Data Analysis
The study involved a total of 184 respondents, with the majority of them aged 18-24 years old. At 44.57 per cent, this age group is the leading age group within the total population of respondents in terms of mobile phone ownership. As illustrated in figure 1 below, the second largest segment of respondents that own cell phones are aged 25 to 34 years at 27.17 per cent and then followed by the respondents aged 35 to 44 years old. Only 13 per cent of the respondents were aged 45 years and above. Among all the respondents in the survey a majority of them own at least one mobile while many others reported that they own two mobile phones. Still there are a number of the respondents who reported to be in the ownership of the three phones. According to this research it can be seen that young people use and value mobile phones more. The aim of collecting this demographic information is to examine whether age plays a role in affecting the effectiveness of product placement in the media in relation to mass consumption. The survey revealed that younger people exhibit more interest in owning and using cell phones than the middle aged and those aged 45 years and above.
The most popular mobile phone brand
The most popular mobile phone brand among the respondents that were interviewed in the survey is Apple with 88 of them owning this type of mobile phone. The next most popular brand among the respondents was the iPhone with 36 of them owning this type of mobile phone model. Huawei and Vivo were the next most popular brands in that order. Other types of mobile phone brands were HTC, Xiaomi, Samsung, Meitu, Mi, LG, Oppo, Sony, and Yota. Smartphones are widely embraced and used within the Chinese mobile market. 43.24 per cent of the respondents reported that they are most likely to change their mobile phones between one to two years. 18.92 per cent of the respondents reported that they intend to change their phones while 12.34 per cent report that they change their phones in less than a year. 25.41 per cent of the respondents reported that they only change their phones when replacing them when they break down.
The most popular mobile phone brands
The most popular mobile phone brands among the respondents are Apple, Samsung, LG, Sony with 14.39, 14.39, 11.56, 10.33, and 11.12 percentages respectively. Other mobile phone brands that respondents reported to have heard of include Oppo, Vivo, Huawei, HTC, and Others at 13.2, 13.06, 14.12, 9.62, 2.56 percentages respectively. This is as illustrated in the diagram below:
What brands of cell phone have you heard of? (can choose more than one)
Some of the other brands known among the respondents include 亚比亚，锤子， 小米， Nokia, 金立,黑梦、格力、小米…,小米 魅族, 一加，小米等等, 魅族、美图, Huawei, Blackberry, Sharp, Sugar, Asus, BlackBerry, and Xiaomi.
Where do you know about the brands of cell phone?
Further, most of the respondents get to know about the cell phone brands through different media. The majority of the brands that the respondents are familiar with are known through TV Shows and through Internet websites. As illustrated in the graph chart below, 44.86 per cent and 39.46 per cent of the respondents learn about the different brands through Internet websites and through TV Shows respectively. 3.24 per cent and 2.16 per cent reported that they learn about different brands through movies and video games respectively. The remaining segment of the respondents learn about different brands that they know of through friends, social media, adverts, online shopping (e-commerce) websites, shopping malls, and through their own interest.
Do you know about product placement?
Further analysis reveals that 68.11 per cent of the respondents agreed that they knew about brand placement while 18.38 per cent were unsure if they knew exactly what brand placing is and a further 13.51 per cent report not having knowledge about brand placement. In addition, 40.54 per cent of the respondents indicated that they had previously purchased a cell phone in a media placement advertisement while 59.46 per cent of them have not made a cell phone purchase through a media placement advertisement before.
Which reason will lead you most likely to buy cell phones that appear in media because of the product placement?
As highlighted in the chart above, most respondents – about 32 per cent – will only purchase a mobile phone advertised through media placement only if they had a good understanding of the product in question. About 16 per cent were of the opinion that they only make the decision to buy cell phones through media placement advertisements in media if the brands they are associated with the stars or the actors in the media are using the brand themselves. Further, about 24 per cent purchase the cell phone if it appears to be trending in its appearance in the media while another 16 per cent of the respondents said that they made the decision to purchase products if they are attracted by the storyline in the movie, film, video game or TV Show in which the advertisement is placed. About 12 per cent of the respondents reported that they purchased such products when they are impelled to try a new product that appears in the movie in which they are placed. 1.32 per cent made their purchase decisions based on reasons other than those listed above. However, the total number who participated in this particular question was 76, a subset of the total number of respondents.
