Types and benefits of hidden advertising

There is no way without advertising. Advertising is everywhere, so everywhere that most advertising media have crossed the line of intrusiveness and fallen somewhere beyond the periphery of conscious perception. This selective ignoring even has its name: “banner blindness. ” Advertisers spend a huge amount of effort to bypass it and reach out to the potential audience. Then hidden advertising comes to the rescue—something that the audience does not perceive as advertising and, therefore, does not experience irritation from it.

What is hidden advertising?

Hidden advertising is so integrated into the context that it is not perceived as such. For example, viral videos where funny things happen (and a sign of a famous fast food restaurant or a bottle of a famous soda pop flickers in the background) are considered hidden advertising, as is the so-called “product placement” (literally “product placement”), when the advertised product casually flickers in a film, TV series, or video clip. Although such advertising is considered unobtrusive, if it is integrated correctly, it invariably and inexorably increases sales of the advertised product. A huge amount of obvious advertising in the same film is no longer hidden and begins to irritate. This happens everywhere, in any media with some kind of plot: books and comics, films, TV series, cartoons, online articles, computer games, music tracks, and videos. That is why hidden advertising is easy to position: it is enough to understand what audience a specific “media” is aimed at. Hidden advertising is very effective, it is an excellent alternative to overt advertising. You can buy Google Adsense account to promote your products better. Roughly speaking, when watching a standard TV commercial, the viewer can simply switch the channel (or use an ad cutter if he is watching something on the Internet), then when using product placement:

• he will not switch anything since he risks losing the context,
• he may not notice the advertisement, although the brand name and product will remain in his subconscious.

What is good about hidden advertising

First of all, unobtrusiveness. In banner blindness and flickering around, hidden advertising, correctly woven into the fabric of the narrative, does not irritate. No one will get angry because of the logo on the laptop of a famous character in a good box office movie or because of energy drink cans in a video game. The second follows from the first: if a film, series, or game “takes off,” the product will begin to be firmly associated with the character or media personality. Light product placement immediately attracts fans of the personality who advertises the product. The brand is perfectly memorable and remains in the memory for a long time because films and series do not disappear anywhere; they continue to be watched even years after their release.

What types of hidden advertising exist

Perhaps you are already attracted by the prospect of using hidden advertising in your business. Then it’s time to discuss what it is in principle and where it can be placed.

• The 25th frame is invisible to a person but is recorded on a subconscious level. The technology is associated with a person’s ability to catch and perceive only 24 frames per minute. Thus, advertising introduced into the 25th frame passes by the conscious part but is still processed subconsciously. True, such advertising is still less effective than direct advertising because the subconscious often simply discards those things that it considers unnecessary. That same frame may well go to the mental “trash can.”
• Product placement is placing an existing brand’s product in films, TV series, clips, comics, books, and entertainment content. Remember, probably, the sailor Popeye, who loved spinach? His love for spinach led to increased sales of this product – so much everyone wanted to gain the same strength as the cartoon hero. The main rule of product placement sounds like “you can’t advertise a product directly”; it is impossible to say right in the middle of a movie: “I recommend everyone to drink such-and-such milk of such-and-such brand.” It is enough that the milk will be next to the hero’s coffee machine while he makes breakfast, simultaneously chatting with his friend on abstract topics.
• Internet forums, where hidden advertising is placed during the discussion. The highest skill is to do it in such a way that no one could even guess that it is an advertisement, and perceive the message as a natural part of the discussion. However, people easily expose fakes, especially those registered recently, with relatively few messages. Usually, this is done by “hiring” a famous forum member who simply publishes an advertising message in a suitable thread.
• Blogs – and bloggers who can be ordered to advertise, including public figures with Instagram, Telegram channels, vlogs, etc. The blogger must do it unobtrusively. There is another advantage to using influencer platforms (people who directly influence the masses, such as celebrities and media personalities): you can get an audience of these same influencers. Fans often agree to buy a product simply because their idol buys it.
• News resources and media. For example, some news outlets involve experts from various fields in writing useful articles, who then advertise their clinic, products, or services.
• Creating viral videos. The highest level of hidden advertising: creating self-valuable funny or shocking videos that users will share on their own, simply because of their content. Many old videos from the Internet are viral advertising. Remember the famous video in which Jean-Claude Van Damme does the splits, resting his feet on the side mirrors of Volvo trucks? It is a classic example of a viral video that is so cool that even the fact that it is an obvious advertisement fades into the background.