Sigen Song
Department of Business Administration, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai, China
Fanny Fong Yee Chan*
Department of Marketing, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
Yongfa Li
Department of Marketing, Anhui University of Finance and Economics, Bengbu, China, and
Cheng Lu Wang
Marketing Department, University of New Haven, West Haven, Connecticut, USA
Abstract
Purpose – Placement prominence is a multidimensional concept. Previous studies have defined and operationalized prominence in different ways, and no studies have tried to systematically examine what should and should not be counted as prominence. This study aims to fill this gap.
Design/methodology/approach – Using a content analysis of six short films and a survey study on 129 Chinese young adults, this study systematically examined 13 dimensions of placement prominence on the memory of placed brands.
Findings – Factor analysis has reduced the 13 dimensions into five factors: contextual, narrative, sensory, exposure and spatial prominence. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) software was used to conduct a contrarian case analysis and test for predictive validity. This was followed by a QCA to identify the optimal configurations of the five factors that may lead to a high recognition of the placed brands. The optimal configurations were also contrasted across two gender and brand familiarity groups. While the optimal configurations of prominence on brand memory for male and female participants were largely the same, the combinations differed between participants with low and high brand familiarity.
Originality/value – Previous studies in product placement usually operationalize prominence with a few dominant dimensions intuitively though several other dimensions, and their interactions could also affect the prominence level. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that used multiple dimensions of prominence configurations to identify paths that may lead to low and high brand memory. The empirical results contribute to the theory and understanding of the effect of prominence on brand memory and provide guidance to brand managers in determining which prominence configuration is the most suitable for achieving their promotional objective.
Keywords
Product placement; Prominence; Qualitive comparative analysis; Brand memory; Optimal configuration
摘要
目的——植入显著性是一个多维度的概念，比如品牌植入的时间长（vs.短）、频率高（vs.低）、位置在视野中央（vs.边缘）、主要感官通道是视听（vs.视觉或听觉）等。以前的研究已经定义并使用多种方式操纵植入显著性，目前尚无成果系统地讨论什么维度应该和不应该被视为显著性。本研究旨在填补这一研究不足。
设计/方法/方法——本研究通过对六部短片的内容分析和对129名中国年轻人的调查研究，系统地考察了植入显著性的13个维度对植入品牌记忆的影响。
研究结果——使用因子分析将植入显著性的13个维度简化为五个因子：情境、叙事、感官、曝光和空间。使用模糊集定性比较分析（QCA）软件进行反向案例分析和预测有效性测试。随后进行了定性比较分析，以确定能够带来植入品牌高再认率（记忆的测量指标之一）的五个因素最优组态。还运用性别和品牌熟悉度进行分组对最优组态进行了对比分析，结果显示最优组态对男性和女性的品牌再认影响基本相同，而对高和低品牌熟悉度的受访者有不同影响，说明模型具有较好的稳健性。
独创性/价值——尽管植入显著度存在很多维度，维度之间的交互作用也可能影响显著性水平，先前植入式广告研究还是经常使用几个主要维度直观地操作显著性。据作者所知，这是使用多维显著性组态来界定可能导致低和高品牌记忆路径的首次尝试。数据分析结果有助于理论发展，理解植入显著性对品牌记忆的影响，并为品牌管理者运用植入显著性维度组态实现其促销目标提供指导。
关键词
植入式广告；定性比较分析；品牌记忆；最优组态
基金资助/Acknowledgements ：The work presented in this paper was supported by the National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences Funds of China [Reference no.: 21BXW082] and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China [Reference no.: UGC/FDS14/H15/17].
引用/Citation：Song, S., Chan, F.F.Y.*, Li, Y. and Wang, C.L. (2023), Configurating product placement prominence on brand memory: what counts and what does not?, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 32 No. 4, pp. 600-617. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-11-2021-3732
* 通讯作者/Corresponding author：Fanny Fong Yee Chan 博士
上海应用技术大学消费者行为研究中心网址：https://xfz.sit.edu.cn，https://consumer.sit.edu.cn。