The Science of Communicating & Marketing Your Business

I think one of the values in watermarking a brand into video is that it cannot easily be removed after 'recording' in the way a commercial could be clipped. Assuming the before, after, and 'going to black' portions could be clipped, is there an effective way to work a brand into video that will not turn off viewers (by placement, timing, or other)? Maybe during the non-contact portions of a Jackie Chan movie or the G-rated portions of a hacker flick?
Is product placement a similar turn off issue during demanding story segments?

I responded "Tex,
"Long time no read. Thanks for reading and commenting.
"You make excellent points and I'll offer that your points are from the Brand's standpoint. I tend to work from the consumer/customer/client/audience's standpoint.
"That considered, I think the two stands can work together, kind of both shining their lights to truly illuminate the goal.
"I think you're inviting me to do a post on this topic. Give me a few days and, if you don't see a response via post to this discussion, ping me and let me know.
"Good thoughts you share, these."

The rest of this post is my response.

I've been thinking about this. It occurred to me that sometimes the "going to black" segments are part of the story, even central thematic elements allowing the viewer to react or respond in some way to the information presented. That offered, placing a watermark into a "going to black" segment might not be useful from the story telling perspective.

Is there an effective way to place a watermark...I'll go to a larger...umm...frame. Let's consider a website that offers videoclips as examples of its work. So long as the watermark doesn't get in the way of the prospect recognizing the quality of the videograph, watermark away. The difference here is that the site isn't really interested in telling you the story so much as demonstrating their storytelling skill through video. They want you to be critical of the demonstration of the separate storytelling elements, not the story itself, hence a watermark in these instances is a normal, natural and reasonable thing to do.

Product Placement

Questions of product placement remind me of The Truman Show, where product placement was parodically obvious and meant to be so.

Good product placement requires excellent acting and storytelling skills. First, the actor needs to be so natural that the product placement is simply another image on the screen. Picking up a soda can, taking a drink and putting it back down so that the brand is clearly visible is obvious placement and detracts from the story. Picking up a cereal box, pouring some into a bowl then putting the box down so that it's face on to the audience is another example of obvious and detracting product placement.

Think of it this way; Alfred Hitchcock was famous for explaining how to get an audience excited by what was happening on screen. He said something like "Have a man and a woman talking over a meal in a restaurant. Pull back so the audience can see a timebomb ticking away underneath the table and the audience starts screaming at the screen, "Get up, you fools! Don't you know there's a bomb under there?"

Hitchcock showed the audience a brand specifically to get their attention. The brand was "Ticking TimeBomb". He could get away with this kind of branding because that product placement (the bomb under the restaurant table) was a critical and necessary part of the story.

Now this is how product placement works best; I don't remember the movie clearly (Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, maybe? Somewhere in Europe, maybe?) but I definitely remember that scene. Specifically the bomb. Definitely thinking "Get out of there, you fools! Don't you know that bomb's going to go off?"

In other words, the product is remembered far beyond anything else that happened.

Here's the real kicker; I actually don't know if I ever saw such a scene. I am aware that the way I'm thinking about it indicates I'm filling in blanks, pretty much an indication that I'm creating rather than remembering.

And still, the bomb is what I "remember" best. When product placement can be done on that level, it's done wonderfully well.

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