Antecedents and consequences of consumers' attitudes toward product placements: evidence from India

Purpose - Advertising clutter has fueled the rise of nontraditional advertising methods. The current study, conducted in India, adopted the consumer socialization framework to assess product placement attitudes and behaviors. Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to gauge consumers' responses to product placements. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to analyze the relationship between different variables. Findings - The results revealed that young Indian adults are positive about product placements as they believe that incorporating brands into the content adds realism. The authors found that socialization agents significantly impact viewers' attitudes toward product placements which in turn influence their purchase intentions. The authors also found that product acceptability impacts consumers' purchase intentions. Practical implications - This paper provides important insights into consumers' perceptions of product placements. Based on the findings, marketers can formulate effective product placement strategies. Originality/value - Most of the studies existing in this area have been conducted in the developed markets except a few which have been conducted in the emerging markets. Hence, the present study is an attempt to fill this research gap. This study is among the first to establish a relationship between product acceptability and consumers' purchase intentions.