The more things change in theatrical film marketing—think social marketing, Twitter buzz and mobile-phones—the more they remain the same?
“Marketing costs for movies will continue to rise,” says Rob Friedman, co-chairman/CEO of Summit Entertainment, the movie studio behind the powerful “Twilight” young-adult super-natural drama series, which has pulled in $1.6 billion in worldwide box office revenues. Friedman spoke at “Variety’s” Film Marketing Summit and is quoted in a Media Post article by Wayne Friedman (no relation to Rob).
The Media Post article says that Friedman – the former Warner Bros. and Paramount senior executive before taking the helm of Summit Entertainment–believes that studios still spend anywhere from $25 million to $50 million domestically for major wide-release. Most of this is plowed into television advertising.
So much for the (pipe) dream of studio chiefs who thought low-cost ad campaigns relying on new media can open films on the cheap. The $25-50 million price range is the same as few years ago and any savings might be the result of recession, which drove down unit costs of some advertising slightly, not new media.
The little-savings-theme is also the consensus view of a “Variety” article, which quotes “Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition” author Robert Marich. “No film marketer dare goes without” a pricey advertising campaign launch with expensive buys on TV to create awareness, says the “Variety” article.
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