I'll take product placement for $500, Mr. Trebeck

For us marketers, we have been noticing a growing trend of product placement across various media - heck, we may have even had a hand in placing it. What was a tactical execution has become an outright Marketing strategy and big names are racing to catch up. Gone are the days for generic products, today the big dogs in CPG, adult beverage, gaming, entertainment...you-name-it, are including product placement in account strategy and planning.

As we marketers continue to source new and innovative way to reach and engage consumers, we have turned to the previously underutilized channel of product placement. The result? It isn't so underutilized anymore: global paid product placement spending spiked 42.2% in 2005, reaching $2.21 billion. And, predicts PQ Media, 2006 forecasts indicate global paid product placement will rise almost 39%, or in equatable dollars: $3.07 billion.



"Product placement has evolved from a novel marketing tactic to a key marketing strategy on a global scale, as brand marketers seek more effective methods to make important emotional connections with consumers," said Patrick Quinn, president of PQ Media. "This trend is significant in that there is a new media order emerging worldwide in which fear of ad-skipping technology, doubts about traditional advertising's effectiveness, and declining government media subsidies have fueled a dramatic increase in the value of seamless brand integration."