Reader and author attitudes towards brand placement in fiction

The present research explores readers' and authors' general attitudes towards brand placement in fiction. An online survey of Flemish readers (n = 500) and Flemish and Dutch authors (n = 97) measured attitudes towards the use of brand names and the practice of paid brand placement in fiction. Readers also reported their attitudes with regard to placement in film and TV programs. The results demonstrate that readers are favorable towards brand use in fiction. They also view the practice of paid placement as acceptable, perceive it as appropriate in most fiction genres, and are largely indifferent to the use of placement disclosures. Albeit perceptions are favorable across media in absolute terms, attitudes towards brands and paid placement in fiction, compared to film/TV programs, are less positive. Demographic characteristics and individual differences in reading motivation also predict readers' placement attitudes. Further, the results reveal that authors also perceive (paid) placement in fiction as acceptable, yet they appear more reserved about the practice than readers in our sample and see a higher need for disclosure regulation. Findings are discussed with relation to earlier work on general attitudes towards brand placement in other media and their implications for current theory and practice.