Effectiveness of brand placements in music videos on viewers’ brand memory, brand attitude and behavioral intentions

Davit Davtyan, The University of North Carolina at Asheville
Isabella Cunningham, The University of Texas at Austin
Armen Tashchian, Kennesaw State University

Abstract

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the effects of brand placement repetition in music videos on consumers’ memory, brand attitudes and behavioral intentions, as well as, explores the effective frequency needed to achieve optimal advertising impact. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed hypotheses and research questions were tested using an experimental approach. Participants watched a block of music videos containing various levels of brand placement repetitions. Afterward, participants completed a questionnaire designed to measure memory, brand attitudes and behavioral intentions. Findings: At low levels (below 4–5 exposures), the repetition of a brand placement has a positive effect on brand memory, brand attitudes, intentions to buy and to recommend the brand to others. However, further increases in repetition had detrimental effects on brand attitudes and purchase intentions, but not on memory measures. Additionally, the effects of brand placement repetition on brand attitudes and memory measures were moderated by respondents’ brand familiarity. Research limitations/implications: The effects of brand placements were measured through explicit tests that refer to the placement event. Researchers are encouraged to test suggested propositions by using implicit tests. Practical implications: The results of this study can serve as guidance for marketing practitioners on optimal ways to integrate their brands into the contents of mass media programming. Originality/value: Despite the increasing usage of music videos in marketing promotions, limited scholarship explores the effects of placing consumer brands in this promising medium. Current research addresses this gap and contributes both to brand placement literature and scholarship on advertising repetition.