Samsung, Sony, Apple, Microsoft, LG, and others regularly use product placement to get their phones into movies and TV shows. While established companies have long used this as a method to improve brand recognition, a number of Chinese companies are now using product placement in US shows to improve their own brand names. It's rare to hear how much a company is willing to pay for this product placement, but OnePlus has revealed this week that it paid more than $300,000 to get its OnePlus One, OnePlus 2, and OnePlus X devices feature in House of Cards.

OnePlus isn't the only Chinese company to opt for product placement in US TV shows and movies. Oppo partnered with America's Next Top Model last year, and Vivo Electronics placed its X5 Pro in The Martian. All of these product placements in the US might seem strange for companies with little brand recognition, but these popular movies and shows are also shown worldwide so the marketing effect is increased. For Chinese companies trying to crack the US, product placement is also an obvious choice to take on the likes of Samsung.

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