IMC And Hollywood What Brand Managers Need To Know

1. 2 Admap • November 2003
embeddedmarketing
O
NCE UPON A TIME, Hollywood
studios and artists did not like to
be associated with brands. Taking
the money was thought to compromise
artistic integrity: but not any more. Enter-
tainment marketing, which ‘embeds’
brands seamlessly within entertainment
experiences is the latest thinking in inte-
grated marketing communications
(IMC). Old favourites like product place-
mentandfranchisedtoyshavemovedon.
Now the advertising, marketing and
entertainment industries are working
closer together than ever.
Just as movies are now regarded as
brands,studiosandproducersareincreas-
ingly willing to talk to brand marketers
about mutually-beneficial integration.
Each can gain from the ‘synergy’ of link-
ing brands with entertainment. However,
thecultureofbrandmarketingisverydif-
ferent from that of Hollywood. There is a
need for mutual understanding, because
the cost of failed initiatives can be consid-
erable.
Getting branded products ‘placed’ in
movies or TV shows is a well-recognised
technique. Consumers are exposed to a
brand when they are most relaxed and
receptive to suggestion. In some cases the
brand itself is a star: a recent Hollywood
release – a high-tech re-make of sixties
classic The Italian Job – stars the BMW
Mini Cooper in numerous chase scenes.
Within a week of the movie’s release you
could not buy a Mini in Los Angeles –
stockssoldoutandthereisalengthywait-
ing list.
Product placement now has to be inte-
grated into the entertainment feature.
The sportsman brandishing a logo-
bedecked bottle in the post-match
interview is too contrived for today’s
audiences. There are still agencies that
exist simply to ‘place’ branded products
as scene props or game-show prizes, but
currentthinkinginNorthAmericaisthat
just‘showingthecan’doesn’tdomuchfor
the brand. To leverage synergy effectively,
thebrandhastobewovenintotheplotto
‘tell a story’. Brand presence may not
require physical presence: the reference
can be very subtle.
Mutual cooperation
I recently attended the 2003 American
Advertising Federation conference in Los
Angeles to learn about new develop-
ments. Leading professionals held panel
sessions discussing many aspects of IMC.
Therewasaviewthat‘embeddedmarket-
ing’, as it is sometimes called, is one area
in which the USA is ahead of the world.
In many countries regulations demand
that use of a communications medium
for promotion is explicit. Some authori-
ties think it is unsporting to allow brand
marketing to be delivered implicitly as a
sub-text of a movie. In the USA the dis-
tinction between promotional categories
such as advertising, celebrity endorse-
ment, sponsorship and product
placement is increasingly blurred. It is
almost taken for granted that media cov-
erage will promote certain interests
within editorial content. Since this is a
cultural norm in US media, Hollywood
movies are no exception.
Closer relationships between advertis-
ing and Hollywood reflect the incestuous
nature of these industries. Several noted
British directors – (Ridley Scott (Gladia-
tor), Peter Jackson (Lord of The Rings) and
Alan Parker (Fame, Mississippi Burning,
Evita) to name just three – started in
advertising. Advertising Age recently
reported that Nike had hired director
David Fincher (Panic Room, Fight Club) to
film a new ad featuring champion sprint-
er Tim Montgomery. The industries may
be different, but they talk to each other
and recognise the value of quality direc-
tion. Ad agencies understand that high
production values and striking creativity
get ads talked about. Film techniques are
Chris Hackley explains the power – and the potential problems – of teaming up
with a major movie to help market a brand
IMC and Hollywood – what
brand managers need to know
© World Advertising Research Center 2003
BMW Mini: All sold out after a remaking of The Italian Job

2. November 2003 • Admap 3
© World Advertising Research Center 2003
noguaranteethatthedirectorwon’tleave
thevitalproductsequenceonthecutting-
room floor. The right contract is essential:
in some cases brand owners have found
they had no redress in the event of their
brand’s scene being cut. If a client is nego-
tiating with a TV show producer there
can be conflicts of interest. The network
that airs the show has other advertisers to
keep happy, who have bought conven-
tional slots in the commercial break. If a
rival is featured in the show, they might
object. Conversely, a client might find
that their carefully contrived placement
islessthanexclusive.Theproducermight
haveworkedotherdealswithbrandsthat
do not fit the image. Again, the golden
rule is – get the right contract.
Brand managers, with their culture of
strategic planning, can find the speed and
opportunism of Hollywood unnerving.
