Today's Must Read: Ten Movie Marketing Lessons from the Release of 'Fahrenheit 9/11'
I'm assuming that most of you movie marketers out there already read Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. But in case you missed it somehow, here's a great article discussing the film's marketing strategy. Don't have time to read it? Here's the recipe I found in an old craft services cookbook of mine:
Marketing a la Michael Moore
(Serves half of a polarized electorate)
Preheat oven to 451 degrees.
Ingredients:
1 heaping dose of controversy
1 1/2 villains (colorful preferred)
1/2 cup of audience naivety
2 independent-minded distributors
1 chunk of easily manipulated media
In a separate bowl, mix controversy with a whole villain. Take the chunk of media and break it into smaller pieces (you probably won't be able to separate it into less than six conglomerates) and lay the chunks on a baking sheet. Handily saturate the media with your mixture, manipulating the concoction for at least 2 months. Fold in the 1/2 villain slowly (if you're using the Eisner variety, it could sour the whole batch.) Finally, grease the mixture with the audience naivety and top with the distributors.
Bake for 15 days -- don't let your eye off of the calendar as timing is everything here.
Upon removing from oven, garnish with a healthy dose of GOP anger. For best results, present a thick sample slice to an international film festival, preferably Cannes.
Serving suggestion: Due to the overwhelming response your dish may get from guests, we recommend pairing it with lighter fare (see page 48 for our 'White Chicks' recipe.)
Top 10 things Moore did right with 'Fahrenheit'
Warner Bros. and Denny's Serve Up a 'Cinderella Story' Promo
Warner Bros. definitely knows their target audience, because their promo tie-in menu with Denny's is about as appealing to me as 'ear wax candy.' Here's a little sampling of their special offerings:
- Cinderella Slam -- features two pancakes with cherry topping, whipped cream and pink sugar sprinkles
- Charming Cheeseburger -- a three-ounce hamburger topped with lettuce,
tomato and a slice of Cheddar cheese, served with French fries and pink ranch dipping sauce - Chicken Strips -- three chicken strips, French fries and pink ranch dipping sauce.
- Each entree includes a cherry-flavored Pretty Pink Sprite.
Mmm -- pink ranch dipping sauce. Maybe they should have made it a three-way deal with "perfectly-pink" Pepto Bismol. Anyways, Looks like they're going to promote it with a sizable ad buy and plenty of POP materials. Should be successful if the film's demo is truly tweens and not teens...
Multimedia News Release - Denny's Takes Supporting Role in 'A Cinderella Story'
Today's Must Read: Tracking and Influencing 'Consumer Generated Media'
I have a recommendation to make for all of you movie marketers out there -- Marketing Sherpa. I subscribe to at least a dozen of their newsletters, and I usually find several articles a week that give tips useful for movie marketers.
An article they released today gives six simple steps for tracking and influencing online buzz. As we all know, sites like AICN and Rotten Tomatoes can make or break a film. Just read a few posts on Defamer about the upcoming 'Catwoman' movie or spend a few minutes at Rotten Tomatoes and you'll see what I mean.
Having a system in place is even more essential for indies on the festival circuit, because negative buzz will directly affect the quality of festivals you get accepted into. Plus, you probably don't have hundreds of million dollars at your disposal for buying "mindshare."
How to Track (and Influence) Consumer Buzz Online About Your Brand - 6 Steps
Is the Theatrical Release Just a $100 Million Dollar Commercial for the DVD?
Here's a must read piece from the New York Times on the explosive success of DVD sales. I've excerpted a few choice tidbits for your delight.
Here's an important one:
"In the last five years maybe 6 pictures out of 1,000 recouped their cost in the theatrical marketplace," said Nick Counter, president of the studio alliance. "Today the hits have to make up for all the losses."
Not too sure about those numbers. Here's a good place to look and check.
Here's another good one -- remember, that's more than likely a gross margin (still quite good though):
The profit margin for studios is significantly higher on the disk format. A study by Jessica Reif-Cohen, an analyst at Merrill Lynch, found that studios make an average of 66 percent profit margin on the DVD, compared with just 45 percent profit on the videocassette. She concluded, "We believe the perception of low returns on feature film production is no longer valid."
