ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN RESPONSE TO PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN MOVIES AND TELEVISION: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

ABSTRACT Product placement has increased in popularity into a multi-billion industry; however there are still many questions concerning its effects and whether those effects are different for television and movies, by gender, and across ethnic groups. Given the promotional expenditures on product placement and the questions still surrounding its effectiveness, marketers are eager to identify market segments and target their promotional efforts to consumers who are more likely to respond favorably to product placement. Using a sample of 24,054 adult U.S. respondents, this study examined the demographics of gender, and ethnicity relative to response to product placement in movies and television. African American women and men were found to respond more favorably to product placement in television and movies than Asians and Caucasians. Asian women were more favorable to product placement in movies. These results imply that product placement is not universally effective and that careful segmentation should guide its use. Keywords Television Product Placement; Movie Product Placement; Demographic Segmentation for Product Placement