And Hollywood can fail to understand
the strategic mentality of planners. How-
ever, when the liaison works, results can
be spectacular. Years ago Clark Gable
famously destroyed the US under-vest
market when he disrobed in a movie to
reveal … no vest! Bogart and Bacall are
often said to have been responsible for
converting millions to cigarette smoking,
such was the style they brought to this
particular vice. The influence of Holly-
wood over consumer trends is potentially
enormous: harnessing and controlling it
is the challenge.
Why embedding works: sub-text
and intertextuality.
Media and cultural theorists have two
concepts that shed light on why ‘embed-
ded’ marketing can be so powerful in
creating and reinforcing brand associa-
tions. There is the rhetorical power of
‘sub-textual’ suggestion. In movies,
brands are seen in an attractive context.
The brand association exists at a sub-tex-
tuallevel,beneaththenarrative.Showing
canbemorepowerfulthantelling.Seeing
astaruseorrefertoabrandcreatesamore
powerful message for consumers than
seeingthestarinanexplicit(andpatently
insincere)productendorsement.Nikeare
masters of sub-textual suggestion. The
‘Swoosh’ is ubiquitous on street clothing
and in post-competition interviews with
sports stars. No explicit reference is need-
ed: the logo says it.
The second concept, ‘intertextuality’,
concernshowwemakelinksbetweendif-
ferentaspectsofourmediatedexperience.
This refers to how media draw on shared
symbols and reference points, instantly
conveying particular values in associa-
tion with a brand. For example,
conventional ads might use movie
metaphors. Recently, Ford used clips of
Steve McQueen movies with the car digi-
tally replaced with a Ford Cougar.
Conversely, movie dialogue, plots and
props increasingly draw on brands as
internationally-recognised symbols.
Movies can use a brand reference as a
shorthand to convey emotions and per-
sonalities to audiences around the world.
In the 1980s Levi’s shook up the jeans
market with an ad set in a 1950s Ameri-
can laundrette. It was packed with retro
Americaniconography–cars,clothesand
machines. Movie audiences had seen
these in Marlon Brando and James Dean
movies and the ad placed Levi’s in the
same context. It didn’t matter whether
Levi’s was the brand actually worn by
Brando in Rebel Without a Cause or Dean
in East of Eden. The link was created and
for the following decade Levi’s were
regarded by consumers as the quintessen-
tial American jean.
American provenance is now less cool.
The market changed and the advertising
had to change too. More recently, Bud-
weiser campaigns have abandoned
Americanheroadsandturnedtocontem-
porary styles with irony and humour,
while still keeping movie-standard pro-
duction values.
Many brands are now so iconic that
intertextuality works both ways. Celebri-
ties can reposition their personal brand
and open up new audiences by lending
their image to an ad campaign. It doesn’t
hurt that this pays exceedingly well.
interchangeable between the advertising
and entertainment industries.
There are agencies in the US that exist
solely to find opportunities in entertain-
ment products for brands. They keep in
intimate contact with producers and stu-
dios and know all their current projects.
For the first time, brand representatives
are allowed creative access, so they can
influence plot and script. Clearly this
occurs under strictly demarcated condi-
tions and directors hold a creative veto.
Nevertheless, the opportunities are grow-
ing for brand involvement in the creative
development of movies. Brands are inter-
national symbols and their integration
into a movie can, in context, help to
enhance the storyline.
Enterprising agents spot the potential
for synergy in a plot and negotiate a deal
that benefits all parties. In some cases the
producers just get lots of free products – a
substantial benefit when, for example,
dozens of cars are going to be trashed in
street chases. In other cases significant
fees are paid to the studio. A brand refer-
ence inserted into the movie can, if
carefully thought-through, have a more
powerfully suggestive effect than mil-
lions of dollars’ worth of conventional
promotion.
The pitfalls for brand managers
However, brand managers should
beware: getting involved with entertain-
ment carries risks. If the movie bombs,
huge stocks stand still and the sales force
can be left kicking its heels without the
anticipated hike in demand. Studios can-
not guarantee their movie will be a hit.
These days a new Hollywood release typi-
cally involves $30 million-worth of
advance publicity, but if the first week-
end’s gross is disappointing the movie
could be pulled immediately and go
straight to video rental. Studios know
thatifamovielookslikeaturkeyinweek
one there is little chance of recovery, so
capital is better employed in a new proj-
ect.
Even if the movie is a success, there is
Chris Hackley is head of
the marketing group at
Birmingham Business
School. His research and
consulting interests focus on
advertising development
and account planning.

