As blatantly obvious as it is is, sometimes almost groan worthy so, there’s a reason why product placement is so prevalent on our entertainment screens – because it works. Brands that you were unaware of being in existence last week come to mind at the drop of a hat, products that you didn’t even know you needed become utterly important for your reality to continue and you. must. have. them. NOW.
So, how can you use this tactic to your advantage? In your own home? Well, let me ask you… because I’m on a roll with the questions in this paragraph… have you had that experience where you’ve thought ‘I need hand cream’ and then after returning from the shops you realise that you already had five hand creams and two were half used? It’s frustrating, not only because of the additional money spent but I bet that you’d be itching to open the new and exciting hand cream over the older ones (and really, due to expiration dates and all – they should be used up first).
This is where inspiration from product placement comes into play. I’m a firm believer in using what you have before buying another like item. And the best way to do this is to move it to where you can see it! By using the ‘product placement’ tactic with items you already own, it’ll remind you to use them. Put a product somewhere obvious in your bathroom, your closet, on top of your dresser, in your line of sight, or in sequential order with routine products, anywhere that will encourage that it gets used as often as it can be.
Rearranging items also has the effect of refreshing products, I find that when I shake up my display that products go from dull to interesting in my mind. The brain is so busy filtering information that eventually it will stop ‘seeing’ what it doesn’t need to because it assumes it already has that area sorted. It’s just doing its job but by shaking things up products get a second ‘life’ because the brain begins to filter the information again. Seeing a product in a new light helps you appreciate it again which then makes you want to use it more and before you know it, it genuinely is time to purchase a replacement. Yay!
This technique works well with products but also can be applied to refreshing decorative objects or items of clothing. Try leaving a skirt out on display for a week, you may be amazed by the ideas that subconsciously surface; ‘I can wear it with that purple top I’ve never tried before’, ‘I think all it needs is to have the hem raised’.
Product placement is about giving a product the space to be viewed and appreciated. Advertising folk do it all the time, so why not take a leaf out of their book and use it to your own advantage?
