In‐film placement trends: a comparative study of Bollywood and Hollywood

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the growing phenomenon of brand placements in the Indian movie industry. The study goes further to compare the incidence and the nature of brands placed within movies for the same time period.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis of 106 successful Bollywood movies between 1997 and 1999 was conducted and the incidence of brand placements within them and the execution style adopted were documented. Analysis of the brand appearances in 110 Hollywood movies was carried out and the volume of placements, kind of brands placed and the movie genre in which they were found was noted.FindingsIn‐film placements of entertainment and automobile brands were found to be highly prevalent in Indian movies. Showing the usage of the brand was the most common style of execution. The volume of in‐film placements in Hollywood movies was found to be far higher than that in Indian movies.Research limitations/implicationsThis study being exploratory in nature has the inherent limitation of generalizability of the results.Practical implicationsThis paper provides implications for marketing managers and movie producers employing this form of communication.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to systematically record, analyse and compare the occurrence and the execution of brand placements in Indian movies in a non‐US context and compare and contrast the placement practices of these two movie industries.