We Ask Anastasia Tarasova About Her Product Placement Company: Bottles On Set

Anastasia Tarasova carves a niche for product placement in film and television.

 

Before making a bold step into entrepreneurship, Anastasia Tarasova built an in-house marketing career for over a decade. But her journey started in the Bacardi-Martini corporation. “Being behind the scenes of marketing for legendary brands like Bacardi, Dewar’s, and Martini helped me understand how brands operate,” Anastasia shares. “That’s where I discovered my passion for the hospitality industry, and thanks to my international travels, I connected with so many talented bar industry professionals who became friends and family.” Thanks to one lucky connection with the film industry, Anastasia discovered that product placement could work for a brand of any size and budget. We asked Anastasia about going beyond the bottle to create her product placement company, Bottles On Set.

 

 

What inspired you to create Bottles On Set?

My two inner drivers are value and creativity. I thrive when I can help others, deliver value, and work in the creative zone. After a few product placements for Italian wineries, I started to explore if there was potential for me to work with one of the most creative industries on the planet—film and television.

It is fascinating how every element we see on screen has a story. Why does a particular bottle appear in the scene? Was it in the original script or the film director’s favorite wine? Surprisingly only a few wine and spirits brands use product placement as a marketing tool, and not many marketers know that product placement can be done organically at no cost. There’s a misconception that it is a six- to seven-figure investment for a few seconds of brand exposure.

At Bottles On Set, we help the film and television industry find the right bottle(s) and make product placement approachable for wine and spirits. We specialize in organic product placement and work with production teams to find the creative fit, which means that wines or liquors are not placed as a form of advertising but play a role as a prop item. For me is about more than one great placement but connecting brands with the entertainment industry’s professionals and expanding their awareness about the diversity of the wines and spirits world.

 

Share your favorite bottle placements so far?

The fun part about working with the entertainment industry is that every project is a challenge; one can be about a unique old vintage wine request another one comes with a one-week deadline to deliver eight cases of different products. What always excites me is working on period films. Last year I had a chance to work with the Art Department on a new feature film by Warner Bros. Looking for bottles from the 50s, doing the research about what people were drinking back then, studying brands evolution, and helping the team find the correct vintage labels but which also look like new. It was one of the highlights from the past year.

 

What advice can you give bartenders that want to venture out Beyond the Bar?

Stay curious, explore your creativity, and find a way to deliver value. Every day you meet new people, and the bar industry offers plenty of possibilities to explore what sparks you inside.

 

Share some truths about product placement in the film industry.

The truth—actors don’t drink alcohol on set. Not all brands pay millions to be on-screen, nor are all bottles real products—prop masters often create labels and products depending on the needs and storyline. An interesting fact about the power of product placement—the fictional Jared Leto’s kombucha from the movie Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery got people so curious, reaching 3.7 million on Google. I won’t be surprised if Jared Leto is working on launching it, and soon we will read an article in CHILLED about the new 9% ABV kombucha brand by the famous actor and musician.

www.bottlesonset.com