Gimme a Bud!
The Feature Film Product Placement Industry
by
Samuel Turcotte
The University of Texas at Austin, 1995
Supervisor: Jef I. Richards,
PhD
Reader: Leigh McAlister, PhD
ABSTRACT
This project is a complete review of the product placement industry. There are tremendous opportunities in this industry today, but, as one corporate marketer put it, "all the studios are playing the same game with different rules." Therefore, the goal
of this project is to create a blueprint for conducting the business of product placement, whereby the interests of both the filmmakers and the corporate marketers are maximized.
This paper fully describes the current industry situation, analyzes its present practices and makes recommendations for improvement. This project is not an attempt to determine how to most effectively place products within films, nor to study its communication effects, although these issues are dealt with where applicable.
The predominant research method used for this study was a series
of in-depth interviews conducted with industry professionals at major film studios, independent production companies, top product placement agencies, as well as with corporate marketers whose goods and services
are actually being placed in the movies.
The final recommendations pertain mainly to the studios and the filmmakers, as they control the vehicle through which product placement
is realized - the films.
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