a. The extent of brand placement SDAR on DVD
viewing is favorably influenced by a first viewing of the movie
at the cinema.
Consistent with this first hypothesis that links TVand theater,
and the wish to focus on the TV second viewing, the difference
of size of a TV screen, smaller than that of a theatre screen, must
be considered. Two of the three modalities of product place-
ment, plot integration and audiovisual remain the same whether
the movie is shown on a theatre screen or on a TV screen.
However, the third modality, prominence, may be drastically
changed, given the difference in absolute screen size. Depend-
ing on the size of the screen, the product placement may appear
less prominent on TV than on a cinema screen. Of course, the
relative size of the placement in the movie scene always remains
proportionally the same. In a cinema all the spectators are seeing
the movie on a large screen, but this is not the case when it is
viewed at home. However, pre-tests informed us that a certain
number of viewers use video widescreen projection instead of a
traditional TV set. This is not a problem if the size of the
placement has no impact on its recall. Nevertheless, several
researchers insist on the role of placement prominence (Gupta
and Lord, 1998; Brennan et al., 1999; d'Astous and Chartier,
2000). They demonstrate that the more prominent the
placement, the greater the impact. Thus the size of the
placement in relation to the size of the screen – which is part
of the placement prominence definition – influences the place-
ment recall. This led us to question whether the absolute size of
the placement could play the same role: that is, whether the
larger the screen on which the respondents have been watching
the movie, and thus the bigger the brand placement's appea-
rance, would, via this prominence, result in better recognition
and recall. Consequently:
Hypothesis 1b. Watching the movie at home, on a large home
cinema screen, improves the extent of brand placement SDAR.
1085
3.2. Spectator's attitude towards the movie
The two following hypotheses concern the choice of the
movie and its appreciation.
Some movie viewers choose their movie (in movie theatres
or on DVD) because of the film's director (Ainslie et al.,
2003). Those movie fans may be more interested than the
average in the direction, the set and/or the acting, their sup-
posedly higher attention could lead to a greater degree of
SDAR for brand placements. The purpose of this hypothesis is
not to analyze the impact of the director's contingent fame on
the SDAR. All the selected movies could be considered as
successful in their domestic market, but the fame of the
director was obviously very different from one film to another.
So the goal is just to identify the possible impact of the movie
director, whoever he or she was. Based on a direct effect due
to vigilance:
Hypothesis 2a. Choosing a DVD movie because of the director
improves the extent of brand placement SDAR.
Fontaine (2002) shows that appreciation of a movie has a
positive impact on attitude change. This result is still accurate for
recall and then, for a viewer who has enjoyed the movie, details
might be better perceived and then be better recalled. This
hypothesis is also inspired by Johnstone and Dodd's work (2000)
stressing the fact that placements could increase brand salience,
and particularly so if the audience liked the movie. Consequently:
Hypothesis 2b. The more the DVD viewers appreciate the
movie, the more they spontaneously recall placed brands.
This set of hypotheses is summarized in Fig. 1.
4. Research design
This section presents the original method adopted of
collecting data following a second stage viewing of a movie
and the methodology used to test the four hypotheses.
4.1. Data collection
The purpose of this research is to innovate by using a large,
convenient sample of video viewers questioned the day after
watching a movie on DVD, when leaving one of the three
French video rental shops chosen for the study. The intention is
to collect answers from single respondents only. This means that
the DVD viewers are each interviewed about one film only. The
final sample includes 3532 video viewers questioned about one
of the following 11 American movies: Men in Black II, Mi-
nority Report, Analyze That, Banger Sisters, Fashion Victim,
Austin Powers in Goldmember, Johnny English, Intolerable
Cruelty, Mr. Deed, Hardball and Paycheck. These movies were
selected for the research because they were newly released
DVDs (meaning heavy rentals during the data collection
process), because they were successful (meaning many copies
1086 J.-M. Lehu, E. Bressoud / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 1083–1090

Fig. 1. The research model.

