Embedded Marketing

The notion of postmodernism is not merely an intangible philosophy, but an actual reflection of cultural shifts starting around 1960s and continuing till this day, patent by a move towards plurality of interpretations, individuality, and self-identification through utilization and a jaded awareness of the media and its techniques. It has had an influence on practically every aspect of culture and creativity, working its way into the consumer attitude. Postmodern marketing attempts to understand the significant change in consumer psychology and behavior in the postmodern era as postmodern consumers do not just buy a product or service, but they also buy the symbolic representation it entails.

The marketing world is in the midst of transformation from the modern to the postmodern epoch. In the course of recent years, modern marketing has been dominating which has been commanded by technology, with organizations utilizing very granular, data-driven segmentation to target prospects and clients. While technology will keep on assuming an indispensable job in marketing, during this gradual transition in postmodernity, there has been a more noteworthy emphasis on making stimulating and emotive encounters for purchasers.

In this new epoch in the history of marketing, the marketers endeavor to create moving, demonstrative experiences drawing on the best aspects of the pre-modern era, which dwelled on creating intuitive and emotional experiences, and call on the modern marketing practices, which are tethered to science and technology, to ensure that those messages reach the right people at the right time.

Use of innovative techniques to create powerful buyer experiences has already started to trend in the business world. 360 video experiences and augmented reality have been navigating the post-modern world of marketing for a while now. Mixed reality is also becoming increasingly common with companies like Google and Facebook playing a significant role in pioneering it.  Another technique that is relevant today is embedded marketing.

Embedded marketing is an advertising technique where references to particular brands or products are integrated within entertainment mediums, such as a movies or TV shows, with an intent to promote them.

Given the premiss that consumers have become desensitized to traditional ad messages over the years, the marketers have become increasingly concerned about the efficiency and effectiveness of these advertising placements. The targeted audience, today, are using tools such as digital video recorders and ad blockers which make these ads ineffective. This is where the embedded marketing or product placement has the trump card. It allows a brand to target audiences while they are already captive in the entertainment medium. Since ad is made to look like a part of the script, the audience do not skip through it. This advantage that embedded marketing provides as well as the emotional appeal it has, has caused its pervasiveness to rise in the postmodern marketing era.