Ad Age shared a report from Martin Lindstrom regarding a clever dog food product placement in Venezuela. Master Dog food was a sponsor of the reality show La Granja Vip – a version of an international reality format known as The Farm. They wanted to integrate their brand with the show and decided to have a dog representing the brand’s signature breed, the Golden Retriever, appear as a contestant on the show. The dog, named Master, became an extremely popular character on the show and in turn a highly sucessful promotion for the company. Martin says Master worked so well as a product placement by meeting all three goals for product placement:
1. Make sure the product is relevant and necessary to the plot
2. Make the brand the hero
3. Ensure the product image remains the same across all touch points
The dog, which appears on on the brand’s site and many of its product labels as well as in the show, satisfied the goals on all counts.