Brand Placement

Businesses strategically place their brands and products in movies or in TV series to subtly get consumers to notice their brands, this Is called brand placement. Two products which I have noticed In movies are Apple Imams In the Twilight movie Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011) and Manual Blank shoes in the Sex and the City Movie (2008). These were both big blockbuster hits which many people viewed and obsessed over. They both star very famous celebrities who play desirable characters.

In the movies both the brands are clearly shown with the characters so the viewer ill relate who the character is with the brand to give the brand symbolism (Levy, 1959). In Sex and the City we first see the Manual Blank heels when the mall character Carrie Bradshaw Is shown her new wardrobe which will soon be filled with her clothes that are envied by viewers. The scene is romantic and everything is perfect in Carrie's world which suggests that the consumer would be in a similar situation if they had theses shoes.

The label on the box is clearly shown as Carrie carefully puts her prized possession on the shelf. The shoes appear at the end of the vie during a special scene where Carrie Is being proposed to, the heel is used to close the deal of the proposal. This once again Incorporates the shoe with happiness and romance. Sex and the city has been a popular TV series (1998 - 2004) so there was a huge hype when the movie was released. Carrie Bradshaw is a well known character for her glamorous life; Carrie is an icon for fashion and high class.

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We straight away draw a connection with any brand associated with Carrie Bradshaw to being an ultimate luxury brand, and as a viewer I desire to own the brands shown in the movie to make myself appear more glamorous. The Sex and the City's target audience are females over 16 years. It has an emphasis on relationships and high fashion. I aspire to be Like Carrie and her friends as they were Independent and bring out ideas of their own about sex and women being in control.

The Manual Blank shoes are targeted to me and women with similar interests in fashion and their appearance. The shoes are a very high priced item but the brand makes me think that I would be superior to others if I own this luxury good. By owning Manual Blank shoes I would feel a part of the top label brand community which they associate Carrie with (Ganglier, 2012). I believe that If I owned them I would appear more glamorous and they would give me class and style. These shoes would affect self image positively for me (Williston, 2012).

This is because I would feel more important and confident with these shoes on. Mascots Hierarchy of Needs suggests that "people are motivated to fulfill their basic needs, before moving on to other, more advanced needs" (Cherry, n. D. Para. 1). The needs are shown on a pyramid starting with physiological needs then safety needs, social needs, self-esteem needs and finishing with self-actualization (Cherry). Manual Blank shoes fall Into the self- esteem group as they can give the owner confidence and status (MBA Online Programmer, n. ). The Culled family in Twilight are depicted as perfection. They are beautiful, rich, and intelligent and are identified as superior to everyone else. The brand Apple appears in Breaking Dawn during a serious scene in the movie where the Culled family are desperately researching to find a life line. As the computer is reliable and a good source of research as an intellectual family such as the Culler's use them. Breaking Dawn was the third top grossing movie of 2011 which shows the age audience that this movie reached out to (Midi. Mom, Inc. N. D). The Apple symbol glows on the screen with the family in the background to emphasis that this is a brand that a family as perfect as the Culler's would use. The Twilight series is targeted to teenage girls and women who fantasize over the desirable men in the movie (Denial, 2011). The Twilight Saga has been a huge hit, as at 13/04/12 its Faceable page has 31 ,951 , 1 55 likes with many of these fans being obsessed over the characters and actors in the movie.

With other 31 million fans, Apple is getting their rand out to a huge audience who are likely to be influenced by what the characters are associated with. Twilight fans will believe that by associating themselves with the brands that are used in the Twilight Saga movies they will be more alike the characters. I am a fan of the brand Apple; I personally own an Apple pod and an Imax. My pod is something I could not imagine functioning without as it holds many songs as well as having other functions such as the internet, email and camera.

I personally spend a lot of time on my Imax both for social reasons communicating with people and to get university work completed. These Apple products are essential for me as I could not imagine my daily life without them. It is part of my culture to be up to date on the latest technology, and to be able to communicate indirectly through the internet with my peers (Williston). It is a norm within my culture to own Apple products, the people around me and I use Apple products daily (Williston).

By having Apple associated with famous actors such as Robert Patterson and Kristin Stewart, the brands are a part of these actors indirect reference group as the actors are people you aspire to be like (Williston). These groups give us "a point of reference in deciding what consumption behavior to undertake" (Williston, 2012. Group Influence & Social Norms Lecture). Indirect reference groups can have a different amount of influence on consumers depending on many factors including how attractive the reference group is, whether the product is being used publicly and the consumer's self-esteem (Williston).

Apple is already a very well known brand and as soon as the logo came into view on the screen the viewers would have straight away recognized it and began to make connections with he brand and the Robert Patterson or Culled family reference group. Brand equity is important when trying to make your brand familiar with consumers it is "The value premium that a company realizes from a product with a recognizable name as compared to its generic equivalent" (Investigated, n. . Para. L). Brand equity is about the name and symbol of the brand, it includes brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality, brand associations and other proprietary and brand assets (Ganglier). With Apple and Manual Blank appearing in these well known and popular movies they are gaining a lot of brand awareness which is important as when consumers are choosing between options they will pick the brand they are most familiar with.

Viewers of Sex and the City associate Carrie with high quality goods so by seeing Carrie with her Manual Blank shoes consumers will automatically relate the Manual Blank to top quality which will add value to the brand. Manual Blank and Apple have been successful at getting their brands out Breaking Dawn Part One. The characters and actors are dollied by many so a lot of consumers are likely to be influenced to purchase these products. By owning the products shown in the movies consumers will be able to associate themselves with the brand communities and reference groups.

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