i Placement

Today’s post is going to be a bit unconventional – I’m going to examine product placement in a speech by a print media executive. I attended a journalism conference last weekend at Harvard and heard Alan Murray, deputy managing editor and executive editor, online of the Wall Street Journal, speak about his experiences in the media industry. I was taken aback when he specifically mentioned the iPhone 4 on multiple occasions during his talk. “We’re pushing iPhone 4s to our [reporters].” He waxed on about how the phone’s video capability is superb and comparable to that of a video camera, which is essential for on-the-ground reporting. He repeatedly mentioned the specific model iPhone 4, rather than the iPhone or smartphone. Maybe I’ve been thinking about product placement for too long, but his (un?)intentional use of the iPhone 4 distracted me from his actual lecture.

wrong apple.

Murray then went on to discuss the iPhone 4’s sister, the iPad. He praised the iPad for filling the void between print and online content, especially because of its alleged ability to engage readers. Yeah, I guess a bigger, shiner new gadget is more engaging than the smaller version. There are a million of tablets like the iPad, but he once again chose to name the Apple product. My favorite part was when he said that the iPad application for the Wall Street Journal gave him a “sense of completeness” that he doesn’t get from reading the website. What’s the deal here: free Apple products for product placement? Hmm...I bet I know what company has the back page ad in tomorrow’s WSJ.