Abstract

Many firms utilize Nollywood in Nigeria as a marketing platform for product placement. Within this context, this study investigates product placement in the movie "Namaste Wahala" in the global film industry and its effect on brand recall among Nigerian undergraduate students from Caleb University and the Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH). The aim is to determine if they can remember the brands they saw and how it influences their purchasing decisions after exposure to product placement in the movie. This study adopts Dual Coding Theory and Persuasion Knowledge Theory, employing a traditional positivist research design, which informed the choice of the survey method. Slovin's Formula and ratio analysis were used to sample respondents from Caleb University and LASUSTECH in Lagos State, with 400 questionnaires administered (120 at Caleb University and 280 at LASUSTECH) based on the population strength of the two institutions, where undergraduate students were randomly selected. Findings suggest that while respondents are generally aware of product placement in movies, brand recall and perception are not significantly high. Moreover, the majority of respondents recalled brands placed in foreign movies more than those in Nigerian movies. The study concludes that these findings have implications for marketing practitioners, researchers and movie producers.

Key words: Brand recall, dual coding, global film, Namaste Wahala, persuasion knowledge, product placement.