Public relations

Product placement is a public relations method. The main PR methods are product placement, celebrity endorsement and press/media releases. In product placement, a business pays for its product or logo to feature in films or television programmes. The product may be handled by a character or simply be visible in a scene. It is not a traditional advertisement: the audience sees the product being used within the story rather than being shown a separate advert.

Benefits

Product placement can build positive associations with large audiences. If a likeable character uses a product, or a brand appears naturally in a scene, viewers may link those good feelings with the brand. It can also give the impression that other people and enterprises use the product, which may make it seem popular or trusted. For example, a drinks company could arrange for its bottled juice to sit on a kitchen table in a popular drama series. Viewers see the juice in a normal setting and may think that other people drink it.

Limitations

Product placement can harm the brand if the placement feels fake or if the character or programme is disliked. If viewers think the product has been forced into the story, or if the character or programme is unpopular, the brand may be damaged rather than helped. Placing products in the best positions can also be very expensive. A prime spot in a popular programme may cost far more than a small business can afford, so it may not be realistic. A business must weigh up whether the audience and context fit, and whether it can afford the placement.

Celebrity endorsement is when a business uses a celebrity to endorse or advertise its product. The celebrity might recommend the product, appear in a promotion or post about it online.

It works because fans often trust the celebrity and want to copy what they do. The celebrity is usually chosen because their fans match the business's target market, so the endorsement creates a positive association between the product and someone the audience admires. A famous face can grab enormous attention for a brand and may significantly increase sales. It can also reach new markets: fans who had not heard of the business before may become customers.

Limitations

Celebrity fees are often significant, and the more famous the celebrity, the higher the cost is likely to be. This makes endorsement difficult for smaller companies to afford. Any boost in sales may be short-lived, because some fans buy once out of excitement and do not come back.

Endorsement depends on the celebrity's ongoing reputation. If the celebrity behaves badly, the business's reputation can be damaged, and the business has limited control over what the celebrity does. An endorsement message can also be seen by people outside the target market or geographic area, so some of the attention may never turn into sales.

Occasionally a celebrity will support a business for free or at a low cost, especially if they genuinely like the product, but this is unusual and not something a business can plan for. For example, a small board game café might pay a well-known YouTuber to recommend its gaming nights. His fans could bring in new customers, but his fee might be more than the café spends on marketing in a whole year, and if he later behaves badly in public, the café's reputation could suffer by association.

A press release, also called a media release, is a short written description of a product, event or incident that contains the main details. A business sends it to newspapers, online news sites, radio stations and television stations to tell them about a new product or campaign. It is often written more like a news article than an advertisement, so a journalist can turn it into a story. For example, a family bakery launching a gluten-free loaf might send a press release to the local paper describing the two years of recipe testing behind it.

Benefits

A press release can create mass media attention and reach large audiences, far more people than the business could contact itself. A story printed in a newspaper can seem more credible than a standard advertisement, because a newspaper is a reputable source and readers expect its articles to be checked. If the story is used, the business gains cost-effective or free publicity — it pays nothing for the space the article fills. A published release may also be spotted by a larger news organisation that follows up the story, raising the business's profile further. A local newspaper suits a small business because it targets customers in a specific local area.

Limitations

There is no guarantee that a press release will be published or read. Editors receive many releases every day, so a story must stand out; if it is not unique or interesting to readers, it may not be printed. Once a story is taken up, a journalist may misinterpret it or deliberately change it to make it more interesting, which can alter the facts the business wanted to share. Some news agencies ask for exclusivity, meaning the business cannot offer the same story elsewhere. Timing matters too: a release has a limited window before it stops being newsworthy or a competitor gets there first. Finally, fewer people read newspapers today, so the reach of a press release in print is falling.

Choosing a PR method means deciding how your business will win publicity and protect its reputation. The right choice is realistic for your business, not the one a much larger competitor uses.

What to weigh up

Test each option against three questions. Cost: can you afford the fee and the staff time? Target audience: will the people you actually want as customers see it? Fit with the marketing mix: does the method suit your product, your price and your place? A high-price product placed in a scene that makes it look cheap, or a logo in a programme your customers never watch, wastes money however glamorous the method looks.

Comparing the options

A story in a newspaper can also seem more believable than an advert, which is where a press release gains its credibility.

Worked example: a family who bake celebration cakes at home want more orders. Having their cakes on the party table in a popular drama series would cost more than they make in a year, and paying a well-known baker to recommend them is out of reach. Instead they write a short press release, with a photo, about a free icing class at the village hall, and send it to the town's free newspaper and local radio. The cost is a couple of hours and some icing sugar, the readers live close enough to collect a cake, and the friendly, home-made image matches their prices. Nothing may be printed, though, so they keep a copy of the wording and ring the news desk to check.