Statistical Literature Review and Critique of Empirical Article

ARTICLE REVIEW AND CRITIQUE: â€Å"Efficiency of Brand Placement in an International Film- Effects of Exposure in a Local Context† Slim Khalbous and Merium Maazoul Journal of Creative Communications, Volume 5, Issue 1 (March 2010), p. 23-46 SYNOPSIS Product and brand placement arouses a particular interest at the announcers. However the massive use of brands in international programs incites us to wonder about the effect of the local socio-cultural context on the efficiency of this creative technique.This research presents, first an explanatory abstract frame of the influence of the local context variables and the variables of programming on the recall of the placement; and second an empirical validation realized in two phases. First of all, a qualitative analysis of contents by experts; then a quantitative study by experimentation realized with 150 individuals. The results show that, globally the effect of the local context on the memorization of the placement is direct and t hat the recall of the placed brands depends on attitudes towards the spoken language, on social interactions and some characteristics of the audience.KEYWORDS Brand placement, recall, programming, context, exposing language, social interactions The empirical application was done by showing a James Bond film that had several product placements in a part of North Africa called Tunisia; an area where a lot of international films are consumed. The study wanted to explore the â€Å"effect of the specific context related to the international film on the effectiveness of the placement in terms of memorization. In order to do this, the research had to go through three stages: (1) a state of the art, which generated some of the research propositions (2) a qualitative phase, to choose and analyze the international film, and (3) a quantitative phase, which would measure the impact of exposure in the effectiveness of placement in the film. Attitudes toward Language Effect Foreign language can improve the advertising effectiveness for a product because a foreign language attracts attention, creates a positive attitude, and is more memorable, which can be explained by Helfer’s theory of mbiguity. A study done by Khalbous and Maazaul in 2007 proved that the â€Å"attitude toward advertising is positive when the audience prefers watching the programs in French and commercials in Arabic. † Social interactions also play a huge role in product memorization and attitudes because people will remember what they were saying or doing with others while watching television or film. Individual Variables Effect Gender and the area of residence are two variables on the effectiveness of product placement.American, French, and Austrian men are more likely to accept a product seen in films than women according to studies. However, another study showed that women have more positive attitudes towards placement. â€Å"On the other hand, women would be emotionally more touched th an men, by the stimuli which surrounds them, especially television programs to which they are exposed (Schwartz et al. 1980). † The area of residence is the other factor. The wealthier areas are more likely to be less favorable towards product placement because they are exposed to it more, and have become bored with the predictability of it. According to the study of Hall (2004), the percentage of consumers who said they would try a product if they saw it in a film is 53 percent in Mexico, 49 percent in Singapore, 35 percent in India, and only 26 percent in the USA and 8 percent in France. † The Effect of Specific Context Related to the Program The appreciation of an international film, and the intensity of the emotions generated by the film were the two aspects being studied in this area of research.Most of the interest was about the impact of the characteristics of the film and how they affect the audience’s cognitive reactions. Program Liking Effect Although th ere was no link found between the film’s likability and the memory of product placement in a study conducted in 1994 by Karrh, there was evidence of a link found in 2000. In that study, Blonde & Roozen (2007) found evidence of people being more likely to remember a product placed in a film they liked. International Placement and Tunisian Local ContextThe empirical validation of the conceptual framework was conducted in two stages: the qualitative analysis to select and qualify the selected film (the visual content analysis by experts), and then (2) a quantitative study which determined the impact of the contextual variables on the effectiveness of the placement of products in the film (the experiment). Selection and Analysis of Placements in an International Film: Qualitative Stage Choice of International FilmJames Bond- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) was the film chosen by a board of four experts for three reasons: it’s known for use of product placement, because the film was not created to pertain to a certain audience, and because the old exit date of the film eliminates short and medium term memorization. Quantitative Experimentation of the Selected Film The main focus was to test the effects of the exposure on the efficiency of placement, while controlling the external variables. Model and Hypothesis of MeasurementIn order to test the relationship between the variables, two things were necessary: firstly, to propose measurements of