Smith to present Honors Council lecture on product placement

BEMIDJI, Minn. — Dr. Dave Smith, assistant professor of marketing at Bemidji State University, will present an Honors Council Lecture entitled “Brand Placement in Television Programs” on Tuesday, Oct. 14. The lecture, which is free to the public, will be held at 7 p.m. in Hagg-Sauer 112 on the Bemidji State campus.

Brand placement occurs in many of the television programs and movies seen in the United States today. Smith’s study looks at brand placement as it relates to the wealthiest and largest American population segment today, the Baby Boomers.

Smith’s study replicates with a random sample of Baby Boomers the work done by Gupta and Gould (1997) with a group of college students and the work done by Schmoll, Hafer, Hilt and Reilly (2006) with a convenience sample of Baby Boomers. The study looks at ethically charged brand placements, gender relationships, television consumption and age as each relates to the acceptability of brand placement.

Smith joined the Bemidji State faculty in Aug. 2002 as assistant professor of marketing, and in 2005 he became the founding director of Marketing Assistance and Research Solutions (MARS).

In addition to teaching and directing MARS, Smith has served on the Honors Council since 2007, the graduate studies faculty since 2003 and has been the University representative on the Visit Bemidji board of directors since 2007.

Smith also has experience in both the small business and large corporate environments. He and his wife owned and operated Hobby Hutch in Bemidji from 1994-2002, and prior to that he served as general manager and chief executive officer of QSV Properties and as the treasurer of S&A Restaurant Corp.

Smith earned his doctorate from Capella University in 2008, earned his master’s from Indiana State and did his undergraduate work at Purdue.

Smith’s lecture is one of five Honors Council Lectures at Bemidji State this fall. The lecture series runs through Dec. 3.

2008 Fall Honors Lecture Series
* Sept. 9: “Ethics and Climate Change: Are We Going to Hell in a Handbasket?” Dr. Scott Borchers.
* Oct. 1: “Understanding the World of 3D Stereoscopic Imaging,” Dr. Barb Hanus.
* Oct. 14: “Brand Placement in Television Programs,” David Smith; Hagg-Sauer 112; 7:00 p.m.
* Nov. 18: “Documenting Ourselves: How Direct Cinema Made Celebrities of Us All,” Dr. Virgil Bakken; Hagg-Sauer 112; 7:00 p.m.
* Dec. 3: TBA; Deb Peterson & Colleen Greer; Hagg-Sauer 112; 7:00 p.m.

FOR YOUR CALENDAR
Oct. 14
– 7:00 p.m. – Bemidji State University Honors Lecture: “Brand Placement in Television Programs” presented by Dr. Dave Smith, assistant professor of marketing, Bemidji State. Location: Hagg-Sauer 112, Bemidji State campus. Admission: free.