Shift in media model is making advertisers rethink their marketing strategy and spend on other alternative channels like entertainment product placement (branded entertainment) as means to reach their target audience. A recent study says 70% of brands will look to shift around 10% of media budget into entertainment product placement on TV and film.

Globally product placement is estimated to exceed $25 million in 2026 rising to $41.4 billion by 2026, according to PQ Media. According to a report by BENLabs, Branded entertainment helps brands reach these audiences by getting them inside the programming. Their research has shown that audiences prefer integration over interruption, with 64% of consumers stating that they’d rather watch streaming or premium cable over linear TV.

The report read: “Product placement, also known as product integration, is an entertainment marketing strategy in which brands are incorporated within films, television shows, music videos, or other entertainment content in order to reach consumers.

“Branded integrations have become one of the most effective forms of marketing, which is why so many brands are looking for a product placement agency to cut through the advertising clutter. Ad avoidance is at all time highs with over 41% of viewers habitually skipping or avoiding television advertisements, according to a 2017 Deloitte Study. Ad supported television is under threat with 25% of all households expected to cut the cord by 2022 (eMarketer). In addition, viewers prefer integrations over ads.”

A BENlabs Ipsos poll revealed that 73% of viewers stated that they found integrations less intrusive than ads. The combination of ad avoidance and ad annoyance has made product placement a critical staple in the marketing toolkit, and it might be just the marketing element to establish your brand relevance.

One of the key arguments for brands, according to the study, is that product placement can extend much-needed reach for many marketers, especially those who use traditional linear TV as a big piece of their media campaigns.