Product placement

Product placement is a form of advertising. The companies that want their product in a movie want it to be seen by a lot of people.

So before you contact placement companies make sure you go in with all your homework finished.

They will want to know how the product will be used - and most important, they are going to want to know how many people will potentially see your movies.

Companies will pay to have James Bond use a product in a movie because they know millions of people will see that. Same with Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson or Sandra Bullock.

If you can demonstrate that your movie will be seen by a LOT of people, you will get their interest.

The "how" is pretty easy: decide what product you want in your movie and call the main headquarters. Ask for product placement info and they'll direct you to either the on site division, or the outside contractor they have hired to handle placement.

I plan on pitching that my next film will definitely be seen by thousands, potentially millions. I won't charge very much, though.

...I didn't know that was "how" it worked! I will first contact a small business owner who mentioned that he would go for some placement.

Does anyone know what a reasonable price is for this? My last two films have been downloaded about 5,000 times each. This could be great exposure for a website or something available online. They've also been to festivals and on local affiliate television stations. I plan on making an even bigger impact with my next two films (by submitting to networks and distributors), but can only guarantee the exposure I know I can get now (thousands...and counting). Should I just ask my potential client what price he thinks is fair?

I would suggest you find out your budget, and come up with a tier system.
For example:
Donation of product + $1000 = Special thanks credit
Donation of product + $5000 = Sponsorship credit, link to website on your website, and in credits
Donation of product + $10,000+ = Executive producer credit, good package of linkage

Something like that kind of tier would allow them to pick thier level of contribution and weigh the rewards. You can always meddle with the risk/reward settings. You've already got a good online fan-base... go for the gold. Talk to shop owners, and independant businessezzzz... Go for the gold, Logan. Gold.

Wow. See, I was thinking of charging like $300 for all that except Executive Producer credit.

I even thought that may be too much.

Well, I was just using example prices, so you can set your own...
It all depends on who and how many people are going to see your movie, and how much you can wrangle out of the investors.

It would help if you had a negative pickup or some other distribution deal in place. Even a letter of commitment from a dist will add credibility that more than just the cast, crew, and family will see your production. You can pitch it any way you want, but why should I believe that thousands or millions of people will see it? Any credible advertiser will want to see your distribution plan before making any sort of commitment.