Finally, my personal favorite, and one that affirms that sickening feeling you got when you bought the '20th Anniversary Special Limited Box Edition of 'Porky's'":
But that does not mean the studios do not wring every cent from each movie. Miramax is planning to release a half-dozen different DVD editions related to "Kill Bill." "This is the beauty of having two volumes," said Rick Sands, chief operating officer at Miramax. " 'Vol. 1' goes out, 'Vol. 2' goes out, then 'Vol. 1 Special Edition,' 'Vol. 2 Special Edition,' the two-pack, then the Tarantino collection as a boxed set out for Christmas. It's called multiple bites at the apple. And you multiply this internationally."
...reminds me of the stunts that DC and Marvel comics used to pull in the late 80s to early 90s. Basically, they would release four different versions of the same comic book, each with a different colored cover, and all of them hermetically sealed in a plastic bag. This forced the astute comic book collector to buy five copies at a minimum (the extra copy was for reading...) This DVD phenom is the same concept, (and sometimes the same product with all the superheores on screen these days) with just a much larger consumer base.
Duluth News Tribune | 06/24/2004 | Studios rush to cash in on DVD boom
'Notebook' ups the "sneak-peek" ante with a Week of Teasers
New Line has tweaked the emerging "extended teaser" advertising technique and will air sneak peeks of their upcoming film 'Notebook' all week. Up until now, most teasers have aired only once during primetime alongside shows with broad appeal (like "The Apprentice"). New Line will deviate from this tactic by showing the clips during daytime on The Learning Channel. My guess - TLC's viewer demographics probably fit closer with the anticipated demos for the film, providing a better ROI and reducing marketing expenses.
Related Link:
MediaDailyNews 06-16-04
GOP-Friendly PR Firm Behind Efforts at 'Fahrenheit 911' Boycott
The marketing buzz surrounding 'Fahrenheit 911' is already blazing hot, and recent revelations of Republican shenanigans stand to take it up a few degrees. A boycott website called "Stop Michael Moore," ostensibly ran by a citizen's group called "Move America Forward," is in actuality controlled by the GOP-friendly PR firm Russo Marsh & Rogers. Atrios, a political blog, pointed out this fact after they looked up the registrant of the domain name, which turned out to be RM&R. The firm was the publicity arm of the successful effort to recall California Governor Gray Davis last year, and they work almost exclusively with the Republican party.
The boycott website lists contact information for the theaters that currently have the film booked. Here's an excerpt for you:
This movie is nothing more than a political campaign advertisement against the war on terrorism, our troops and President Bush. So why on earth are ANY movie theaters showing this film? "Fahrenheit 9/11" should be shown as a recruiting video for Al-Qaeda, not in our movie theaters. Please join us in telling the movie theater companies below your opinion as it relates to their attempt to profit from the showing of "Fahrenheit 9/11."
This last line was somewhat cryptic, especially considering it's placement right above the theater contact information:
We would like to thank those individuals at Lions Gate Entertainment and IFC Films who support our efforts.
Did somebody at Lion's Gate or IFC drop the exhibitor list in Russo Marsh & Rogers' Laps?
It's a brave new film marketing world, and if you rock the boat, political parties and corporations will fire back with millions of dollars in ad spending to discredit your work and film. but how will these anti-Moore efforts pan out? Their tactics will only build awareness for the film, which will in turn increase demand for tickets. In fact, IFC/Lion's Gate had to set up an online group ticket sales site early in order to meet the intense demand. Exhibitors are seeing dollar signs, and nothing short of death threats and mob violence will get them to change their booking now.
Related Link:
Daily Kos || Political Analysis and other daily rants on the state of the nation.
Anti-ad Backlash Coming Soon to a Theater Near You
Posted on Tuesday June 15, 2004
Filed under
TheatricalThe Captive Motion Picture Audience of America wants to get rid of those pesky pre-show ads that have been popping up in the theaters lately. I can't say that I blame them, either -- one more Britneyesque soda commercial and I'll lose it. However, I think the CMPAA is kind of late to the game -- these ads have been entrenched for well over a year now, and at a 30-40 percent growth rate per year, that revenue stream will be hard to pry out of their clutches. Expect no help from the Distributors, most of which are subsidiaries of the parent companies making all of the ad buys in the first place. No advertiser in their right mind wants to give up the big-spending, consumer-goods-envying demographic otherwise known as "movie-goer." And a captive audience at that.
Stop pre-movie commercials! - The Captive Motion Picture Audience of America - CMPAA
Spiderman stumps his new flick at Wal-Mart Portrait Studios
Looks like spidey is going to add a bright blue vest to his costume in the coming weeks when he begins his stint at the local Wal-Mart. He won't actually be there in person, but he will be available as a backdrop in the portrait studio.
