Dos and Don'ts of Product Placement

LupRocks HQ has been all abuzz lately with all kinds of amazing product placement activities!  We're currently working with a world renown costume designer on a pilot for NBC, we're about to send out a call for product for Entourage (one of our fav shows!), we've got a new television series for USA Network in the works, and we're prepping to work on a new movie starring the always gorgeous Jennifer Lopez. 

In addition to all of this, we're also working with the property departments for yet another NBC pilot, and for "The Best Show Ever" Gossip Girl.  Typically, when we work with the property department of a production it's for the type of featured placement that designers dream of--the girl searching through her closet to select the perfect bag, the insert shot of the ring box for the wedding proposal, Cindarella's shoe...because these placements are so important to the plot line, they are decided upon by a number of people--the prop master, the director, the art director, the producers, you name it!  So when you, the designer, submit something for consideration for these placements, it is crucial that you are actually able to provide the product in the timeline that is given.  Don't submit a picture of something in platinum if you really only have it in gold, don't submit a brown leather bag when you only have it in red (unless you disclose this information), because nobody is going to be able to wait for the extra two weeks or even two days for you to produce what they're asking for!   What's worse, since the decision has been agreed upon by all of those players, you've put the entire production, our contacts, in a compromising position and they now have to either a) go back to the drawing board (and in film and television, time is definitely money), or b) scramble to find an alternative that closely resembles your original submission.  Neither is a desirable outcome, neither fosters good will and healthy working relationships and neither is going to put you at the top of the list for the next opportunity.  In fact, you might just go all the way to the bottom. 

Yes, this scolding tirade is coming from a particular situation but I'm not going to name names.  The problem has been solved after several mini-heart attacks and the loss of quite a bit of sleep, so all is right in the LupRocks world again, but we just thought it was valuable information for you to have.  Maybe it's our fault because we try to make everything look so easy, but the designers we work with have a job to do too, and doing this job successfuly means being honest about what you're capable of delivering.  Nobody is going to be mad if you can't provide something, but many people will be mad if you say you can and you can't.