How advanced is the brand placement in the hit drama "Fanhua"?

The sensational drama "Fang Hua" not only attracts attention with its plot, but also wins the attention of the audience with its advanced brand placement. From delicate emotional description to exquisite brand placement, let us explore the success of this hit drama and uncover the advanced secrets of its brand placement.

At the end of 2023, Wong Kar-wai rang the bell of the new year with his "Flowers". From the adaptation of the Mao Dun Literature Award-winning novel, the participation of a group of powerful actors such as Hu Ge, to the filming process that took three years and cost 500 million yuan, almost all descriptions are raising the audience's expectations for this TV series. Of course, "Flowers" did not disappoint - as of the end, the popularity value of "Flowers" on Tencent Video exceeded 31,000, the total number of hot searches on Weibo was 2,922, and the number of related topic readings exceeded 10.284 billion. The Douban score has achieved four consecutive increases since its launch, and scored a high score of 8.5.

Although this period drama has ended, the commercial boom it has generated is still heating up. For example, the Peace Hotel, which appeared many times in the drama, launched the same suite as in "Flowering Flowers", which is priced at 16,800 yuan a night and is still hard to get; and the "pork ribs and rice cakes" that Miss Wang likes have also led to sales growth in many hotels that have the same product; beauty bloggers have also begun to discuss the makeup of Miss Wang and Li Li, and have imitated their makeup to create a retro outfit trend...

Not only that, a Douban user once counted the advertising data of "Fang Hua": the highest number of advertisements in one episode reached 11, and the total number of brands reached 40. Even with such intensive placement, the brands that supported "Fang Hua" have also tasted the sweetness brought by the hit series, and many advertisements have become the subject of audience relish. Although the placement of film and television dramas cannot be separated from sponsors, there are very few works that can still make the audience buy in with such a large number of advertisements. Today, let's take "Fang Hua" as an example to talk about the issue of placement in film and television dramas.

01 Integrate the product into the plot and establish a real connection with the scenes in the play

At a time when attention is extremely fragmented, popular dramas can attract a lot of attention in a short period of time, which is a very scarce traffic resource. However, if brands use dramas as "advertising spots", the audience will see content that is separated from the plot, and such placement will have little effect. In Mr. Bingfa's opinion, the trend of placement in film and television dramas must be more and more "integrated": products are integrated into the plot and scenes, and the advertisements are not abrupt when they appear, and the audience will not be disgusted.

For example, there is the popular Pepsi advertising slogan: "Yellow River Road is like a soda bottle. It won't make any sound unless you open it. But as long as you pick it up and pry it gently, it will immediately spray out. The bottle is opened and cannot be closed."

This is the 12th episode of "Flowering Flowers". Miss Wang was jealous of A Bao and Li Li getting too close, so she went to a roadside store to drink soda alone. The owner Jing Xiu comforted her. This passage not only hinted at the undercurrent under the Yellow River Road, but also matched the ups and downs in Miss Wang's heart at this time, and also paved the way for the plot in which Mei Ping backstabbed Miss Wang. Looking deeper, this advertisement is also quite consistent with the style of Wong Kar-wai's own film lines, just like the dripping faucet in "Chungking Express" and the hidden cup in "Chungking Express", both of which capture the deep emotions from ordinary objects in life.

This type of product placement not only makes the brand a part of the feature film, but also adds points to the aesthetics of the shots and the texture of the series while serving the plot. It is an ideal high-level product placement.

Of course, in addition to the plot, "Fanghua" also put a lot of effort into the display of brand consumption scenes. The story takes place in Shanghai in the 1990s, and the producers also need to explain the background of the times through many details, which is also a great opportunity to provide an opportunity for "integration" between the brand and the plot. For example, the Guangming milk trucks shuttling through the alleys, the Pepsi advertisement "The Choice of a New Generation" printed on the bus, etc., are all real things that appeared in that era. And the audience will also deepen their understanding and memory of the brand in the process of "archaeology" of that period of history because of participating in the interaction, and then be attracted by the product.

02 Use stories to convey ideas and understand the plot to accurately place ads

Advertising is an output of ideas and a guide to people's lifestyles. Whether it is TVC or product placement, the ultimate goal is to subtly influence people's thoughts and will. Therefore, when faced with different dramas and stories, brands should make choices and choose stories that are more suitable for them and make placements that are easier to help brands convey their values.