It would be much cooler if you could get a picture with the ol' web-slinger in the flesh, but costumes at hundred of locations is beyond even the hefty marketing budget of this flick.
From the bases at Yankee stadium to the wallet-sized photo in Uncle Frank's wallet, Spiderman is quickly gaining the power of omnipresence. Next episode: "Spidey versus the oversaturation monster!"
Related Link:
Spider-Man Hype! - The premiere Spider-Man Movie site with the latest news and rumors
Paramount Sexes Up Condoleeza and Hillary in new "Stepford Wives" Spot
Okay -- we all know that to get attention for your movie these days, simply throwing a few trailers on primetime TV isn't going to cut it -- that is, unless you show some cleavage. Or better yet, celebrity cleavage. And that's just what Paramount has done with their new 'Stepford Wives' spot featuring Condoleeza Rice and Hillary Clinton. According to KMBC of Kansas City:
...the spot, which is running on Channel 9, includes an image of Rice made to look nude from the waist up, and a picture of Clinton that morphs into what looks like a cookie-baking Stepford wife. The pictures move across the screen very quickly, but they caught the eye of a local woman, who recorded the spot to make sure of what she was seeing.
Now I know that 'The Stepford Wives' isn't getting very good word of mouth right now, but was it really worth it to take on Condoleeza and Hillary? Those guys and gals at paramount have some cajones...
Here's a link to that news broadcast if you want to see the naughty parts of the trailer.
Related Link:
'Stepford Wives' Ad Shows Hillary, Condoleezza In Strange Light.
China's Distributors Have a "Titillating" Approach to Marketing Art Films
Following today's "deceptive practices" theme, I found this interesting article about the repackaging and creative copywriting for art films released in China. Here's a nice little bit:
The cast and crew of "Maiden Work" waited six years for their underground film to surface in China. They never thought it would. On finally seeing the packaged product, they almost wish it hadn't. "The first to reveal the biggest controversy in Chinese film - homosexuality," blares the DVD cover hyped by distributors, depicting two women entwined in an embrace.
The women do not appear in the film. In fact, it has no love scenes. "Maiden Work" is a perfect example of what Chinese tabloids have termed "art films repackaged as porn."
I haven't seen much of this in the states these days, except the occasional crusty 1960s exploitation flick repackaged with new cover art.
Utusan Malaysia Online - Art films are repackaged as porn to sell in China
A Brief History of the "Fake Movie Website" Marketing Tactic
With all of the press attention fake movie websites are getting these days, I thought it would be interesting to build a timeline of all of those that I could find. This timeline includes both "hoax" style sites (sites mimicking the look and feel of a real company/institution) and fake fan sites.
1998 -- The Blair Witch Project. The one that started the sub-genre and ignited the interest in internet marketing for films. Released by Artisan Entertainment, the film went on to gross $140,539,099 domestically.
1999 -- The Fanatic's Guide to the Blair Witch -- A fan site rumored to have been started by friends of the film’s producers to manufacture buzz. Salon did an article on this.
January 2000 -- Finemann Films -- A fake film company website appeared in tandem with a major national print buy promoting the 30th anniversary of the company. The site was actually a promotional vehicle for the Jerry Stiller film 'The Independent.' Released by Arrow Films, the film grossed $238,000 domestically.
March 2000 -- Firstpiece.com -- A fan site rumored to be fake. Creation was concurrent with the publicity ramp-up of 'American Pie.' The film was released by Universal Pictures, and went on to gross $101,800,900 domestically.
June 2000 -- Watch Us Dorm -- A fake "webcam voyeur site" used to promote an indie horror film. The film never secured theatrical distribution.
April 2001 -- Bangalore World University -- One of many fake sites that sprang up to build buzz and backstory for the film 'A.I. - Artificial Intelligence.' Released by Warner Brothers, the film grossed $78,616,689 domestically.
May 2001 -- "National Blonde Day" -- A fake association site used to promote the film 'Legally Blonde.' It was updated last year to promote the sequel as well. Released by MGM, the film went on to gross $96,520,674 domestically.
October 2003 -- Lacuna, Inc. -- A fake medical facility that purports to erase unpleasant memories. Created to promote the film 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.' Released by Focus Features, the film has grossed $33,560,352 domestically so far.
