Are you an advertiser looking for new ways to get your product in front of potential customers? Have you heard about virtual product placement, but aren't sure what it is or how it works? Let us catch you up.
Virtual product placement is an innovative advertising approach that uses the latest digital technology to place products into TV shows, movies, music videos, and even social media content such as Influencer. While many major brands are utilizing this strategy to engage with their target audience, it’s still an emerging trend which is expected to see incredible growth.
So, if you're looking to find exciting new ways to engage your customers in an increasingly interactive world, read on!
Virtual product placement is becoming a game-changer for newcomers and established brands alike, for several reasons.
Billboards, magazine ads and traditional TV ad spots are major investments for brands, but they can’t guarantee a captive audience. Consumers are so used to seeing adverts in their daily life, it’s become second nature for many to simply tune them out - or skip the ad break. It can also be difficult to determine audience size, relevance or interest across these traditional advertising formats.
In contrast, virtual product placement lets brands insert their product into consumers’ favoured programming, providing a non-interruptive advertising experience. Rather than intruding on consumers’ viewing habits, brands are able to naturally weave their products into engaging narratives.
Even better, virtual product placement empowers brands to target particular demographics and closely align their product with the featured content. TV, film, music, and Influencer content attracts closely defined audiences, and media platforms have a deep understanding of their viewership, which can provide advertisers with a powerful tactic to drive brand engagement.
Not only is virtual product placement effective for brands, it’s also practical for advertisers.
Traditional ad formats require plenty of planning before content is created, and once an advertising campaign is launched, it’s often in place for the long haul. Think about magazine ads as an example - space needs to be bought in advance, and once in print, they can be on display for months.
On the other hand, virtual product placement enables advertisers to place brands in video content post-production. This provides new levels of flexibility and scalability, as ad campaigns can be rolled out across existing programming, and dynamically adapted to changing needs and budgets.
Additionally, virtual product placement enables advertisers to more easily track and report on the success of their campaigns. It can be difficult to determine clear success metrics for traditional print media ads, but video content comes with a plethora of engagement analytics, which can inform advertiser reporting.
For advertisers looking to launch a virtual product placement campaign, the first step should be determining what video content best aligns with their brand. Which shows, films or music videos appeal most to your audience demographic?
Secondly, consider how your product can fit this material. How can your brand appear naturally within existing video content? Placements can range from virtual billboards to virtually imposed products on kitchen counters - essentially, anywhere traditional product placement can appear.
Thirdly, consider how best to measure the success of your campaign. Are you aiming to drive impressions, conversations or revenue, and what metrics are most important to this?
By tracking metrics such as impressions and conversations generated, it's possible to consistently monitor performance across multiple platforms.
Lastly, think about who you can work with to execute a successful virtual product placement campaign. Finding a partner with access to a wide range of relevant programming, expert technology and a deep understanding of your target demographic is essential.
Mirriad is the world-leading platform for virtual product placement. Our AI-powered platform has over 35 patents to serve the advertising industry’s changing needs, and our wide ecosystem of content creators and media publishers can suit every advertiser's needs.
To find out more about how virtual product placement can benefit your brand, reach out and speak to a member of our expert team.
Learn more about the benefits of virtual product placement for advertisers by downloading the Kantar and Mirriad Whitepaper.