Brewing Brand Recognition

How a lucky bit of product placement propelled a regional brand into pop culture.

Actress Mary-Louise Parker frequently carries Jill’s Java merchandise during her scenes in Showtime Network's show Weeds.

There is a saying that in New York: Strangers at cocktail parties ask what you do, while in Los Angeles, they ask whom you know. For quick-serves that want to be famous, the more relevant question might be, “Who drinks your coffee?”

That’s how Jill's Java, the Morehead, Kentucky-based coffeehouse chain ended up with a starring role on the critically-acclaimed Showtime Networks hit show Weeds.

In early 2005, Jack Kees, founder and president of Jill's Java, got a call from a prop master at Showtime asking if his company was interested in being a part of a new Showtime series. It turned out that this original contact at Showtime had heard about Jill's Java from her brother-in-law, an enthusiastic patron of the chain’s Lexington stores. Apparently, this brother-in-law’s lavish praise of Jill’s atmosphere, coffee, and customer service convinced the prop master to contact Kees.

In an age of jaded consumers and ad-zapping TIVOs, getting your product, brand, or store—better yet, all three—on a television show, especially a popular television show can generate great exposure. Weeds actors not only walk in and out of a Jill's Java coffeehouse in the show’s opening sequence, star Mary-Louise Parker frequently carries the company’s merchandise during her scenes.

In fact, Parker insisted that her character be a coffee fanatic. Jill's Java responded by sending her logo-covered Jill's Java cups, sleeves, drink carriers, t-shirts, and hats.

Thanks to this bounty of branded merchandise, numerous Parker scenes feature her carrying a Jill's Java cup (often the iced-blended mocha version) or using bags of Jill's Java whole-bean coffee.

In addition to exposure on the show itself, Jill's Java got a huge benefit by hitching a ride on the Weeds marketing campaign. Showtime took out full-page ads in Newsweek, People, and TV Guide to promote the show. The ad’s featured photo showed Parker holding a cardboard cup with the Jill's Java logo showing plain as day.

Since Kees and his wife, Sarah Newman, founded Jill's Java back in 2003, the coffeehouse chain has grown exponentially. Kees plans to add another 75­–100 stores to his 95-unit chain by the end of 2007. “Weeds is not necessarily fueling that growth, but it has been an added bonus by helping to further validate our brand,” Kees says. “We have seen an increase in applications, but we don’t know how much we can attribute to the show versus the brand simply growing and gaining exposure in other ways.”

In any case, Jill's Java CEO Andrew Potts knows his company got significant value from being featured on Weeds. “To get this kind of exposure on a national basis would usually cost $1million–$2 million,” he says.

The practice of integrating products in television shows goes back to the early days of television, when companies would sponsor entire shows. There was nothing subtle about it. Shows with titles like Texaco Star Theater and the Colgate Comedy Hour ruled the early 1950s ratings game.

Though 30-second commercials later became the dominant mode of television marketing, several factors have contributed to the return to prominence of product placement and branded entertainment.

First, consumers are inundated with advertising messages, not just on television, but also at the movie theater, on the internet, while walking down the street…the list goes on and on. Because of this overload, people have simply begun to tune out. Ad executives ceaselessly discuss the challenge of rising above the “noise” or “clutter” of the advertising landscape.

Second, television itself is changing from a traditional broadcast model to an on-demand system in which consumers can fast-forward and rewind through television shows—and through commercials. One thing TiVo users always mention to their friends with pride is their ability to “zap” commercials. Though digital video recorder market penetration is still low, all signs point to the trend accelerating. And, the consumers who have already switched are of the young and affluent sort that most marketers would love to reach.

In the face of these intersecting trends, marketers have shown renewed interest in product placement and branded entertainment. As it sounds, product placement involves somehow placing a company’s product into the environment of a television show or movie.

