Do you remember American pop-rock band Train? Their biggest hit was the song ‘Drops of Jupiter‘ which won two Grammy awards in 2002 (for the best rock song and for the best arrangement).In 2009 they released their first single after a three year break from the music. The song ‘Hey, Soul Sister’ became their second-biggest hit. Additionally Train received their third Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for the aforementioned song.
On April 17, Train released their 6th studio album California 37. The album includes their latest hit single Drive By, which became the band’s fifth top 20 hit in the US and a top 10 hit in 11 countries.
The music video for the song was first released onto YouTube on February 15, 2012. It includes all three members of the band driving Pontiac Firebird, Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang. Besides those vintage cars the other two stars of
the video are Romanian model Linda Croitoru, in the US known as Linda Taylor, and Shafer Vineyards in Napa Valley, California.
For me, the most interesting part of the video were not cars, but the
vineyard. For vineyards (or any other property, to be honest) the decision to be a part of a music video or even a movie is not a traditional promotional or brand-building activity. The main limitation of product placement for such property is their limited mass appeal. In case of Shafer Vineyards it’s going to be really tough to attract many new visitors to the property, but on the other hand vineyard’s visibility might improve wine sales through increased brand value.
In the news section on Shafer Vineyards web page it says: “The popular band Train chose Shafer Vineyards as a backdrop for the new music video of their hit song ’Drive By’.”
But … if the collaboration between Train and Shafer Vineyards was product placement, I have to mention one prominent example of vineyards as an important part of a movie. It was so good that it was on 15th place on Brands&Films’ list of Top 40 best placements ever.
Sideways (2004) is an American comedy-drama, directed by Alexander Payne. It follows two forty-something year old men Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church), who take a week-long road trip to the wine country of Santa Barbara. Wine is a central element of the movie screenplay and following the movie’s release in October 2004, Merlot sales dropped 2 per cent while Pinot noir sales increased 16 per cent in the Western United States. In the following months sales of Pinot noir rose by 22 per cent on the whole US market. Pinot noir brand Blackstone achieved even bigger boost – its sales increased by almost 150 per cent. The wine-growing valley of Santa Ynez in California also received a boost in tourism and at the restaurant ‘The Hitching Post’ which also appeared in the movie, business increased by 30 per cent.
It remains to be seen whether Shefer Vineyards’ role in Train’s video will generate some tangible results.
You can check more examples of product placement from Train’s video ‘Drive By’ on Brands&Films’ Facebook page.
The main limitation of product placement for such property is their limited mass appeal. In case of Shafer Vineyards it’s going to be really tough to attract many new visitors to the property, but on the other hand vineyard’s visibility might improve wine sales through increased brand value.