Have you ever been home watching an episode of your favorite sitcom and seen a pair of shoes or even a piece of furniture that you had to have? Product placement is no new idea. Consumer brands, manufacturers, and distributors have all partaken in the old-fashioned idea that seeing is believing. What most may not realize is that product placement has just been contracted on the front end of technology sales. Using today’s smart television technology and the advancements in mobile device application development you will soon be able to purchase those so elegantly placed products in real time right from the comfort of your living room. Two words, game changer!
The basic technology behind this idea has been around for many years. Major name brands have already begun developing and releasing this technology. In fact, more than a few major agencies have tried implementing the real time purchasing process with minimal success. Since around 2007 we have seen failed attempts at pushing real time sales on TV commercials. Even recent 2013 Super bowl commercials gave consumers the access to a point of purchase by downloading a mobile app or visiting a website.
Giving consumers the ability to view and purchase products right from home will change the way we interact with television media forever. Our team at Concept Co. believes that this is simply an untapped resource. The next step is creating interactive experiences for consumers to simply notice a product’s availability over another. With the release of streaming media sources like Google ChromeCast this process becomes an even simpler one for marketers. We see this process leading agencies to shift their thinking when is comes to strategic product placement. In fact commercials as we know them would likely change forever. The price brackets for media buying will begin to shift, as a completely new pipeline of consumer data will appear. Is it digital? Is it television? Is it eCommerce?
To say this is going to launch tomorrow is probably beyond realistic. The bar is set higher than ever for agencies, creatives, and marketers to find new and innovative ways to reach the audience. Just know we are more than likely not the ones out there working toward this goal.
Zach Beaman | Co-Founder, CMO, & Creative Director
(262) 446-4623