Product placement. It's a prime marketing tool with a simple concept: Give thousands or millions of viewers a glimpse of your product on a big-screen blockbuster, prime-time-ratings monster or at a celebrity-studded event and boost your product's image instantly.

The importance of product placement doesn't escape Cathi Charlton, owner of Arrow Communications, a Massachusetts-based Triton ATM distributor. Placing ATMs in high-profile, high-traffic places is a tactic Charlton is utilizing in unique ways. Along with helping clients place machines in strategic locations such as convenience stores, gas stations and busy shopping centers, she also has managed to place ATMs in the Hollywood spotlight.

"I like exploring unique business opportunities," she said. "We're a locally based company, not a big national one, so we are in a position to take care of almost any client's requests.  There's always something interesting going on in the ATM industry."

When she got a last-minute phone call over the summer from organizers of a popular celebrity golf tournament near Boston, Charlton scored a hole-in-one with her ability to quickly spring into action. She delivered several ATMs to the course and set them up for use by PGA players and Hollywood hotshots at the event, including Donald Trump.

In addition to the golf tourney, Charlton landed a unique opportunity to place a Triton 9100 in the limelight. She negotiated a product placement deal that resulted in the 9100 appearing in an upcoming Martin Scorsese film. The movie, "The Departed," is set for release in 2006 and features Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg.

"It's going to be funny when the movie comes out because I will be at the theater, staring at the screen with all those big stars waiting to see an ATM machine," Charlton said, laughing. "Who would ever think that an ATM machine could be a star?"

When film crews approached Charlton this spring about supplying an ATM, she jumped at the opportunity.

"They needed an ATM machine for some scenes in the movie and I thought it would be a cool, unique way to get some great exposure for Triton," she said. "My only concern was to make sure that the ATM wasn't going to be part of a crime in the movie, like broken into or stolen. I wanted to make sure that it put Triton in the best light possible."

Charlton added that it was "very interesting" to observe "the whole Hollywood process." She worked closely with the movie's development team, including the set director, who was very specific about the type of ATM needed.

"It was for a scene filmed outside a restaurant. … Matt Damon goes outside to use the ATM," she said. "They wanted a standalone machine like a Triton 9600, which isn't usually used outdoors. The problem with that model turned out to be that the LCD screen won't show up on camera. So, I suggested a Triton 9100, and they went with that."

Star struck

Officials at Long Beach, Miss.-based Triton Systems were pleased when Charlton broke the news about the movie, said Mark Smith, Triton's eastern region sales manager for the United States.

"This is a great example of a Triton distributor who is willing to go that extra mile to get our products out to the public," Smith said. "Cathi knows a great deal about the ATM industry and she gives us a lot of useful feedback on our products. So we knew that she'd do a great job on this movie project."

Smith and Charlton agree that the benefits of proper product placement can be priceless. Prime exposure can enhance the image of anything, even an electronic banking device, Charlton said.

"I think it's important to always keep an eye open for innovative ways to place our machines," she added. "I often run into these very unique situations that turn into something terrific. Since we're not a national company, our clients don't have to wait for an answer to come down through some long corporate chain of command. We can work with them on whatever they need, and we can respond quickly to almost any situation."