conceptual framework, and secondly, to form the hypothesis of research to be studied quantitatively. Measurement and Experimental Design The sample used in this study was composed of 150 undergraduate students whose average age ranged between 20 and 22 years old. In order to minimize sampling confound, the students were from different areas and levels of study, different income levels, and were from three different universities, each in different cities in the country.Type of Recalled Placements: Qualitative Analysis of Frequencies According to Table 2, the frequencies of recall of the product placements show that BMW stands out more than the others because it is the only audio-visual placement in the film. It was also repeated several times. Next is Ericsson, whose high scores are due to the familiarity of the brand to Tunisians. The scores may be high for Ericsson, but its rate of recall is low because of its very subtle placement in the film.According to Khalbous and Maazaul, â€Å"the qualitative analysis showed that the high scores of recall were obtained for the audio-visual placements, integrated in the scenario of film, where the brand is presented in a very visible way, accompanied by several integrated and prominent recalls of placement. These results agree results agree with the conclusions of Lehu’s study (2005), according to which the traditional criteria of the placement does not systematically guarantee the success of a placement, by enhancing the recall of the brand.It is thus necessary to consider a global approach integrating the various creative techniques of placement. † Three Things I Liked First of all, the topic was interesting to me because I can relate my own experiences to it. For instance, I have seen a few James Bond movies, and what I love mostly about them is the cars. When I think of James Bond, I think of an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, a dream car of mine only because of the film James Bond 007- Die Another Day.Obviously, the product placement caught my attention, like it did to most of the sample of college students in Africa that were being studied, and was memorable to me, since I’m still talking about it today, even though I saw the film about 5 years ago. Another thing I liked was the study about audio-visual seeming to make the biggest impact on product memorization. I agree with this conclusion because while searching for a movie clip online of my favorite moment of the James Bond 007 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, I s tumbled onto the wrong clip.I didn’t even remember the part when James Bond’s assistant introduces him to the Vanquish. Based upon research done, the article tells me why: because there was no sound to go along with it. The only part of the movie (or actually, the car) I remember was a very noisy moment full of engine revs and tire squeals. I also liked the study they did on emotion influencing memory, and agree with it also. I can remember when I saw the James Bond movie at the theater, and the feeling I had while watching James Bond drive the Aston Martin on a sheet of ice during a high-speed chase.I was scared, nervous, excited, and my adrenaline was pumping. Immediately after the scene, I turned to my boyfriend and asked â€Å"What kind of car was that? † because I knew it belonged on my dream list. To this day, when someone asks me what my dream car is, I say â€Å"An Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. † I’ve never seen the movie again, but that car, and the feeling I had when I saw it has stayed with me. A few minutes ago, when I went to YouTube and did a search for the â€Å"007 ice chase† I eventually got the right clip; the one that gave me that feeling of excitement.I was surprised, and a little disappointed that I didn’t get the same feeling. Actually, I’m thinking of changing my dream car now, because I don’t think it’s quite as attractive as I remembered it being. This raises a question that I didn’t see research done on in the article: What are the benefits of product placement in an international film vs. an international commercial. I’ve seen some pretty in-depth, action-packed car commercials, but none of them have managed to persuade me to let go of my first dream car, the Aston Martin. Why is that?Is it because there isn’t enough time for a commercial to spark that kind of height of emotion in me? Or maybe because I view commercials as being annoying (except f or Super Bowl commercials; those I like because it gives me something to look forward to during the game). Maybe it’s just the whole experience of being in a movie theater, with that special someone, and being surrounded by loud â€Å"Vrooms! †, and hearing others’ reactions to the movie that just can’t be captured by watching a commercial. I don’t know, but I think these researcher guys are onto something! What I Didn’t LikeLike I said before, I would have liked for them to compare the effect of international commercials and the effect of international films because maybe there is a way to get create enough emotion in a short 120 second commercial if it’s in a language not native to the viewers. I would also like to know about the similarities and differences between the effectiveness of product placement in an international film and one that is native if there are any. Question According to Khalbous and Maazaul, high scores of recal l of the products placed in the James Bond film were obtained for what reasons?