Ekornes chair finds spot on 'Doc'
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, January 28, 2007
Chicago — When actor and singer Billy Ray Cyrus sat down on the set of his TV show, "Doc," he didn't just choose any old chair.
It was an Ekornes Stressless recliner and it arrived on the set through the art of product placement, an increasingly popular form of advertising that slips everything from Fords to foodstuffs into the scenes of movies, TV shows and videos.
In Place Promotions, a Chicago-based product placement and promotions agency, worked with Ekornes to land the spot in "Doc" and also in the movie "Santa Clause 2."
Carmen Brown, senior product placement and promotions manager at the firm, has placed such furniture as Herman Miller's Aeron chair (which plays a supporting role, so to speak, in "Joe Somebody" and "CSI").
Brown said she hopes to land more furniture clients, and would like to find products, including children's furniture and leather upholstery.
"The product has to be really unique for me to take it on," she said. But with the right product, Brown says she can use her contacts in the film and television industry to arrange for screen time.
She said product placements can dovetail with other marketing, creating a buzz about a product launch.
In Place Promotions also maintains that such product placements can be cost-effective when compared with other advertising, and can attract an attentive audience and give a product credibility. Placements also can lead to long-term showings if a series goes into reruns or movies go to video rentals or onto television.
Brown has a background in the creative end of film and television and has written scripts for shows and movies for the past 10 years. She also has worked as director of business and creative development, story editor, writer and producer on film and television projects in the children and family market.
She can be reached at nplacepro@aol.com.
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