were available at the time, facilitating the data collection) and on the dependent variable. Independent variables are mentioned
essentially because the placements were easily and clearly in each of the four hypotheses presented above. The dependent
recognizable. This research covers a period from 2003 to 2005 variable is the number of brands recalled by the respondent
partly because the decision to choose real motion pictures meant (SDAR) in one movie. A hypothesis is validated when the
that they had to be selected carefully to ensure their maximal relationship between the studied variable and the dependent
usefulness. All the brand placements identified and used in the variable is significant, that is p-value is less than 5%, and
research were strictly isolated, meaning that the link between an produces the expected mean of the value. Because the number
SDAR and a specific placement is exclusive, because each of placements varies from one movie to another (indeed from 4
brand placement occurs just once in the movie considered. The to 22 in the movies considered), the total number of brand
movies have not been modified in order to control brand placements in the movie has been included in the model as a
placements. This point was crucial to ensure that, during the control variable.
interview with the respondent, questions were referring to the
same brand placement. Furthermore, American movies repre- 5. Results and discussion
sented 55% of the 2003 French DVD market by volume, and
69% by value (CNC, 2005). Of the respondents questioned, 34% noticed and, the
following day, recalled at least one brand placement in the
4.2. Measurements movie they watched. The size of the sample, 3532 DVD
viewers, appears sufficiently large compared with the number of
The SDAR of each placement was added to calculate the respondents surveyed in the reviewed research in this field,
extent of SDAR per movie for one respondent, that is the from 62 (Sabherwal et al., 1994) to 378 (Fontaine, 2002), to
dependent variable. The previous watching of the movie in a allow us to diversify spectators, movies and placement
cinema was measured by a dichotomous question. Respondents modalities. This seemed necessary partly to compensate for
were asked whether they watched the movie on a TV or on a the constraints arising from the fact that, when using real movies
large home cinema screen. They were also questioned about the rather than films created especially for the research or simply
reasons for their DVD choice, which were considered as excerpts, researchers do not have full control of the placement
“director: yes or no”. Finally, appreciation of the movie was modalities.
evaluated on a 0 to 20 scale (0 meaning a total dislike and 20 an
absolute liking). The data collection process took place from Table 1
January 2003 to February 2005 focusing on the selected just Model parameters of the ANCOVA
released DVDs. The questionnaire was systematically submit-
Source Value Standard t PrN|t| Lower Upper
ted to every person renting one of the DVDs employed in the error bound bound
research. Every respondent freely chose the movie he or she (95%) (95%)
wanted to watch. Owing to the small size of the video clubs, Intercept 0.13 0.07 2.00 0.05 0.00 0.26
their proximity and the appeal of the research subject, only six Brands_in_movie 0.00 0.00 0.15 0.88 −0.01 0.01
individuals refused to answer the questionnaire. Evaluation_Rank 0.02 0.01 3.77 0.01 0.01 0.03
Projection—TV 0.00 0.00
Projection— 0.86 0.05 17.39 b0.01 0.76 0.96
4.3. Methodology
HomeCinema
Choice_Director—No 0.00 0.00
Since the four hypotheses are not independent, all of them Choice_Director—Yes 0.83 0.06 13.86 b0.01 0.71 0.95
have been tested in the same model rather than individually. Shown_Cinema—No 0.00 0.00
Hypotheses are validated using an ANCOVA, which allows us Shown_Cinema—Yes 0.85 0.05 15.64 b0.01 0.74 0.96
to study the simultaneous impact of each independent variable Dependent variable: Number of SDAR.
 J.-M. Lehu, E. Bressoud / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 1083–1090
First of all, according to the ANCOVA results (see Table 1),
the control variable – that is the total number of brand
placements in the movie – does not explain the degree of SDAR
(probability associated is 0.88), which means that a profusion of
brand placements does not automatically increase the number of
brands recalled.
5.1. Extended time potential for product placement
Because of the specific characteristics of DVD viewers, this
research took place during a potential second exposure to
product placements. Validating Hypothesis 1a (“Shown_Ci-
nema—Yes” parameter N 0; p b 0.01) means that the respondents
who have previously seen the movie in a cinema show more
SDAR than respondents who have seen the movie for the first
time on DVD. On the one hand, this analysis shows that product
recall is stronger among viewers watching the movie on DVD a
few months after viewing this same movie in cinemas. On the
other hand, because some 15% of the respondents (representing
522 viewers) rented a DVD even after having seen the film in
cinemas the previous year, this result supports the product
placement professionals' view as well as the academic research
which argues that the potential total audience could be far
bigger than the one calculated from cinema tickets alone (Brée,
1996).
