Measuring the value of product placement of brands in Season 4 of Netflix’s Stranger Things

The first volume of Season 4 of Stranger Things was released May 27, 2022 and several brands who have positioned their products throughout the new season, such as Coca-Cola, Lacoste and Reebok, are seeing valuable exposure.

New data from

YouGov Stream

—which uses opt-in, zero-party viewership data—reveals that Coke has the highest value placement of any brand with product placement in Season 4 so far at $1.83 million.

The soft drink giant’s highest performing asset was the Can, at $1.17m, followed by the Fountain Cup ($348k) and the Scoreboard ($211k), which was used during Hawkins High’s championship game in episode 1. The valuation for Coke across the first 28 days is nearly four times that of Pepsi’s, whose own placement valuation was $438k across both the UK and US.

Fashion brand Lacoste ranked second in YouGov’s net product placement valuation at $1.8 million, a considerable feat for the French clothing company despite appearing in just one episode.

Several footwear brands featured throughout the first volume of Season 4, with Reebok leading the pack in net product placement valuations at $1.42 million ahead of Nike ($413k), Vans ($379k), and Converse ($144k).

Jif Peanut Butter proved integral to the plot of episodes 4 and 5 in which Joyce Byers breaks a jar of Jif Peanut Butter and uses a shard of glass to free herself from capture. The spreadable condiment brand ranked fourth in terms of net product placement valuation at $879k.

And, with Kate Bush’s “Running up that Hill” becoming one of June's biggest global hits on streaming charts and social media following its deployment in Stranger Things, the Walkman Cassette Player used to play the song that saves Max Mayfield during Episode 4 drove $635k of net placement value for Sony.

Commenting on the data,

Associate Director of Product at YouGov, Dominic Prince

, said:

“Coke, as reportedly the largest buyers of product placement in Stranger Things, unsurprisingly top our leader board for Net Placement Value from Season 4 Vol.1 of the show. Lacoste will also be very happy with surprisingly strong value driven by their polo shirt, which featured in Episode 2, while brands like Reebok and Jif also top our category leader boards with some well-executed placements.

It is Important to note that the figures presented here are values that have accrued already from these two key markets. The audiences will only grow, and these values are set to grow with them. Our total valuation of the product placements in the first seven episodes of Season 4 so far is $13.7m across the UK and US. Factoring in global audiences, the release of the last two episodes, and the lifetime viewership of the season, Netflix are set to deliver many millions more in marketing value for the brands they work with.”