Product placement has been legal in Germany since April 2010. However, there are severe restrictions and every programme that involves product placement has to be labelled.Product integration is not allowed on the news, consumer advice formats, regional programmes and children’s shows – the group that Hasbro’s colourful toy NERF Blaster would normally target.Additionally brands are not allowed to influence editorial elements of any programme. Because the rules are so restrictive, uses of this new opportunity have been limited. There have been boring game show integrations, branded cups on panel shows and small walk-on parts on soaps.Consumers have rejected such overt placements. Research shows they are highly cynical about product placement.The key to success was to identify the right opportunity and the right format for the right product.Integrating NERF Blasters into Stromberg – the German equivalent of The Office – was the first time anyone had done this successfully. Seamlessly woven into the story, it was part of a German comedy/drama that attracted a broad audience and there was clear insight behind the programme selection.

Our organic placement has blazed a trail for branded entertainment. Our reward was a new group of purchasers and incredible sales.

NERF Blasters are colourful toy blasters that fire foam darts or discs. However, 2 major wars means that the idea of children playing with weapons is a troubling issue in Germany. Mums were reluctant to buy.We identified 2 clear insights that helped us identify and connect with a new target for NERF.First, we realised that toy blasters were perfect for young men who hadn’t really grown up.Second, we knew that young men just starting their working lives can find sitting at a computer screen frustrating. They need to let off steam.This led to our solution: Office Wars – 5 minutes of great fun – before getting back to some serious, German, hard work.

Our strategy would inspire them to start the battle with NERF Blasters as the perfect office accessory.We identified Stromberg as the must-watch primetime show for our target audience. The German edition of the global Office format had a cast that was immediately recognisable to our target.

The workplace setting was also familiar – if slightly more extreme than the places they worked.

We worked closely with the writers and production house to showcase the NERF Blaster as an essential comedy weapon. The result was a starring role in every episode of Series 5. The integration peaked with a battle between the Damages Division and the Private Clients Division. Half the office was destroyed.We backed up each episode with a smart search strategy, driving consumers to Amazon to buy ‘the blaster from Stromberg’ during and after each broadcast.

We also sold NERF Blasters via the official Stromberg shop and connected via the Facebook page. 500,000 fans got a personal message from Bernd Stromberg saying he didn’t want his staff fighting anymore, giving them the chance to win the blaster from the show.

Series 5 of Stromberg was hotly anticipated – a funny, relevant show that really spoke to young professionals. Having been off air for 2 years the producers were ready to bring it back with a bang.

We needed to ensure that the NERF Blaster would be a seamless element to the show. Our savvy audience would see through anything inauthentic.The consumer reaction had to be “oh cool, toy blaster” rather than “oh no, product placement”.The next step was to use smart paid search, partnerships and social media to turn their engagement with the product on screen into sales.

We generated massive buzz on Twitter, Facebook and blogs, with thousands of comments and tweets. 92% of tweets were positive, significantly ahead of standard industry benchmarks.

We earned massive pre- and post-broadcast media coverage, including a 4-minute show preview on TV of the Stromberg stars using NERF Blasters. Total PR coverage was valued at €850,000.

The TV integration reached 14m contacts, connecting with 56% of our hard-to-reach, young, male target. DVD and digital show sales will deliver a long tail of further connections.Media and marketing magazine Kress named it one of the most unique and original branded entertainment campaigns in Germany ever.Our integration generated so much demand that we crashed the servers for the official Stromberg Online shop. In fact, the official store sold out twice.

We delivered NERF best ever sales! Compared to the same period 1 year ago, we were able to double sales on Amazon across the whole range.

NERF Blasters are now standard office equipment in Germany.