Vancouver-based PropStar Product Placements is currently involved in several movie projects that are looking for products/client involvement. Two of the films are The Da Vinci Code and Basic Instinct 2.
The films are designed to appeal to a mass audience and should provide wide exposure to the products placed. PropStar is particularly interested in striking deals with technology and cellphone companies.
CD Nancie Tear says Canadian advertisers often believe they can’t get into U.S. and other large productions but that’s not the case. She says there are opportunities to suit any budget in the many vehicles shooting in Canada. According to broadcast and production journal Playback (a sister publication of Media in Canada), the film and TV industry in Canada is currently worth $5 billion dollars. Numerous opportunities PropStar currently has in the works range from TV series Growing Up Gotti and Corner Gas, to the Julia Roberts feature vehicle The Devil wears Prada. Its client roster includes the Toronto Blue Jays and theatrecanada.com.
Tear cites IP telephony solutions giant Mitel Networks, of Kanata, Ont., as a successful example of placement. Its computer networking phones are seen in ER where the product receives one to 15 ‘hits’ or on-camera sightings per episode. The phones are highly integrated into the show, being used at the nursing station, etc. by major characters.
PropStar handles both Cancon and international. Originally from Toronto, Tear’s CV includes stints at MCA Universal in NYC and Walt Disney U.K. Most of her staff have marketing backgrounds so they can understand the advertisers’ needs.
PropStar, which is actually situated on the lot of Lionsgate Studios, recently completed work on MGM’s Be Cool, a sequel to Get Shorty with John Travolta, which was released last week. A featured participant in that project was Alienware gaming computers, which were visible on star Harvey Keitel’s desk in a number of scenes.
‘The fact you’re inside the show spurs other opportunities, such as consumer promotions,’ says Tear, ‘Instead of spending on P-O-S and radio, [marketers] can negotiate promotions before the movie is even made – for significantly less. We know who the other partners are so if you can’t carry your own promo but wanted to become a prize for someone else’s promo, we can negotiate that.’
Tear works on a retainer, developing the strategy with the client or the media agency, then executing it by finding appropriate vehicles or even going so far as to get scripts changed to incorporate the product more actively (‘behavioural placement.’)
‘Media buyers and planners need to embrace product placement as part of the new marketing mix,’ Tear says. As for measurement, ‘We know exactly how many people go to a movie, how many watch a show, what the DVD and video rental and sales are. Typically, one placement pays for the retainer.’
