• by Wayne Friedman , October 15, 2015

Prime-time non-sports branded entertainment/product placement deals have declined over past years -- partly due to premium pricing.

Nielsen says there were 136 brands airing 4,455 integrations in programs last TV season -- a 20% decline from two years before during the 2012-2013 TV season, when 185 brands did 5,580 integrations.

Media executives blamed rising premiums for these deals as contributing to the decline.

Still, Nielsen says marketers can see key marketing metric gains by using branded entertainment deals along with standard TV ads.

Chad Dreas, managing director of media analytics for Nielsen, stated: “While there has been a decrease in both brands and occurrences in regards to branded integrations, it is still a great opportunity for marketers looking to increase their advertising impact.”

Among young adults 18-34, for example, brand memorability for ads increased 16%, while among older adults 18-49, brand memorability gained 18%. Men respond more strongly to in-program product placements paired with standard TV commercials -- a 26% rise in brand recall versus 9% for women.

Overall, product placement/standard advertising combinations for viewers 18-49 for the 2014-2015 broadcast season improved advertising memorability 5%; message memorability, 19%, and likability, 17%.

The study came from survey responses from Sept. 21, 2014 through May 20, 2015, with “occurrence” data limited to original airings only. “Lift” data comes from both original and repeat airings.