Promotional Media Under Convergence: Literary Product Placement

By Chris Hackley and Rungpaka Amy Hackley (Queen Mary, University of London)

We are living in an era of media convergence, in the sense that all media channels are converging around the internet. We can access print newspapers, magazines movies, TV, radio, the internet and music from a hand-held device. As a result of the fragmentation of media audiences across so many channels, traditional spot and display advertising is in decline. In its place, non-advertising promotion is gaining in traction. The third edition of our text, Advertising and Promotion, engages with the topic, while a related blog piece looks at one important manifestation of promotion under convergence: the shift of brand placements into all media, including the written word.

Hackley, C. & Hackley,  R. A. (2014). Advertising and promotion, 3rd Ed. London: Sage.

Links: Advertising and promotion (Book, link to Sage website); Literature's long love affair with product placement (Longer blog post on The Conversation)

Coke Life lands a blow against sugar, but its worthy credentials could still be trouble

By Justin O'Brien, Royal Holloway and Stephanos Anastasiadis, Royal Holloway

Coca Cola has begun carefully rolling out its green-labelled “Life” brand, filling its iconic hour-glass bottles with a new fizzy drink which has nearly a third fewer calories than Coke Original. It is a useful win for anti-sugar campaigners but the strategy brings all kinds of risks for the Atlanta-based soft drinks giant.

Read the full article at TheConversation.com.