Well ladies its Friday again so it's time for another Friend Friday post. And this weeks topic was sparked by a discussion in our FBFF forum about the Oakley product placement at the Chilean Miner Rescue. This is all about marketing, and reviewing products, something us bloggers often do. So here are my answers to this weeks questions.
1. As we watched the Chilean Miners being rescued last week, there were many things to take note of - the amazing faith of these people, the joy of life, love and family, and - interestingly enough - product placement. As you watched the rescue efforts did you notice the products? What were your thoughts?
In all honesty the first time I saw the clips on the news I don't think I was paying that much attention, but on subsequent viewings I did notice all the sunglasses. As I know little about Oakley glasses I didn't recognise them from the clip, so initially didn't realise it was product placement. After being a media and film student at university I often notice product placement as I studied it for a while. So films are kinda ruined sometimes with advertising overload, lol. But I almost admire the Oakley marketing team for seeing a placement opportunity in this situation. After being told of this placement by someone in the FBFF group I did a quick bit of googling to find some info on the topic and after reading this article I am less impressed as it seems that Oakley did not come up with this placement themselves. But that aside, the company saw a gap that they could fill and that would be beneficial to both parties so good for them!
2. Product placement is all around us today, what do you think makes it such a marketing gold mine?
Connotations is often a big factor. Now I don't wanna get all theoretical on you but let me explain (I hope that doesn't sound condescending, I don't mean it to) Lets think about Apple, one of the major companies who partake in product placement. These laptops are so recognisable thanks to their light up apple logo on the case meaning whenever we see them we automatically know they are Apple. So we decide we want to be like Carrie Bradshaw for instance, we see her with an Apple laptop on the show, therefor we want an Apple laptop because we think it will make us like her. We see all the cool kids in a film with ipods, we want ipods so we can be cool too. You get the idea. It is a form of marketing that firstly is usually visible to more people and secondly works on a deeper subconscious level in our minds, sometimes without us even knowing. We see the same things over and over again on a show and they become engrained in our brain without us noticing. Thats why it's a gold mine.
3. On your blog, either now or in the future, what is/will be your stance on highlighting specific products?
I am more than happy to highlight products that I have tested or like. And if I am ever asked to review a product I will always do it honestly, whether that be good or bad.
4. If the opportunity arose would you give a bad review of a product?
Yes I believe in honesty every time. I am not going to lie about a product and I will never endorse a product I do not believe in, or I would not buy myself. If I was to do a review that was going to be negative I would aim to highlight some positive attributes as well. Something can't be completely negative!
5. Do you view your blog as a product? Where have you or do you hope to place it?
I'm not sure on this one. I use it as a product in as far as it is an extension of me, and I am currently trying to get myself writing jobs and use my blog as a space to show my work. So a product I am using to sell me. I am happy with how my blog is at the moment. Granted I would love for it to become popular enough to allow me to work on it full time, to be able to monetize it properly. Although that is not why I started blogging or why I keep blogging, it would just be a nice bonus.
So what are your opinion on product placements?
Would you ever give a negative review? Or post about an item you haven't actually tried?
Daisymay X
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