More people are starting to watch movies and television shows through streaming services instead of through cable and satellite. Companies are trying to market their products through these services in order to reach a new audience. Product placements have been changed quite a bit with streaming services since there are more options available to watch and since there’s a larger assortment of products to reach the eyes of viewers. Recent growth with product placement is about 15% in just the past year with a growing revenue of about $7 just in the United States.

To Each Its Own

Each streaming service is looking at its own way to handle product placement instead of a universal theme being used with each one or with the majority of services. One popular service is Hulu. The company features subscriptions with and without ads, which means that it has plenty of space available for various brands to pay for their placements. Hulu looks at how products can be seen right away instead of waiting until a show or a movie is almost finished before showing a product, which is why a little over 90% of the original content on Hulu features placements that are integrated almost as soon as you begin viewing.

Nicole Sabatini, former head of the integrated marketing department for Hulu has discussed how stories and brands are woven together so that viewers see the products without feeling overwhelmed by the placements while they are watching their favorite content. Hulu tries to maintain open lines of communication with advertisers in order to deliver the content that viewers want as well as the content that will sell products for businesses. In 2016, Hulu started the process of product placement in order to add a little more value to its services.

Netflix is another streaming service that utililizes product placement but with only about 75% of its content involved. The service is known for having a few more high-profile advertisers, such as KFC in the midst of Stranger Things compared to businesses that might not be as well-known that work with other streaming services. Formula 1 is another business that has utilized Netflix to advertise its brand, especially among viewers who enjoy movies and shows that focus on racing and cars.

KFC in Stranger Things (season 2)

Benefits of Product Placement

One of the reasons why companies have decided to venture toward streaming services for product placement is to reach new audiences. Even popular internet service providers like Charter Spectrum is eyeing on getting their ad on streaming services. The placement is also beneficial because the attitudes of consumers don’t necessarily need to change while viewing content in order to see products that are advertised as they are strategically positioned so that they flow with the content and appear as though they are a part of the content that’s been made. This is a different approach than companies do with television commercials and even movie commercials as those are specifically made to last for several moments while discussing a certain product to try to get consumers to purchase that product.

When products are placed in content that’s shown on streaming services, it’s done in a subtle fashion, such as a label on a billboard or items that are used in a room in the home that have the label clearly showing to viewers so that they see the product without feeling as though they are being bombarded by the information.

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