Of the sample 17% saw the movie on a large screen (home
cinema). Since the extent of SDAR was significantly greater
among these 587 respondents, Hypothesis 1b is validated
(“Projection—HomeCine” parameter N 0; p b 0.01). Indeed, the
large dimensions of the screen allow the brand placement to
appear significantly greater in size, that is more prominent, and
hence to be more effective (Brennan et al., 1999; d'Astous and
Chartier, 2000). Considering only the size of the placement,
independent of its duration, placements seen for the first time at
the movie theatre might be more effective than placements seen
for the first time on a regular TV screen.
5.2. Benefits from spectators' positive attitude
The findings relating to choice of a DVD because of the
movie's director support Hypothesis 2a (“Choice_Director—
Yes” parameter N 0; p b 0.01). Logically, a movie fan who
prefers a specific director is more alert to certain details, and
thus to various brand placements. Nevertheless, the 10.4% of
respondents who chose their DVD for this reason were
knowledgeable about movie directing. They were attracted by
the director's name, leading to a direct effect. For advertisers,
these results therefore invite them to favor well-known and
accomplished directors for their branded entertainment deal.
This partly explains why the $25 million global product
placement deal for Steven Spielberg's Minority Report appears
quite suitable and logical (Lehu, 2005).
Hypothesis 2b, about the evaluation of the movie by the
respondents, is validated (“Evaluation_Rank” parameter N 0;
p b 0.001). Here, also, such a validation means that the more the
viewers liked the movie they watched, the better they recalled
the brand placements. The validation of this hypothesis leads us
1087
to conclude that a positive environment influences the degree of
SDAR for brand placements. Thus, not only are advertisers
invited to select the type of movie in which to place their
products and brands, bearing in mind their intended target
audience, but they are also called upon to evaluate the chances
of getting a good movie at the end. Some might hesitate when
validating Hypothesis 2b about the liking of the movies, as the
success or failure of a movie can rarely be predicted (Bressoud,
2007). Even if its components (theme, story, director, editor,
actors…) seem to be a high quality combination during pre-
production, numerous movies are ultimately what professionals
call a bomb, becoming a real box-office failure.
6. Main managerial implications
These results can contribute to reinforcing advertisers'
favorable attitudes towards brand placement as a rather
profitable technique (Lubbers and Adams, 2004), considering
its global impact as well as the fact that the placement efficiency
increases with the second viewing, namely, in this research,
watching the movie on DVD.
In addition, in France, home cinema equipment seems to be a
consumer favorite, notably since the number of DVD players in
French homes grew by 28.3% between 2002 and 2003, and 26%
between 2003 and 2004 (Médiamétrie, 2005). This is also an
increasing trend in developed countries (Schimetits, 2005),
enabling viewers to enjoy films in the comfort of their own
homes. When viewers watch their movies on bigger screens at
home, the likelihood of noticing and recalling the placements
during the second viewing also increases. This finding can also
stimulate advertisers to consider a placement in a movie, even
after the release in movie theatres. If domestic conditions are
improving and if viewers are more and more addicted to home
cinema, the growing possibilities of digitally inserting place-
ment for DVD releases and TV showing can attract their
attention (Brown, 2003; Moser et al., 2004).
A director's reputation can influence the consumers'
evaluation, especially if the movie critics are positive (d'Astous
and Touil, 1999). As respondents attracted by a famous
director's name when choosing their movie presented more
SDAR, the present research invites advertisers to favor famous
directors who usually team up with a famous cast. This partly
explains why, for instance, 28 different brand names appeared in
Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (2005) with Tom Cruise
and Dakota Fanning, no fewer than 41 advertisers had their
brands shown in Sydney Pollack's The Interpreter (2005) with
Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, and as many as 50 of them
appeared on screen in Martin Scorsese's The Departed (2006)
with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson
among other stars. This can spell bad news for unknown
directors or for low-budget movies in general. Nevertheless,
although a director's appeal is already known by advertisers
when choosing the movie in which they could make
placements, the success of the movie will remain uncertain.