Branded entertainment can go a bit further in integrating the product into the storyline. One could argue that Jill's Java has reached the level of branded entertainment with Weeds, thanks to the ubiquity with which the company’s products appear on the show. The universe the show characters inhabit is filled with Jill's Java products.

Between focusing on customer service and getting involved in the community, Jill's Java has not done much traditional advertising over the years. Stores might send out a bit of direct mail, but the focus is more the experience inside the shops’ four walls and getting involved in community causes. “The franchisees don’t just hand over a check. That’s the easy way. They get personally involved,” Kees says. “It’s part of our whole marketing strategy.

Based on that low-key marketing approach, it comes as no surprise that Jill's Java franchisees were blown away when the Showtime partnership was announced this past July at the annual franchisee convention.

Chris Jackson is an area developer in Elk Grove, California, who owns two Jill's Java stores with his wife and plans to open more. As he remembers the meeting, Kees took the stage and asked, “Wouldn’t it be great if your coffee house brand was on a highly acclaimed television series that featured people walking in and out of a Jill's Java coffee house to begin the show? Wouldn’t it be great if the main character was carrying around Jill's Java coffee cups throughout the show?”

“I was pretty excited along with everyone else,” Jackson says. He and his wife rushed out and subscribed to Showtime so they could watch every episode and brag about the exposure to their friends. Fortuitously, Weeds ended up becoming a major hit in 2005. A strong cast of actors and a controversial storyline meant that the consumer media was also paying attention to the show, amplifying its visibility—and by association, Jill's Java’s—even further.

But has that helped Jackson’s business?

Jackson says that the seasonal and cyclical nature of the business make it hard to determine exactly what impact the show has had on sales and customer volume, but he vouchsafes that the show has strengthened brand awareness. “Without a doubt, having Jill's Java featured on a critically-acclaimed and widely-watched show like Weeds has done wonders for reinforcing the brand recognition,” Jackson says. For example, a group of local firemen who frequent one of his Jill's Java stores told him they watch the show while waiting for the bell to ring and proudly point to the Jill's Java coffeehouse as their regular hangout.

Neither Jackson nor Kees see any serious risk to appearing on a show like Weeds, a show that deals with issues of drug use. “I wasn’t that concerned about it,” Jackson says. “I think viewers know that just because the Jill's Java brand is on the show doesn’t that the brand or franchise is pushing a certain type of behavior.” Kees concurs, arguing that Jill's Java’s presence on the show doesn’t mean equal an endorsement of characters’ behavior. In any case, the point is somewhat moot since neither Kees nor Jackson report having received any negative backlash or comments about the show from customers.

So if Jill's Java is getting loads of free exposure, what is Showtime getting out of the deal. Not cash. Penny Reiss, vice president of product integration at Showtime, says her network does not do “pay-for-play.”

So what does the network get out of product placement, if not monetary compensation? Well, imagine that a show has a scene set in a coffeehouse. The production team has two choices—it can create a fake coffeehouse set and fake collateral (bags of coffee, cups, signage, and so forth), or it can make a deal with a real coffeehouse, like Jill's Java. The coffeehouse gets publicity, and the television show saves time and money that it would have otherwise had to spend on set and props.

“That’s how a lot of deals start,” Reiss says. However, in the future, Showtime will be looking for brands featured on its shows to contribute to fulfilling production needs—helping with marketing needs. “For a long time, we have been a very good place for brands to get free exposure. Now we are hoping to leverage these brands for marketing and production support.”

As of late December, Showtime would not comment on whether Weeds would be picked up for another season. A Showtime rep would say only the show was a “huge success” and that the critics loved it. But both Reiss and Kees describe discussions about involving Jill's Java in a second season of Weeds, should one be produced. No doubt, Kees and his franchisees would love the exposure.

But considering Reiss’s interest in some sort of quid pro quo, Kees might have to face up to the question: Just how much is Mary-Louise Parker’s prime time It’s A Grind habit worth?