Product placement in Indian movies: A strategic tool for integrated marketing communication

Product placement is defined as the planned insertion of a brand or product into a movie, television show and some other media program with the purpose of influencing the viewers, The high cost of conventional media accompanied by the growing clutter had made product placement an exciting and viable opportunity.marketers combine product placements with special promotions to publicize a brands entertainment tie-ins. Marketers are looking for distinct source of media vehicle to reach their target audience to increase the impact of its message and hence increase the brand recognition. Movies have become one of the effective medium to reach out consumers. Product placement in movies have become a trend all over the world and India is also impacted by it. Movies as a medium give an excellent opportunity to marketers to place their products in movies and potential to connect emotionally with consumers. In India the product placement in movies existed since 1970’s. The famous product placement in Hindi movie was the yellow coloured “Rajdoot” bike in the movie “Bobby”. However the first recognized product placement in India was that of Pepsi in the movie “Taal” in the year 1999. Thereafter,Indian film producers,advertisers and corporate began to show interest in the advertising technique. They began to use it as a part of their Integrated marketing Communication strategy. This article discusses the scope of Product placement,its nature, reasons for companies and movie maker for adopting this strategy and the trends in product placement with focus on Indian movies.