Resumen de Fancy a coffee with Friends in 'Central Perk'? Reverse product placement, fictional brands and purchase intention

Laurent Muzellec, Christopher Kanitz, Theodore Lynn

• Fictional brands are brands that exist only in the world of fiction and not the real physical world. Reverse product placement consists of transforming these fictional brands into products and services in the real physical world. This paper posits that consumers, despite having no pre-existing experience of fictional brands in the real world, may develop positive attitudes towards fictional brands; hence the fundamental managerial question is to ascertain whether these positive attitudes can drive purchase intention to justify the investment into a real product or service based on the fictional brand. Using two fictional service brands, �MacLaren�s Pub� and �Central Perk�, featured respectively in How I Met Your Mother and Friends, this study confirms the existence of protobrands, and shows that attitudes towards a fictional brand are driven by perceived service quality, identification with the brand and attitudes towards the television programme. The study goes on to provide evidence that attitudes towards the fictional brand can influence purchase intention of a future defictionalised brand in the real world. The paper contributes to product placement and branding literature in a new emerging area.