Department - Author 1

Communication Studies Department

Degree Name - Author 1

BA in Communication Studies

Date

3-2014

Primary Advisor

Julia K. Woolley

Abstract/Summary

This study investigated the use of product placement in television shows as a catalyst for product purchasing behavior. It was hypothesized that television viewers would be more likely to purchase a product seen through a product placement in a television show than in a commercial advertisement. Furthermore, it was also hypothesized that viewers would be more influenced to buy a product if they saw a favored television character interacting or promoting the product. These hypotheses were tested by running a bivariate correlation to determine the correlation between television viewing and purchasing habits, a paired sample t-test to determine whether there was a significant difference between preference for commercial advertisements and preference for product placement, and a repeated measures ANOVA to test the equality of means between participants’ perceived influence of television, television characters, and commercials. Ultimately, the results did not support the first hypothesis, although character influence did have a significant correlation to purchase behavior. Some exploratory findings are presented, and theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future research suggestions are discussed.

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