Measuring the Impact of Product Placement on Customer Purchase Intention through the Mediating Role of Brand Awareness: Applied on the Media and Entertainment Industry"

Abstract

Purpose: This research aims to measure the impact of product placement in terms of placement prominence and plot connection, on customer purchase intention in the media and entertainment industry, with the mediating role of brand awareness. This is in order to help marketers approach product placement the right way, and in order to find out whether the expensive use of product placement is worth it or not for brand owners. Methodology: The information collected for this research was a combination of primary and secondary data, and the research methods were a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The primary data was collected for the qualitative research through focus groups, in-depth interviews with experts, and observations. Moreover, the secondary data used was collected from credible online books, journals, and articles. Furthermore, the quantitative research method included distributing questionnaires through social media platforms, where 279 valid results were collected. After this data collection, a statistical analysis was conducted through SPSS and Smart PLS software. Findings: The results of the statistical analysis showed that brand awareness is a partial mediator, meaning that there is a significant relationship between the independent variables placement prominence and plot connection and the dependent variable customer purchase intention, even without the existence of brand awareness as a mediator. Moreover, it was concluded that placement prominence has a positive moderate impact on customer purchase intention, and plot connection has a positive moderate impact on customer purchase intention. Implication: Finally, based on the results from this research, the researchers recommended that marketers use product placement with moderate prominence and with connection to the story, based on their statistical analysis findings. Moreover, it was recommended that brand owners do invest in the use of product placement. Limitation and Suggestions The limitations of this research were deduced to be (among others) not covering product placement from the different entertainment mediums, as well as it is suggested to utilize different entertainment mediums as a moderating variable, such as TV programs, talent hosting programs, etc.