Global: Which sectors benefit most from product placement?

Product placement makes it possible for audiences to see a brand in a more natural setting and develop a connection with it in that context. But how effective do consumers find this marketing strategy in promoting products?

Following on from our recent research on product placement, we asked consumers around the world which sectors they think are best suited to it.

Data from this new YouGov survey analyses responses from 18 markets globally. It finds that roughly a third of global consumers find product placement effective when food (31%), tech (32%), car (30%) and apparel brands (31%) pay to have their product or service in shot or used by an actor in a film or TV program.

Tech

The tech sector is the most effective at promoting products when captured on camera, according to 32% of global respondents. This is especially true in Indonesia where slightly more than half of consumers find it most effective (53%). It is followed by urban India (45%) and Mexico (44%). On the other hand, placement of tech is not as effective in western markets. Consumers in the US (17%), Britain (21%) and Sweden (22%) are among the least likely to be swayed by electronic product placements.

Food

Overall, food stuffs are also considered to be effectively promoted if it appears in a TV show or movie (31%). Around two in five consumers from UAE (47%), Mexico (46%), Indonesia (44%), China (44%) and Hong Kong (41%) are more likely to find food stuff product placements to be beneficial. Consumers in Sweden (17%) and Denmark (18%) are least likely to say the same.

Alcoholic drinks

Alcoholic drinks, on the other hand, register a lower score globally (21%) with Asian countries particularly unlikely to believe that having these beverages in shot pays off from a brand point of view. In Europe, about one in ten French consumers think this type of promotion is effective. But roughly a third of consumers in Germany (30%), Mexico (36%) and Canada (28%) think likewise.

Clothes and beauty

We see similar response patterns in consumer opinion about clothes and beauty products – globally, 31% and 28% respectively. Urban Indians (55%) and Mexicans (50%) are most likely to find seeing clothing brands on-screen as effective promotion. Indonesia takes the top spot for personal care products over every other market, with half its consumers finding in-shot promotion effective (50%). Consumers in Britain and US are least likely to find product placement of both clothes (17% each) and beauty products (15% GB and 14% US) effective.

Travel

Globally, consumers find the placement of travel services/ products less effective than most other sectors. Fewer than two in ten overall consumers picked this sector (18%). Roughly only a third of consumers in India (31%), UAE (30%) and Indonesia (30%) find product placements in the sector effective. Keeping pace with the rest of the categories, Americans (9%) and Brits (7%) along with Swedes (7%) are among the least likely markets to find these placements to be effective.

Household

Looking at household products, a quarter of global respondents believe this category benefits from product placement (25%). Consumers in Germany (25%), Italy (25%), Spain (24%) and Canada (23%) are also of a similar opinion. For Poles this is one of the most effective categories, with 32% of Polish respondents finding placements effective.

Auto

Marketers may find it particularly useful to know that roughly a third of the consumers in 12 of the 18 markets surveyed are more likely to find placement of cars in a movie or TV show an effective way of promotion. Two in five Germans (40%) pick this category, the highest among all markets. They are followed by Italians at 39%, while those in Hong Kong (15%) and Singapore (19%) are the least likely to be charmed by this sector’s presence on camera.

Telecoms

In the 18 markets in our study, 16% of global consumers find placement of telecoms services effective. This is highest in Indonesia (36%), followed by India (29%) and UAE (28%). Once again, consumers in the US (8%) and GB (7%) are less likely to find products from this category effective.

Finance

Finally, we look at financial services, which are much less likely to be selected as the category with the most effective product placement – 13% globally. Fewer than one in ten consumers in Britain (4%), Germany (9%), Sweden (6%), Denmark (5%) and the US (6%) indicate that financial services is one of the categories where product placement would be most likely to work.

Methodology: The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 513 and 2,172 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in December 2021. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.