Product placement: On the pedestal

When Switzerland's funniest police officers go on the hunt for criminals, surprises are inevitable. But the unexpected plots and twists that the cult cops experience in every episode of the popular series "Tschugger" have been topped in the third season by a very special co-star: the Polestar 2, which everyone at the police station is desperate to get into themselves. The plot repeatedly revolves around the turquoise-colored car, which even bears the lettering of the cantonal police. However, the Polestar is not just a police car in which the "Tschugger" race through the Valais; it is also a showcase for how creative modern product placement can be. Advertising expert Daniel Zuberbühler, founder and managing partner of the Sir Mary agency, which also looks after Polestar (without product placement activities), describes it as a "very long, very successful commercial", and that describes the car's appearance in the series pretty well. The car is not just an accessory, but is firmly integrated into the plot as an actor.

"There was only one important restriction for the series team: the car was not allowed to explode."

"When producer Sophie Toth approached us, it was immediately clear to us that we wanted to make the Polestar available," says Nadine Romero, Head of Marketing Switzerland at Polestar. "Our aim was to create an authentic and organic placement that fits seamlessly into the story. Instead of bold logo overlays, we wanted Polestar to become a natural part of the story." And this was achieved - in such a subtle way that some people even found the Polestar's presence too inconspicuous. "But that would have been wrong from our point of view. A successful placement is most effective when it is subtly and credibly integrated into the story."

Part of the story

Jeannine-Denise Stuiber from Particibrand (see interview) believes that this is exactly what makes product placement successful: The product should be an authentic part of the story, native and not too intrusive. This was achieved with "Tschugger" - partly because the brand managers gave the creative team "free rein to use the car in the way that best served the story", says Romero.

It is important that the brand and content fit together. "The environments are often entertainment love brands. The integrated brand can enhance the content in order to charge the brand. Despite labeling, good placements do not come across as advertising, but as authentic. If the content fits, it creates an ideal fusion of the format with the brand far away from the advertising block," explains Leonie Strack, Deputy Service Client Director at the media agency Unbound Media (formerly Crossmedia).

Virtual placements in vogue

This also goes down well with viewers, especially when the placements are supplemented with accompanying special ads. For example, research conducted by the Ad Alliance on various Samsung campaign elements for "Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten" revealed particularly high recognition values and increased uplifts. The actors in the series not only used smartphones, smartwatches and headphones from the electronics giant, but there were also cut-ins and virtual placements on posters that could be seen in the daily soap. Brands are subsequently integrated into finished TV content and placed on billboards or other surfaces. Kerstin Bensch, also founder and Managing Director of Particibrand, sees this as one of the most important trends in product placement: "The advantage is that virtual placements can be booked with a short lead time and fixed seconds. On the other hand, brands cannot be integrated into the storyline as natively as with classic placements. Digital placements are therefore a good addition. Virtual placement spaces are now established advertising products, similar to special ads."

Virtual placements are also increasingly being used in cinemas - like Nokia in the James Bond film "No Time to Die". Because the pandemic had delayed the release of the movie so long that the smartphones filmed were long outdated, the old models were quickly replaced virtually with newer ones. This was made possible by the AI-supported solution from provider Mirriad, which calculated that 85% of viewers like virtual placements, 83% find them natural and consumers prefer them ten times more than traditional advertising.

This is a major advantage for advertisers, as media expert Strack sees process and planning security as the biggest challenges when it comes to product placement. "This relates in particular to the lead time and the veto of the broadcaster or production - especially when it comes to major TV shows. Extensive placements are now usually an integral part of holistic communication planning. This often means that measures at the POS, for example, have to be coordinated with their own preliminary stages and framework conditions. The real problem quickly arises when the production changes broadcast dates at short notice, for example, or the lead time for production is so long that the products to be integrated are not even available for the actual campaign period."

Just don't explode!

Another challenge is finding the right content - and this is more difficult than ever today, says Bensch: "Never before has there been more good, innovative and target group-oriented content, but this also means that it is more difficult than ever to keep an overview. It's important to know the abundance, screen it and derive recommendations for advertisers from it."

If this works, successful product placement is not only a real plus for the brands themselves. They "benefit from the full program reach, the unique position of the brand and a positive image transfer. Faces from the content are seen as brand ambassadors. This creates trust in the integrated products and leads to positive associations," explains the expert. And viewers also have an advantage, because they see a form of advertising that is not perceived as disruptive, but has real added value through integration.

For SRF and producer Shining, working with sponsoring partners in compliance with the legal framework for the presentation of product placements is also a win-win situation, as they have editorial sovereignty. As was the case with "Tschugger". In this case, there was only one important restriction for the series team: the car was not allowed to explode.

INTERVIEW

"Include product placement at an early stage"

Jeannine-Denise Stuiber, Founder & Managing Director of Particibrand, explains what you need to look out for in order to achieve real impact with product placement.

m&k: Ms. Stuiber, what makes a successful product placement?

Jeannine-Denise Stuiber: A product placement is successful if the product or service is an authentic part of the story and is positively associated and remembered by viewers or users. But it's not just the brand that benefits from product placements, producers, broadcasters and streamers do too: On the one hand, the content offers a realistic reflection of society with all its trends and tendencies. This is credibly conveyed through the integration of brands. On the other hand, it represents a source of revenue that can contribute to production value, if not even to realization, in times of lower production budgets.

What mistakes should be avoided?

Above all, it depends on the optimal brand and target group fit between brand and content. In the worst case, an unsuitable product leads to reactions. Media law, or more precisely, the German Interstate Media Treaty, which regulates product placement, protects us from overemphasizing the product on TV. Irrespective of this, brand managers should always advocate native integration of their products and refrain from overly bold or even intrusive staging.

How can the topic strategically into the brand communication integrate?

The most important thing is to involve product placement at an early stage. Ideally, the placement agency should be involved together with or through the creative agency. At this point, the strategy is in place and the conceptual part begins, which can then be developed hand in hand in order to utilize synergies and incorporate the tonality of the brand communication into the placement.

This article first appeared in the m&k print edition 1-2/2025.