How much is product placement worth?

How much is product placement worth IS the quintessential million dollar question. I have looked high and low for how to quantify this, usually piecing together bits of wisdom from here or there, or basing it off of old ad models I knew. I could never find anything concrete.
But! In this past issue of NYTimes Magazine (9.17.06) I found a FORMULA!
"Free Ride: What a movie can do for a venerable brand - and vice versa" by Rob Walker

The article talks about the Wonder Bread/Talladega Nights tie-in. While Wonder Bread didn't pay for the integration, they did support it with MEDIA.

Exposure = CASH!!!

In paragraph one the article reads "a marketing cosultancy called Joyce Julius & Associates issued a press release saying that " 'the Wonder Bread logo appeared clear and in focus for 11 minutes and 32 seconds (11:32), while the brand was also mentioned on two occasions by the actors,' and that, it asserted, added up to media exposure worth $4.3 million."

This, my dear independent filmmakers, is a FORMULA for product placement.

When you go to their press release, they do a really handy little chart!!!

But, basically, they value product placement as follows:

1 second of clear and distinct logo = $6,000
Brand Mention = $60,000

Go check out the press release and, Thank You, Joyce Julius!
http://www.joycejulius.com/PressReleases/pr_Aug_7_2006.htm

The Soul of this Blog = epiphany!!!

So, I had been struggling with what to talk about on this blog.
I had the plan all worked out a while back:
1. Someone finds this interesting
2. Everyone loves me
3. Everyone links to me
4. I'm featured in the Top 30 under 30 in Business/Forbes/Time
5. My mom can stop sending me year-round birthday checks (please make out to "Cash" Mom!).
6. I can stop giving my Mom Birthday Gift Certificates.

The plan was good. But I was missing the KEY thing! What am I going to write about that people will actually want to hear about!?
Well, it struck me today on the subway -ride home from the IFP Filmmakers Conference in Manhattan, where I had just attended a session called "Consumer Brands and Entertainment."
The panel was made of very respectable people in the field:
Woman A - Branded Entertainment Company.
Man B - Entertainment Media Company.
Woman C - Production Company.
Man D - Brand Manager, Large Auto Company.

These executives all got on a panel to talk to Independent Filmmakers about how to sell/integrate/cross-promote their movies with big brands. Huge Brands. And they all were very adamant that we needed THEM to do it. They held the keys! Man B even went so far as to stress "DON'T PISS OFF A BRAND, THEY'LL NEVER GIVE YOU A SECOND CHANCE. Seek a Professional" he said. He then very thoughtfully advised to call him at 673-HUGE.
Seriously. (These are the kind of people that thankfully gave me the courage to QUIT advertising).

Anyway, the whole panel went on and on for over and hour and a half, stumping all these independent filmmakers, leaving us all wondering, "just where do our heartfelt, and non-Supermanny movies fit in? How do we not get swallowed up by a guy in a pinstripe suit referencing his penis & his love of drinking in a panel? Isn't he the embodiment of what we are setting out to NOT be about?."

So, I stood up, I cleared my throat and said the following:

Unfortunately I don't have a question. I have advice.
As a recovering Advertising Executive, I wanted to share a little of my experience. I now work for an independent movie. I am now in the unique position of sitting on the other side of the presentation table and this is what I have found:
This panel is talking about LARGE brands.
The first question any large brand is going to ask you is "What is your distribution?" and none of us have any distribution yet!
Not all deals need to be done with a Coke or a Burger King. Find the right sized brand for your movie and find a brand that fits. There are plenty of small brands out there willing to work with you.
Secondly, you CAN contact them yourself. You need not go through a middle man.
Simply find the brand you want to talk to and google the brand name + a title. (Such as "Morningstar Farms Brand Manager" or "Morningstar Farms Product Manager"). You can usually find their email or phone number and just contact them directly.

I know this works, because I recently produced a music video and needed some branded partners.
I approached over 80 brands.
I estimate about 50% I pitched through agency partners, and 50% through the brand directly.
I landed 12 brands, for which I was very proud of.
100% of those brands that accepted were pitched to DIRECTLY.

Why? I found 2 reasons.
1. The agency partner will require a completely thought out pitch when you approach them, the same exact level of thinking you'll need to approach a brand yourself. Why would you waste the time pitching to them, when you can take the same presentation and pitch directly?

2. No agency partner will ever ever pitch your project as heartfelt as you will. You will do a better job.

And lastly [referring to a question a man posed earlier about what should he charge in dollars for product placement], in reference to the money question earlier... You need people to know about your movie and brands have products and media. Ask them to include mentions of your movie with their product, maybe even on packaging.
Always ask for co-promotion, have them send out a press release.
If you get a brand to do these things for you, they are essentially getting the word out about your movie, which is $$$$. If people know about your movie, THAT is currency.

---------

I received some clapping for this, which I didn't expect and Man B made a remark that I may be sought out more than him after the panel was over. I was.
I was approached by these lovely and heartfelt filmmakers who had no advice on how to tread through the murky waters of product placement and branded integration.
I gave some advice, I listened to their problems and I was extremely flattered that some wanted to work with me.
Well, that is why I am writing this blog today. Because I don't want to pretend I have all the answers. I am trying all these ideas out for myself on this movie I am working on called "The Cool Beans", and quite frankly, I am swamped doing it.
BUT!
Here is my plan...
I am going to post my endeavors on this blog. I will openly share what I do, how I do it and how it all works out. I will post what I find as research. I will be open to fielding questions. I will be an open book on how to market, PR and brand integrate YOUR movie by YOUR self, so you never, ever, ever have to find yourself across the table from Man B....

I ask in return that you link to my site from yours, if you have one. Or you embed my URL in your myspace, etc... And this is my first try at web-based promotion. This blog.

Hopefully we'll all crack the code together and make our movies, make some money and retire with our puppy on the beach (My dream).

Happy Movie Marketing and hope to hear from you soooooooon!
Amanda