In automotive product placement, finding the right project for a vehicle is a delicate matchmaking endeavor. In the latest Ask BENlabs video, Director of Automotive Product Placement Kristen Rubi breaks down all the factors that must be considered in order to find the perfect match.
Automotive Placement: Production Context
On the production side, it’s all about context. Does it feel authentic to the story that this character would drive this vehicle? Does the vehicle help us better understand who this character is?
When a vehicle is a good fit for a production, it provides backstory for a character, filling out the audience’s idea of who this person is–their lifestyle, status, awareness, practicality, etc. As Chief Strategy Officer Erin Schmidt pointed out in a NYTimes article last year, “You don’t need to write more script…because the brand gives you that contextual element.”
Automotive Placement: Brand Alignment
On the brand side, it’s all about alignment. Does this character reflect the values of the brand? Will the story reflect positively on those values? Does the targeted audience match up with the targeted demographic of the vehicle?
These are big questions. Luckily, BENlabs’ automotive team is equipped with decades of collective experience in automotive placement. They’re attuned to the nuance of maintaining brand values while also supporting production needs. And when it comes to pinpointing an audience, BENlabs’ AI cluster analysis allows brands to make data-driven decisions.
How do you know when a project is the right fit for a vehicle? Ask BENlabs: Video Transcript
Finding a project that’s a good fit for a vehicle takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of thought and knowledge. Creators know that when a car shows up on screen, it says a lot about a character–the character who’s driving it.
You know, if somebody pulls up in a pickup truck, that’s a very specific person. If somebody pulls up in a family car, you know that says something about who they are. If they drive a small EV, that says something about who they are.
So, creators really understand what a statement cars can make on screen without their character saying a word. What we do at BENLabs is work with producers to make sure they can tell their story well, but also on the other hand, help automakers to find projects that align with who their customer is, so they’re reaching the right people, they’re aligning with the right characters.
At BEN we have the advantage of being able to use AI for audience clustering that helps enhance that work and our ability to do it. In addition to the AI and audience clustering, relationships are very important, reading scripts and understanding scripts and how cars will show up on screen is very important, so that the automaker is able to tell the story that they want to tell.
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