The product has appear longer in media, your memory will be longer
An overwhelming majority of the respondents agreed that they remembered the brand more if it appeared longer in the media they were engaged on. 44 per cent were in strong agreement with this while 50.67 per cent of the respondents agreed that they remember the product longer if it appears over prolonged lengths of time in the media but with a certain degree of uncertainty while 5.3 per cent were neutral. As shown in the graph below, more than 90 per cent of the respondents were positive that a well-known brand is likely to leave an impression on them if it appeared in a media product placement. Only 8 per cent were unsure about this, with a minimal number of them, 1.33 per cent, reporting that they disagreed albeit with some uncertainty. However, only 75 respondents answered this part of the survey questionnaire.
In a media product placement, a well-known brand is more likely to impress you.
According to the pie chart below, it can be seen that a majority of the respondents have seen product placement in the media before. 56.22 per cent of the respondents have always seen product placement in the media while about 33 per cent see them often in the media. A significantly low number of respondents 1.3 per cent disagree but with some level of uncertainty. Only 75 respondents participated in this part of the survey.
How often have you seen product placement in media?
According to the chart above almost all the respondents have at one time or another seen product placement in the media. 56.22 per cent indicated that they always see the placements. A further 32.97 per cent said that they see the product placements often, with 10.27 per cent saying that they see the product placements in the media sometimes but not always. The differences in these numbers can be attributed to different factors such as age, education level of the respondents, and so on. Out of 184 respondents who responded to the question whether product placement affects their emotions if it appears in movies and TV Shows that they might be watching 40.76 per cent agreed while about 48 per cent were unsure if the placements impacted on their emotions. Further, 11.41 per cent of the respondents indicated that their emotions were not affected by the product placements.
Do you think you are easily affected by product placement in media?
In the analysis provided chart above, it is evident that a majority of 48 per cent are unsure if they are easily affected by product placements in the media but think critically of the appearance of the brands in the media. 18.58 percent of the respondents agreed that their purchase decisions for mobile phones was highly influenced by the appearance of the products in the media, while a further 33.33 percent said that their consumer journey was in no way affected by product placement in the media. The impact that product placement advertisements have on consumers varies depending on different factors such as the novelty of the marketing strategy used among others.
Do you think cell phone companies over-promote their products nowadays?
According to the chart above, there is general agreement among consumers that mobile phone companies are over-promoting their products these days. Of these, 23.24 percent of the respondents felt that these companies go overboard in promoting their products while an overwhelming 48.65 percent said that they agree but not with absolute certainty that cell phone companies are over-promoting their products nowadays. However, 23.24 percent did not know whether this was true or false, but 4.32 percent disagreed. The numbers in agreement with this question may due to the ubiquitous advertisements and competition among the cell phone to increase their market share. The tough competition among these companies can also be attributed to new market entrants who launch aggressive marketing campaigns in order to win the interest of consumers.
Manufactures mislead the audience by disguising their brands as props in films, TV Shows, Video Games etc.
More than 50 percent of the respondents said that it is true that mobile phone manufacturers usually disguise their product placement in TV Shows, films, video games, movies and so on in order to market them to unsuspecting consumers. Specifically, about 17 percent of the respondents strongly agree, 36 percent agree but with some uncertainty, while 34.43 percent of the respondents were neutral. Further, 9.29 and 3.28 percent somewhat disagree and strongly disagree, respectively. This analysis outlines the increased emphasis for product placement in media, where most brands are going to the extent of financing movies, films, TV Shows, video games in order to obtain the upper hand in deciding how and where their advertisements will appear in the particular media. For example, movies and TV Series involving star James Bonds usually create circumstances where the actor is in peril but nevertheless self-respectfully, like the ideal great unsurpassable hero, glances to read the time on his watch and confirms that he has his car keys (Lehu & Bressoud, 2008). By so doing, it is ensured that the brands that pay handsomely for the product placement in the movies are awarded the airtime.
Do you think the way advertisers put brands in movies should be completely banned?
Surprisingly, as illustrated in the graph above in Figure 12, 13.5 percent of the respondents say that brand placement in the movies and films should be completely banned, while 24.86 percent agree but partially that brand placement in movies should be banned. The greatest number of respondents was neutral on this issue and about 14.89 percent said they partially disagree with the banning brand placement in media. Some consumers are of the opinion that this kind of marketing and promotional strategy should be banned as they feel that the brands are being imposed on them when they appear in the movies and other media.
