In 2007, a cutting-edge technology made its debut on NBC’s 30 Rock in the form of a joke. SeinfeldVision, as it’s dubbed in the comedy’s Season 2 premiere, digitally inserts 3D versions of Jerry Seinfeld into shows like the fictitious MILF Island without the comedian ever actually appearing on set.

Sixteen years later, MILF Island is basically a real show, and a technology once dreamt up for a punchline is basically a reality. Only this time, it’s packages of M&Ms and bottles of soda being dropped into TV shows, not comedians.

Virtual product placement got some time in the spotlight in 2022, when NBCUniversal and Amazon announced their intent to beta test tools that can virtually place ads and products into select shows.

• Nearly a year later, though, digital product placement is still far from ubiquitous across television screens—which is probably why some networks are investing in new tech and partners in an effort to address some of the pain points that have emerged.
• NBCUniversal, for example, announced this month that it had partnered with the ad-tech firm TripleLift in the spirit of making virtual product placement scalable and, eventually, personalized, Jenny Burke, NBCUniversal’s EVP, advertising strategy, said.

In theory, virtual product placement is designed to make putting brands into shows easier for everyone involved. Traditional product placement requires brand involvement during show production, which can be years before its premiere. Adding in brands after the fact means that companies can get involved later in the process and still reap the potential benefits of in-show placements. Plus, specific products can, in theory, be swapped out depending on which viewers are watching.

Read the full story here.—KS

Marketing Brew readers seem pretty bullish on product placement. In last week’s reader poll, we asked if you think it’ll become a bigger part of marketing strategies this year. Out of nearly 1,000 respondents, 65% of you said you think it will. About 17% said you think it won’t, while the rest weren’t sure.

Refresher: If you read the first story in today’s newsletter, you know marketers are trying to make virtual product placement a thing. But traditional product placement is still very much alive and well, even slowly making its way into channels like podcasting. Before Netflix offered ads, brands could still get in front of the streamer’s millions of viewers by placing products in hit shows like Stranger Things.

According to one estimate, in 2021, product placement was a $23 billion business that’s growing.

• It grew for 10 years straight from 2010 through 2019, though “the pandemic broke that double-digital growth streak in 2020, when global product placement spending declined 0.7%,” according to data from PQ Media. It’s “bounced back” since.

Challenges: According to Adweek, some product placements can be “left in limbo” when shows are canceled or removed from platforms.

Take a very deep breath. Maybe even take a seat. Do you need water? Here, here’s some water.

I want to tell you: You’re gonna come across tweets with 4,000-characters now. It’s gonna be okay. Great, even. I know it’s sudden. Let’s talk about it.

Okay, 4,000-character tweets. What does that mean exactly?

It’s just like it sounds. Remember when Twitter went from 140 characters to 280 characters? It’s like that, just 14x bigger (and you gotta pay for more characters this time).

Keep reading here.—JA

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Analyze: TikTok has added 7,000 new insights to its Insights tool.

Work work work: LinkedIn released its 2023 Workplace Learning Report, which found that many companies are investing in L&D to help with retention.

Updates: YouTube’s made some additions to Shorts, which you can brush up on here.

Build a better brand: Companies that use Frontify’s brand management platform see 367% ROI, according to Forrester’s Total Economic Impact™ study. Check it out to learn how Frontify’s tools can help your teams thrive.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

We’re sending a token of appreciation to our beloved marketing community this Valentine’s Day: Enjoy exclusive, all-star content from The Brief through our On Demand resource!

Don’t know where to start? Check out 'McDonald’s Secret Marketing Sauce' - a sit-down convo with the fast-food giant’s Jennifer Healan (vice president of US Marketing, Brand Content, and Engagement) and Wieden+Kennedy NY Managing Director Brandon Pracht. Learn how to inspire cultural shifts and challenge your peers to show up.

Find it all here.

Which headlines are real marketing news, and which one is fake?

1. Emily Ratajkowski and Eric André re-create Bud Light ‘Hold’ commercial for Corona
2. Axe’s new clothing line is designed to be left behind
3. Cadbury is searching for a rescue pet to be 2023’s ‘bunny’
4. This Kleenex campaign encourages people to ‘save the sleeve’ from their snotty noses

Keep scrolling for the answer.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• Why ‘inserts,’ aka the ads slipped into packages, are having a moment
• Audiences are spending more time watching just about everything but traditional TV, report finds
• One rebrand at a time: How this branding expert built a following on TikTok