The Surprising Star of Space Jam

We could say that with LeBron James, Nike starred in Space Jam: A New Legacy. In the hour and 55 minute film, Nike was on screen for a whopping one and a quarter hours. One brand tracking group estimates it received ad value worth $93.6 million.

Last year we looked at movie product placements.

Now it’s time for an update.

Movie Product Placements

In Spider-Man No Way Home, the 80 brands on screen and eight in their dialogue received $97 million in product placement value. The leader was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In the script 14 times and also through clothing, letters, and a website, this university, with an acceptance rate of 3.36% out of 33,796 applicants, surely did not need the splashy recognition. Yet, as a result, they became 2021’s 54th most prominent brand.

Adding together the value of screen time, the number of brands, the mentions, the audience views, and the quality of the exposures, Don’t Look Up created an estimated $277 million in ad value.

For the top ten, these were the 2021 estimated totals:

Our Bottom Line: Brand Value

From here, we can take the leap to brand value.

A brand is a personality that distinguishes a good or a service from all others. It can relate to a taste, a texture, a technology. It can shape what a consumer experiences. When a brand is doing its job, it adds to the value of the good or service. And of course, brands help firms compete.

The question though is how a brand can get a dollar value. Some say you can calculate the cost of creating the brand. Others suggest pricing the brand as though you were selling it. Interbrand combines financial performance, the role of brand in the purchasing decision, and the strength of the brand.

Meanwhile, Visual Capitalist used this formula for the brand ranking graphic that follows:

You can see that brand valuation methods vary. However, there is little doubt about the top 10 shown by circle size:

Returning to where we began, done well, movie product placements boost global brand value.

My sources and more: Reading my Hustle email on movie product placement, I decided it was also time for our update. Then, you might enjoy (as did I) going to Kantar BrandZ’s report to see the ranking of the top brands. To take the next step, Interbrand is also a possibility. (Please note that several of today’s sentences were in a previous econlife post.)