Do you like What you Recognize?

This study represents a field experiment on the effectiveness of brand placements in movies. The authors investigate the interaction effect of prominence (how prominently the brand is represented in the movie) and plot connection (how well the placement is related to the movie's story line) on actual moviegoers' recognition of brands and their attitude toward them. The results show that brand recognition scores are highest for brand placements that are both highly prominent and strongly plot connected, whereas brand attitude is most positive when brands are strongly connected to the plot, but placed less prominently. The results further show that brand recognition mediates the effect of plot connection, but not prominence, on brand attitude.