3. 4 Admap • November 2003 © World Advertising Research Center 2003
Celine Dion and Paul Newman are just
two recent figures providing brand
endorsements in paid-for advertising.
Uma Thurman was pursued for years by
Lancôme before she finally agreed to fea-
ture in their ads. It is no longer uncool for
serious artists to do advertising cam-
paigns. The Levi’s ad was also notable for
making an overnight star of Nick Kamen.
His fame lasted little more than fifteen
minutes, but more recent beneficiaries
have seen advertising roles catapult them
into mainstream entertainment. In the
UK Melanie Sykes was a catalogue model
untilastarringroleinaBoddington’sbeer
campaign turned her into a regular host-
ess on TV chat shows. Stars have always
beenabletomakebrandsbutnowbrands
can make stars. This has helped soften
Hollywood attitudes towards involve-
ment with marketing.
The synergy of
music and brands
It is not only branded products that are
placed in entertainment settings. You
may hardly be conscious of the music but
that too is a source of synergy for artist
and brand. Music owners are keen to
license music to advertisers and movie
producers. In many cases a classic track
can give an ad greater impact. Levi’s used
Marvin Gaye’s ‘I heard it through the
grapevine’. People in advertising recog-
nise that the right music makes the
targeted audience turn their heads to pay
attention to the ad. In some cases an ad
campaign provides an opportunity to
showcase a new artist. Artists like Lenny
Kravitz and the Dandy Warhols have had
their careers and sales boosted through
use of their music in ads. Brand exposure
provides leverage for the entertainment
property. Car ads for Mitsubishi and Ford
have been recent successes, making stars
out of the artists providing the sound-
track. Music publishing companies like
BMGlicenseclassicsfromartistslikeIggy
Pop or Frank Sinatra or current stars like
Christina Aguilera and Coldplay to pro-
vide a musical hook to an ad. The track
guarantees the attention of a particular
audience.
The legal issues of music licensing are
complex. The advertiser who wants an
originaltrackhastobuyrightstoboththe
CD master and to the sheet music. These
properties are often owned by different
licensing houses. Then they have to get
the agreement of the artists. Some music
isoutofbounds:Beatlestrackshavenever
been available. But never say never in
branded entertainment: savvy agencies
and artists’ representatives know there is
a right brand for every artist, and huge
potential benefits to both parties.
IMC – what brands managers
need to know
Brand managers and communications
directors need to understand exactly
what IMC developments in Hollywood
can, and cannot, deliver. Movie audiences
are self-selecting target groups. They are
influential, active consumers. The influ-
ence of movies spreads beyond the
theatre via press editorial, broadcast
media coverage, word of mouth, outdoor,
associated websites (with retail inter-
faces) and franchised product links. IMC
can become a web of influence around
the brand, with numerous threads ema-
nating from the same source.
Movies and other broadcast entertain-
ment like sport and TV drama provide
huge potential for powerfully synergis-
tic marketing links. If Pierce Brosnan
chases the bad guys in a top-of-the-range
BMW, it is no coincidence. The juxtapo-
sition of brand with actor in a movie has
been planned for mutual advantage.
Even where sophisticated audiences are
aware of this, the power of the link is
undiminished, because embedded mar-
keting acts at a sub-textual level. The
streets are full of people wearing brand-
ed clothing – we have become culturally
primed for the appearance of a brand in
any social context. It is inevitable, and
natural, that movies and TV reflect this
reality.
Embedded marketing will become an
ever-more-regular feature of entertain-
ment and the leading edge of IMC. Brand
managers need to be fully au fait with
these developments to take full advan-
tage of the opportunities opening up
throughbroadcastingde-regulation,tech-
nological advances and the changing
commercial culture in Hollywood.
Brands need to be seen in the most pow-
erful settings – and movies fit the bill.
Getting involved in this high-risk,
high-gain scene requires careful planning
and preparation. Brand representatives
need to listen to US-based agencies to
learn about the possibilities and pitfalls.
They need to open a dialogue with pro-
ducers and studios. Experienced lawyers
are essential to negotiate a contract that
will cover them properly. They need care-
ful planning to establish exactly what
they want to accomplish for their brand.
If the project gets off the ground, they
need the infrastructure to exploit the
resultingdemand.Finally,theyneedluck,
intuition and judgement to hook up with
projects that will achieve the required
exposure. And if it bombs, they need the
resources and will to try again. ■
c.hackley@bham.ac.uk
embeddedmarketing
A star is born: Melanie Sykes in the Boddingtons ad