Priming Movie Product Placements: New Insights from a Cross-National Case Study

The paucity of research on priming product placements and insights from practitioners (Study 1) motivated our investigation into how and when priming works in movie placements. Study 2 explores the impact of media priming (a media story announcing a movie placement before the movie’s release) and ad priming (a similar ad announcement) on recall through contrasts with no priming (control). US students watched a movie in a theatre after such priming for a subtle or a prominent placement. When compared to no priming, both media priming and ad priming enhanced recall for the subtle placement; no difference in recall performance emerged between no priming and either type of priming for the prominent placement. Contrast tests comparing media priming and ad priming indicated no differences in recall for either subtle or prominent placement. Study 3 replicated these recall findings with Italian moviegoers, and supported additional hypotheses and propositions for brand attitude. For the subtle (prominent) placement, attitude did not change (decreased) when comparing either media priming or ad priming with no priming. Contrast tests comparing media priming and ad priming indicated no differences in attitude outcomes, for either subtle or prominent placement. Using no priming as a baseline for comparison, the converging conclusion is that any type of priming improves (does not change) recall and does not change (worsens) attitude for subtle (prominent) placements. Overall, results do not support priming for prominent placements; selective use of any type of priming for subtle placements appears appropriate to improve recall outcomes.