Is Social Media the way forward for Product Placement?

As R Mandelberg of social media site, ‘Ghost tweeting’ quoted this year:

 “As early as the late 19th century, advertisers recognized the value of product placement as a vehicle for increasing their brands’ visibility.” (2013).

Nowadays, advertising has dramatically had to re-invent itself. ‘Traditional’ advertising such as posters, leaflets, billboards, T.V and radio commercials have become less effective in popular culture: consumers and audiences have subconsciously grown an animosity and insusceptible approach and attitude towards these forms of marketing. 

With the rise of internet, advertising groups have recognised its potential for marketing- with popular media sites including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter and most recently Instagram providing a gateway to potential audiences. However, it seems that audiences still dread ‘blatant’ advertising while browsing the internet. As S.Karp of Publishing 2.0 explains,

 “People have no patience for the [adverts], as they did in traditional media, where we were habituated to looking at print ads or watching TV commercials.”

Research by Dr Jakob Nielsen also highlights this: 

“Now, when people go online they know what they want and how to do it, he said. This makes them very resistant to highlighted promotions or other editorial choices that try to distract them. Web users have always been ruthless and now are even more so. People want sites to get to the point, they have very little patience.” (S.Karp: 2008)

So what future does Advertising have in Modern Culture? 

Product placement is not a new technique, yet its escalation in the media world has truly expanded. 

Think of many of your favourite television programmes- Modern Family, Friends, Emmerdale, The Big Bang Theory, (Think of American Idol where they have the 'blurred' out Coca-Cola cups, which the Uk has no allowed to show) these and many, many more, use products in their sets and scripts. 
The brand or company pays to have its products 'placed' into the scene or script of a show or series and is then broadcasted an air- hey presto, a 'product placement' is created. 

Ahhh...a classic example.

Hmm..seems they got sick of drinking Coca-Cola turned camera faced round.

Product Placement has recently been allowed fully on U.K Television screens, yet advertisers are quick to realise its potential to consumers on the internet also. For example, Bloggers and Youtube ‘Vloggers’ are often paid by advertisers to use, rate and comment on specific products, thus easing the consumer into wanting the product, rather than being bombarded by advertisements. 




So what media devices are popular currently in modern culture/society?


http://www.statista.com/statistics/222698/consumer-trust-in-different-types-of-advertising/



<a href="http://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/279903/umfrage/apps-mit-dem-groessten-

Social app, ‘Vine’ is one of the most popular and profitable apps in the web market. If you don't know already (really? seriously though, really??) the Vine app allows users to create a short video clip up to 6-7 seconds long and can be shared amongst other Vine and Twitter users. Certain users have also become famous from making these short videos and have daily subscribers to their vines. 

Watch Vines infamous hero,  Jerome Jarre Here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MpEUd_jnVE

On September 9, 2013, Dunkin Donuts became the first company to use a single Vine as an entire television advertisement ( Adweek., 2013), there is still potential for product placement with this popular app.  

In the next few weeks I will experiment  by making my own 'Vine' clips. Within those clips I will place items for product placement and see the results-

Will product placement affect this funny, non commercial media app?

Will it promote the sales of the company I use in my video?

Or will it go completely unnoticed?

In the next few weeks I'll update my blog on these Vines and see its results n a few weeks time.

What I also want to know, from you guys, is how you feel about Product Placement-

Do you prefer it to those constant T.V breaks, and pop up breaks that show up on Youtube?

Or do you feel Product Placement ruins the authenticity of medias used for people by people?

Is Product Placement really a good thing? Is it worse to be subconsciously lay products in front of your eyes rather than it being fed straight to you?

Or even do you feel there's other methods of advertising that need to be considered?

What is for certain, is that advertising needs to be more creative and unique-

and If product placement is their only Plan B, will is huge Industry survive much longer? 

-please comment and let me know your thoughts.