But if large multinational advertisers are no longer interested or
willing to take risks, this can offer a real chance for smaller
brands. Barn discerned that countless Bollywood movies also
1088 J.-M. Lehu, E. Bressoud / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 1083–1090

generate valuable opportunities for product placement (Barn, to lure more complex and more marketing-aware targets
2005). towards an experiential consumption (Hackley and Tiwsakul,
2006). Recommending that advertisers consider as much as
7. Limits and further possible research possible the viewer's characteristics in order to conceive their
product and/or brand placement operations may sound
The external validity of this research remains naturally technically difficult at first sight. But the consumer's identity
limited. Spectators solicited for the research have not been and specific characteristics are becoming increasingly known,
differentiated according to their possible personal character- recorded and used. No doubt that, in a near future, producers
istics. Even if a perception difference occurs from one gender to and advertisers will be able to adapt the placements to the target,
another (Schmoll et al., 2006) and, that under certain especially when the movie is watched on DVD. An interaction
circumstances, children respond specifically to product place- already occurs. The DVD main menu already offers the viewer a
ment (Auty and Lewis, 2004). Moreover, this research was choice of version (short, long, director's cut…), type of screen
conducted in France, and previous research about product (pan and scan or widescreen), language, subtitles… Advertisers
placement in movies teach us that disparity can occur when sometimes request adaptations relating to areas where the movie
comparing results from different countries, (Gould et al., 2000; is running in cinemas. Examples include Pepsico changing a Dr
McKechnie and Zhou, 2003; Devanathan et al, 2003). Pepper placement in Spider-Man 2 (2004) to Mirinda (another
Furthermore, choosing genuine movies as the material for the soda) in areas where the latter was much better known than Dr
research offers greater realism in the study, because respondents Pepper (Lehu, 2007).
can supply us with more natural answers. Unfortunately, that Considering their real communication potential, product
choice also implies a natural structural limit: the lack of control placement and brand placement in movies have become
over the material used, which means that not every movie can indisputably attractive techniques of branded entertainment.
be used in such an experiment. The appearance of the product The deeper the research delves into its impact and its modalities
and/or the brand cannot be modified because the shooting is of of usage, the more product and brand placement is revealed as a
course already complete. That's why the movies used for this sophisticated communication technique. This crossbred tech-
research were very carefully chosen to present clear and nique has been increasingly and legitimately appreciated by
indisputable brand placements. Nevertheless, the sample of movie producers, communication consultants and of course
respondents is large compared with those usually employed. advertisers looking to solve problems of media and audience
That is why the results, obtained through the use of real movies, fragmentation through new efficient ways of contacting and
are strong, in partial compensation for the limits implied by seducing their potential consumers. The new insights offered by
reduced control. Moreover, working with genuine full-length this research will confirm the value of the technique for
movies and natural exposure conditions opens a new perspec- advertisers, as they can obviously count on repeated product
tive of research in this field. exposure with a heightened impact as multiple opportunities to
The liking of the movies has no predictive value because the see the movie are offered to the consumer.
success of a movie can never be foreseen. Nevertheless, the
validation of Hypothesis 2b appears very interesting given the
Appendix A. Table of statistical results
rise of digitally inserted product and brand placements. Some
placements can now be elaborated, replaced or even erased after
the movie has been shot (Brown, 2003; Sivic and Zisserman, Summary statistics
2004). In the near future, this could lead to a more systematic Variable Obs. Minimum Maximum Mean Standard deviation
use of previews to analyze the relevance of integrating a brand Number_SDAR 3532 0 8 0.7 1.22
or otherwise; not right from the outset but after watching the Brands_in_movie 3532 4 22 12.4 5.81
final edited motion picture. This could then allow some sort of Evaluation_Rank 3532 0 20 12.1 4.04
pre-testing with elaborate concrete material, the kind traditional
advertising already offers. Variable Categories Frequencies %
Extending this research to a greater number of movies, to
Projection TV 2945 83.38
different countries and to the next stages of viewing (television HomeCinema 587 16.62
programming, for instance) would be interesting in order to Choice_Director No 3166 89.64
validate the correlation between better placement recall and the Yes 366 10.36
number of viewings. A further contribution could be made by Shown_Cinema No 3010 85.22
explaining brand placement recall according to the individual Yes 522 14.78
characteristics validated in this research and to brand placement
characteristics already found to be relevant. Goodness of fit statistics
Observations 3532
8. Conclusion Sum of weights 3532
DF 3526
The marketing communications environment is increasingly R2 0.24
using practices borrowed from the entertainment business, to try Adjusted R2 0.24
 J.-M. Lehu, E. Bressoud / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 1083–1090 1089

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