August Highlights
• Product Placement is growing faster than traditional marketing with double-digit growth in 2022; brands are spending to target harder-to-reach audiences by creating valuable moments within content
• During current economic downturn, brands must add or remain consistent to their ad spending to remain in line or get ahead of their competitors
• Hollywood continues to disregard ethnicities; brands can use this opportunity to align and embrace characters from all over by having them represent their products and services within unique stories
• Dual packaging promotions with brands and production companies incentivize consumers to subscribe to their services, benefiting all parties
• Disney+ adds R-rated movies onto the platform, with further speculation that Disney will produce more mature content to target an older demographic
Brands Slip More Products In Content As Product Placement Soars
Media estimates worldwide product placement spending is on pace to reach $26.2 billion this year as the marketing channel grows at a faster pace than traditional advertising. Global product placement spend is set for accelerated double-digit growth in 2022 as the value of brand integrations is expected to rise 14.3%. Consumer trends favor the creation of more branded entertainment while a larger number of major brands are also increasing their use of product placement to engage key audiences. As marketers evaluate budgets and test performance across other channels, it’s clear that now is the time for investment within the content. — READ MORE
Study Finds ‘Long Term’ Media Outperforms During Down Cycles
As lots of the world enters an economic recession — technical, or otherwise — it could be a boon for the most high-demand media as well as brand vs. performance advertising. That’s the conclusion of a new “recession-proofing” report from a highly-regarded analytics firm specializing in marketing ROI. While there is much to digest in the study, one well-stated conclusion in the article rings true for all our partners: “The report, which draws on years of marketing ROI analytics, based on billons of dollars of ad spending, also reinforces a classic truism of recessionary cycle marketing: that brands that cut ad spending in categories where their competitors maintain or increase it, historically lose vital market share.’’ Any brand cutting their marketing and advertising budgets now will almost certainly fall behind their competitors. — READ MORE
Hollywood’s Persistent Erasure Of Latinos
Latinos are being mercilessly discarded and overlooked in the entertainment business as the lack of diversity in Hollywood is again in the spotlight. The casting of James Franco as Fidel Castro especially calls into question why Latinos aren’t being cast even in roles portraying Latino figures. Brands looking to make authentic connections with consumers have the opportunity to empower and support productions and producers valuing underrepresented storytellers. — READ MORE
Paramount+ To Be Bundled With Walmart+ Membership Program
Walmart reached a deal with Paramount Global to include the Paramount+ streaming service as part of the retail giant’s Walmart+ membership program starting in September. The Paramount+ Essential plan — which includes ads — will be available for no extra cost to Walmart+ members. For Paramount+, the addition of Walmart+ members to its ranks helps close the gap on the likes of Netflix and Disney+. For Walmart, the offering drives value for its membership program as the retailer looks to deliver additional value by offering “entertainment for less”. Viewing content as a “good” akin to groceries and gas could lead to more partnerships that would have seemed unlikely just a short time ago. — READ MORE
R-rated Movies Have Come To Disney+
The streaming service added its first R-rated films in the US with Deadpool, Deadpool 2, and Logan — that’s a notable shift in the content strategy for Disney+. Since its 2019 launch, the service has focused its U.S. content on titles for the whole family, rated PG-13 and below. But now the service must keep growing, and it needs content for all ages if it wants to compete with Netflix (NFLX) and other rivals. Disney+ looks to attract more subscribers and the platform must expand its focus to include more mature content. — READ MORE
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