I think immovable marketing of movie products is immoral
According to the chart above some – 22.7 (somewhat agree) percent and 13.51 (strongly agree) percent - respondents believe that immovable marketing of movie products is immoral. However, 43.78 percent of the respondents are neutral and 17.84 percent disagree but with uncertainty and 2.16 percent strongly disagree. On the other hand, respondents expressed different sentiments on whether their purchase decisions were influenced by the appearing of the product placement in foreign media as opposed to local media. As highlighted by the chart below, about 48 percent generally agree with this, while 35.14 percent were unsure whether their purchasing decisions were influenced under these circumstances.
If the same product appeared in a foreign media, it would be more attractive for me to buy than if it appeared in the local media
This graph shows that there is little more impact on the consumers if the product placements happen in foreign media since this adds credibility to the credibility of the brands. Brands that are advertised in foreign media generally improve the outlook of the product since it appears to have global acclaim. However, there are a number of respondents who say that appearance of products on foreign media does not influence their purchasing decision.
Your attitude toward a new brand cell phone that appear in media is
In the results provided in the chart above, the attitude of most of the respondents, 45.41 percent, would consider purchasing a new brand on the grounds of it being either foreign or domestic. Further, 18.92 percent of are inclined towards buying domestic products. On the other hand, 16.76 percent said that they would purchase foreign products if they see them in media, and 18.92 percent said they would not be concerned with new brands of cell phones regardless of whether they are foreign or domestic.
The government should regulate the use of branded products for marketing in media
According to the chart above, a majority of the respondents were undecided if the government should regulate the product placement in the media. There are more respondents who agreed that those who disagreed. Those who strongly agreed with this stood at 14.67 percent while those strongly disagreed was 3.8 percent. The use of branded products in the media was not attractive to those who agreed.
Discussion
As an attempt to analyze product placement in the context of Chinese media, this study suggests that the idea of congruence, match or fit between the product and media can be utilized as an essential criteria for explaining brand evaluations. Our research is instrumental for the development of product placements that suit the needs of the targeted audience. The results of the study show that the correlation between product placements and the variables that are used in defining and explaining the outcomes is connected to the individuals’ perception of the degree to which the product and the media fit with another. The analysis of the results of the study show that the extent to which product placement is matched with media determines effectiveness with which positive consumer responses are realized in terms of the intention to buy the placed and positive brand awareness and attitude thereof. The study also reveals the different effects that product placements have upon consumers and how this impacts their customer cycle in the long run.
Further, the results and analysis of this study reveal that there are mixed reactions among consumers regarding brands that were placed in local media and foreign media with some consumers having preference for either. There is increased preference for product placement in media among today’s marketers due to a variety of factors such as reduced advertising costs and the fact that brands can be placed in scenarios of TV Shows, video games, or movies in a way that does not interrupt entertainment needs of the target audience (Karrh, 2003). Brand placement is viewed as an effective method of marketing where products are integrated in media and hence becomes viewable to increased audiences. Yet, this has become a popular way of marketing brands to the young audiences since they are more connected to the media and have a more positive perception where they see product placement as a way of learning about new products in the market (Williams et al, 2011).
In conclusion, there are several factors that affect the effectiveness of product placement as a marketing technique in the Chinese mobile market, as highlighted by the study. It is important that the different dynamics are well understood and addressed such as the age of the targeted audiences, their attitudes regarding product placement, their preferences concerning local and foreign media, their spending habits on the product in question, their perspectives concerning different stars and actors in movies and TV Shows and how these influence their purchasing patterns of the placed product and so on. However, it is important to take into consideration the persuasive impact of product placement as the most significant parameter for measuring the effectiveness of product placement.
References
Karrh, J.A., McKee, K.B. and Pardun, C.J., 2003. Practitioners' evolving views on product placement effectiveness. Journal of advertising research, 43(2), pp.138-149.
Lehu, J.M. and Bressoud, E., 2008. Effectiveness of brand placement: New insights about viewers. Journal of Business Research, 61(10), pp.1083-1090.
Williams, K., Petrosky, A., Hernandez, E. and Page Jr, R., 2011. Product placement effectiveness: revisited and renewed. Journal of Management and Marketing research, 7, p.1.
