1. Assess the importance of marketing in the media area you have studied.
In the film industry marketing is a prominent method used to promote a feature film. I feel as if distributing the films in unique ways such as cross promotion and synergy help to advance the income on the movie and allow for success. By using these methods, the film companies allow for exposure to both participants which will help promote and benefit both while using things that interest the audiences.
Spiderman Homecoming was one of the many movies that included multiple uses of marketing techniques. The recent movie used a version of synergy to help promote two interconnected brands. Cinnamon Toast Crunch marketed the new Spiderman movie on their cereal boxes by including special toys inside, relating to the film. However, by marketing on these cereal boxes it attracts the younger population who might not be able to see the movie due to the PG-13 rating. This may not be the best marketing technique for movies that have an age restriction as they may not get the return on their investment. Although, it does expose the younger generation to the existence of the movie. Not only did Sony Pictures use synergy but they included cross promotions and cross media. They partnered with Target to produce a children's toy to promote the upcoming movie. They also created a soundtrack in the movie that could be streamed later. In all, Spiderman Homecoming was ranked 18th for All Time Domestic Box Office for Superhero Movies. The movie produced $334,201,140 which was generated through the help of synergy, cross promotion, and cross media. In my opinion, as a fan of this series, I think marketing was a huge advancement in the making of success for the movie, as I saw many advertisements that convinced me to watch my first Spiderman movie.
The movie Black Panther was released around the world making $1,346,913,161 worldwide. As well as domestically making $700,059,566. This movie was promoted in so many ways as it was a newly produced series for Marvel. Firstly, Marvel Studios took a unique turn on ways of marketing. They hosted a New York Fashion Week which featured pieces inspired by the movie. The conglomerate used cross promotions to help promote the new movie as well. The trailer debuted during an NBA finals game for the viewing of a huge audience. Kendrick Lamar, a very well-known rapper for the younger population also performed a song from the movie's soundtrack at a college football game. By incorporating Kendrick Lamar in the movie, it not only appeals to the audience but also induces his fans to watch the movie. The soundtrack was not only used to enhance the movie but also to support marketing for the movie. It was number one on the Billboard 200 Chart and spent three continuous weeks at the number one spot. The movie was a very well promoted feature and allowed for many opportunities for new audiences.
Jurassic World became the third largest grossing movie of all time dominating the box office and was nominated for a substantial number of awards. The team had to market the movie so that it was appealing to audiences, leading to the movie’s success. As a pre-existing famous movie, they had used this as leverage to market for the new version. Universal Studios used cross promotion to get Comcast’s Television companies to air the original Jurassic Park to excite fans. During this marathon they included sneak peaks of the new movie hosted by Steven Spielberg and Chris Pratt on NBC. Jurassic World also partnered up with companies such as Lego and Mike and Ike to advocate to the young generations gaining new interests in the movie as this generation would not have been alive at the time the original movie’s release. By doing this, not only did they rouse the old fans, but they also earned new ones. For people interested in the tech portion of the movie Jurassic paired with Sony Pictures to produce a commercial displaying sneak peeks of the park as well as how Sony technology made it possible. I feel that they used many smart techniques to help raise awareness of the new movie. Dairy Queen featured a Jurassic Smash blizzard in accordance with the movie. Personally experiencing this marketing strategy when I visited Dairy Queen, it sparked my interest in the film and I went to see it when it was released. I think this was a very useful marketing strategy as it got the attention of all ages.
On the other hand, marketing was not so helpful when it came to the movie Ugly Dolls. Ugly Dolls in general was a failure the industry. Trying to resemble the movie Trolls, Ugly Dolls hired many famous singers to take part in the movie in hopes of raising attention for the movie. When STX launched the movie it only netted 8.5 million in total. According to the article, STX Wanted ‘Uglydolls’ To Be A Franchise. Instead They Got A Flop, “The numbers aren’t pretty considering how widely it was released and how extensively it was marketed.” This demonstrated that the amount of money spent on marketing did not produce a return in profits from the movie. STX used many strategies of marketing, however it didn’t bring in the money they were hoping for. As a version of cross promotion, Cold Stone Creamery added two character- themed flavors to its menu hoping to appeal to the children ordering the flavor to see the movie. Ugly Doll producers also aired a 30 second commercial during Puppy Bowl and a video for National Pancake Day describing how to make character shaped pancakes. Another tactic they used, was making many posters featuring the characters and the famous singers which played them. They included a key message saying that the movie was going to be “The movie musical event of the year” due to the vast group of singers. Through the online world Ugly Dolls held a “Meet the Ugly Dolls” where visitors can find out more about the production and enjoy online activities with the dolls. Ugly Dolls used many more strategies to try and get word out there about the production but in the end failed miserably. Even with the marketing strategies used for this movie, I still never heard of it. As a result, you can see that marketing is not always helpful in the success of a film, however if done correctly it can be a very promotional way to help the prosperity of the movie.
The use of marketing in the movie industry is extremely impactful to the production company. After understanding the many different techniques used, such as, cross promotion, cross media, synergy, and cross media convergence I can now clearly see how important it is. Marketing not only raises money for the production company but helps to advertise the movie allowing for more opportunities for a higher success rate in the box office. Overall, my opinion on the importance of marketing is that I think it is very influential and significant.