For example, Estee Lauder, which appears frequently in the plot, uses the historical background of "Fanghua" to show the brand's history, localization process, and close connection with the times.

"Flowers" is a story about the 1990s, and Estee Lauder entered China in 1993, with its first counter in Shanghai. Careful viewers have discovered that the lipstick that Minmin, a waitress at Zhizhen Garden, shows off to her colleagues and the platinum cream sold in Linghong boutique are almost the same as they were thirty years ago. The "high-end" beauty products match the theme atmosphere of the protagonist enjoying a high-end life, and convey the brand's companionship and support for consumers.

If you dig deeper, you will find that every female character in the play is full of strong autonomy and feminine power in their career and love. The cooperation between Estee Lauder and "Flower" is also to express respect and recognition for every woman through these extremely charming female characters and the applicability of products in different women's life scenes, so as to resonate with the audience and convey the brand's values.

03 Open up the front-end and back-end links of marketing and connect the popularity of content to the sales link

Product placement is a systematic project, not just throwing it into the series and then it will be done once and for all. In addition to the exposure and discussion brought by the drama itself, brands should also tap into many communication points with the audience, so that the popularity of the drama content can be connected with the sales process. With the help of Tencent Video, many brands have also explored new marketing ideas through "Fang Hua".

Firstly, it is to find hot spots in the series and create hot spots outside the series.

For example, Estee Lauder Platinum Cream appeared several times in the drama as a "coquettish product", and many female viewers began to discuss the topic of "what did Shanghai hipsters use in the 1990s" on Weibo and Xiaohongshu. At this time, Estee Lauder released a video introducing the brand and product history, forming a tacit response between the drama and the outside world. Another example is the Meituan advertisement "special show" of the tobacco and paper shop Jingxiu. Because the design is clever enough, it also triggered many discussions on social media after the drama was broadcast. After Meituan put these advertising clips on its official video account, it also received a lot of likes and praise. These methods can "direct traffic" to the hit drama.

Secondly, it is to take advantage of the ecosystem in which Tencent Video is located to open up the front-end and back-end links of marketing.

It is important to use content as the main line to drive the emotions of the audience, but if the broadcasting platform can be connected with the business position of the brand merchants, it will be easier for the brand to balance short-term exposure, short-term sales and long-term asset accumulation. The ecosystem of Tencent Video is equivalent to providing a "fast track" for brands to superimpose multiple channels and connect public and private domains, which can further improve the brand implantation effect.

For example, Chun Zhen will appear in the form of interactive bullet screens with fireworks at every moment worth celebrating in the drama, making full use of the original functions of Tencent Video. Outside the drama, the brand also directly connected Tencent Video Account, Mini Programs and JD.com and other business positions, and created a special page for the drama on Meituan Waimai, inviting Fan Tiantian, who plays Lu Meilin in the drama, to be a guest in the popular live broadcast room, opening up the conversion link and driving real sales.

04 Last words:

In fact, if you look closely, you will find that the reason why these brands implanted in "Fang Hua" "won" is not only because they caught up with the popularity of the series. Instead, they made refined and systematic innovations in the presentation of the series and the marketing layout outside the series, which can maximize the value of the content. The core of coordinating many marketing contents and the full-link layout is the content of the series itself.

The success of "Flowers" in terms of artistry and commercial value is not accidental. These are inseparable from the creative strategy proposed by Tencent Video. The platform respects art and artists very much, and provides full support for "good stories". This is the case with "The Three-Body Problem", which has made domestic science fiction dramas from 0 to 1, "The Long Season", which scored a high score of 9.5 on Douban, and "Longing", the king of summer dramas, which has exceeded 300 million barrage interactions alone. At the same time, Tencent Video also respects the audience experience and the brands implanted in it. While enriching the drama chasing experience, it opens up the channels between the plot, the audience and the brand, achieving a double harvest of product promotion and sales. This implantation effect is unique to Tencent Video. I believe that these valuable experiences will also lead to the subsequent trend of innovative implantation, bringing certain growth opportunities for more brands.

Author: Mr. Bingfa WeChat public account: Marketing Bingfa