Product placement now live on a TV near you

Nescafé has become the first company to use new product placement regulation last week.

Nescafé created a buzz in the media (The Telegraph, BBC, Marketing Week, The Drum, Metro and How Do amongst others) by becoming the first company to take advantage of the new product placement rule.

This Morning - Via Metro - www.metro.co.uk

Ofcom agreed in December 2010 to introduce product placement, allowing brands to "paid-for placement of products, services and trade marks in TV programmes". Expecting to boost revenue further, the new rule comes in following a year-on-year decline in 2009 but a rebound in 2010 according to New Stateman.

Product placement will allow advertisers to increase their "front of mind" presence by clever positioning on targeted programmes.

Will product placement increase brand loyalty by associating and linking products to popular programmes?

Mass exposure, brand affinity, brand awareness and brand loyalty are some of the results advertisers might expect from strategic placements.

Think Coca Cola on the American Idol - Who can miss those giant size containers!

Photo from American-Idol

With a positive outlook on TV advertising spends, commercial programmes and brands will hopefully work hand in hand to feature product placements with integrity and without excess.

This is the first step towards very exciting opportunities for brands to create and develop new forms of loyalty towards their products.

The incredible shift in TV watching habits in the last few years means advertisers can tailor their advertising to very targeted audiences; mobile TV, digital recorders, TV On Demand online, You Tube brand sponsored channels and other video sharing websites to name but a few offer those facilities.

Whilst this is still in early days, the UK is offering potentially fantastic opportunities for brands - TV history in the making!