Branded Entertainment and Integrated Product Placement in Tom Hanks Movies

1.IntroductionHow can we define product placement? There are many authors, most of them marketing professionals who wrote on the topic of product placement. And, equally, there are so many definitions as well (Dudovskiy 2012). These include the following five explanations listed in chronological order:- (Product placement) is a matter of 'placing' a product or a brand in one or more scenes of a film, in one form or another, in return for payment. (Snyder 1992)- Paid product message aimed at influencing movie or television audiences via the planned and unobtrusive entry of a branded product into a movie or television program. (Balasubramanian 1994)- A product is placed in a movie or television show in exchange for payment of money or other promotional consideration by the marketer. (Gupta - Gould 1997)- A marketing tool where a product is put into a movie scene, or its brand name is heard. (Lehu - Bressoud 2008)- The expression 'product placement', or 'brand placement', essentially describes the location or, more accurately, the integration of a product or a brand into a film or televised series. (Lehu 2009)As we can see, the definitions above use various approaches.Balasubramanian's 1994 definition highlights that brands appear discreetly, but the practice of product placement suggests that this is not always true. As we will see in the case of Tom Hanks movies, product placements are often quite obvious.According to the 1992 definition by Snyder and the 1997 definition by Gupta - Gould, product placement always involves some sort of a financial transac- tion. However, this statement is not necessarily true either, as we can also see free placements and barter placements as shown in the examples below. The 2008 definition by Lehu and Bressoud therefore highlights that product placement is a marketing tool that enables us to see a product/brand, or hear the brand name in a scene.Another definition by Lehu published in his 2009 summary Branded entertainment suggests that it is more than just placement/appearance, and he also highlights integration in this writing.The title of Lehu's book (Branded entertainment) indicates that this technique is not always referred to as product placement. Papp-Vary (2014) summarizes these terms as follows:- Brand placement or branded placement: One of the reasons for this is that nobrand, no-name products usually are not displayed; the point is to get our brand in the programme or film. It also suggests that in the case of a brand the product itself does not necessarily appear physically - maybe only the name is mentioned, or the logo is displayed.- Brand integration, product integration: The product does not appear, but becomes an organic part of the plot line of the film or programme.- Advertainment: The term refers to the gradual fusion of advertising and entertainment.- Madison & Vine: The combination suggests that Madison Avenue (the headquarters of American advertising), and Vine Avenue (that of filmmakers) get closer and closer to each other.- Branded content: The brand appears in a content such as a film, programme, music video, video game, etc.- Branded entertainment: This expression is also popular as branded contents are usually used in entertainment industry.The reason for the various definitions and approaches may also be that product placement is an area of marketing communications where practice is ahead of theory. In addition, practice is still taking shape in many ways. However, one thing is for sure: product placement is increasing in importance as a non-traditional method to reach consumers. (Wilson - Till 2011)According to research data by PQ Media, the amount spent on product placement by advertisers in the United States was US$ 190 million in 1974, but it was US$ 512 million in 1985, US$ 1130 million in 1994, and US$ 3458 million in 2004 (Lehu, 2009). …