Industry insights from Robert Marich’s book “Marketing to Moviegoers,” now in its third edition:
Digital Delusions
Despite some proclamations to the contrary, new media is no panacea for the movie business. So far, digital marketing is additive to spending in traditional media, so it simply piles more layers on the marketing plan.
Story, Story, Story
It’s not enough to simply excite or pique interest with intriguing scenes if they are disconnected. Moviegoers want to be told a story, so it’s crucial to communicate a plot and show it has a trajectory: Does the film transport the audience?
Stars Fading
Tom Hanks and Harrison Ford are de facto brand names as heroic good guys, and the “Harry Potter” books have legions of fans. Yet, films with popular stars and films based on popular books bomb all the time.
Audience Research
Of all the components of the theatrical distribution process, audience research is the least understood and the most misunderstood: [It’s an] inexpensive source of insurance that introduces accountability and objectivity into the marketing process.
Media Mix
Costly broadcast-network TV advertising is still the only way to reach huge audiences with speed and certainty for the critical film-premiere week. The movie sector ranks as about the fifth-largest category for paid advertising on a national basis, only trailing the automotive, drugs, cell phone, and fast-food restaurant categories.
Niche Films Still Suffer
In theory, as media is becoming more niche oriented, films with narrow appeal should gain an advantage because more options are available for advertising to demographically concentrated audiences. So far, no such sizeable advantage is visible, probably because increased media clutter — more movies, TV shows, online and video games — offsets the gains in advertising options.
Merchandise Bonanza
Because it is a sizeable revenue stream for some films, licensed merchandise has become a line item in the revenue model that movie distributors create when evaluating whether or not to make a project. Outsized merchandise blockbusters, such as Disney’s animated “Toy Story” and “Cars” family-film franchises, can generate over an estimated $100 million a year in annual company revenue.
Front-loaded Business
Box office is increasingly front-loaded, with around half of a big major-studio film’s gross now coming from the opening week, versus just 20 percent in 1990. This is smart because heavy spending in theatrical marketing that drives box office is a springboard for a movie collecting more money out of pay television and home video.
Publicity Conundrum
Publicity is the most cost-effective but is among the least predictable disciplines in film marketing. Film marketers do not control the extent of press coverage, whether positive or negative, or the timing of its dissemination.