January 2004 -- Kingdom Hospital of Maine -- A fake hospital website to promote the TV miniseries "Kingdom Hospital." -- The ABC show has recently fared poorly in the ratings, and will be cancelled after the remaining four episodes air this July.
February 2004 -- The Godsend Institute -- another fake medical facility, this time purporting to be able to "clone lost loved ones." Used to promote the film 'Godsend.' Released by Lions Gate Films, the movie has grossed $14,262,583 domestically so far.
February 2004 -- Katz, Cohen & Phelps -- a fake law firm site used to promote the film 'Laws of Attraction.' Released by New Line, the film has grossed $17,755,992 to date.
April 2004 -- I Robot Now, Inc. -- a fake technology company purporting to sell robots. Created to promote the upcoming release of 'I, Robot.' The film will be released by 20th Century Fox, and will be in theaters July 16th, 2004.
May 2004 -- "Eric Bruderman Webpage." Purports to be a "secret" site where war footage is leaked. Probably created to promote the release of the film 'September Tapes,' which is scheduled for release by First Look Pictures this fall.
Some of these may take a while to load since I pulled the links from archive.org.
This list is by no means complete -- especially in the timeframe between late 2001 - late 2002. if you have a site you know of or have a link to, let me know so I can add it...
MPAA, NATO Want to Quash GKC's New "R-Card"
Looks like the MPAA and The National Association of Theater Owners fear that GKC's R-card could spur congressional action over movie ratings. Given the high sensitivity in the "post-nipple" era, I can understand the industry's fear over losing their right to self-regulation, but I still admire the forward thinking behind the card. Is it just a case of bad timing on GKC's part?
Here's what Jack Valenti had to say:
"All R-rated films are not alike. It is the parents' responsibility to make specific judgments about R films -- and wrong to give a blanket endorsement to all," said Jack Valenti, president and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, which issues movie ratings.
With only 268 screens, GKC doesn't have the clout to fight it out with the MPAA alone. However, the company does have strong family ties with the Kerasotes chain, and combined they have nearly 900 screens in the Midwest region. Look for another "forward thinking" chain to copy the idea -- I bet Mark Cuban has the gumption to try something like this with Landmark. If one of the big boys (Regal, AMC, Loews) gives it a run, the MPAA's beef is over.
If 700 parents have already signed up for the card in the pilot phase in a region supposedly saturated with "family values," GKC looks to have a hit of their own on their hands. All this free publicity sure can't hurt -- especially with the teens, who are now probably clamoring for their own cards...
CNN.com - Younger teens getting R-rated movie passes - Jun 7, 2004
Indie Film 'September Tapes' upstages Recent Hollywood Efforts at Viral Marketing
Hollywood's efforts to recreate the viral marketing success of "The Blair Witch Project" have been lackluster at best. So it doesn't surprise me that an indie film company may have beat them to the punch. First Look Media, the company behind "The Prophecy" and "Waking Ned Devine," may have a word-of-mouth and internet-driven hit with their upcoming film "September Tapes."
The film, apparently a blend of fact and fiction, chronicles the efforts and subsequent capture of a documentary director in Afghanistan. Fake or not, their recent viral email campaign released a clip that looks more real than network news footage. Think "Blair Witch meets Saving Private Ryan."
First Look has combined this footage with a cryptic, shadowy website (obviously done for peanuts) that really lends to the intrigue. It seems like a viral email regarding the site and a "leaked" film clip is spreading like wildfire, too. Even with a bit of research, I still can't figure out what's real, what's fake and if the director was ever actually kidnapped while filming in Afghanistan. First Look ain't making it any easier, either. According to this article, First Look's keeping mum about the whole campaign. Here's their "official line" regarding the film:
"September Tapes" provides a rare and controversial look behind the scenes of war-torn Afghanistan, where documentary filmmaker Don Larson traveled to the troubled country six months after 9/11 and followed a bounty hunter on the trail of Osama bin Laden. Much of the film’s footage was held by the U.S. Department of Defense after Larson went missing in Afghanistan. It is the first non-Afghani film shot in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, and it is also the first feature shot in an active war zone."
If the rest of the film looks as good as the trailer, we might have a sleeper hit on our hands in August.
nbc13.com - Entertainment - Mysterious War Footage May Be Part Of Movie Campaign
The Unsung Heroes of Movie Marketing
Once a film marketing strategy is drafted and approved, thousands of man-hours are spent developing posters, trailers and other collateral work. An interesting article appeared in today's Long Beach Press-Telegram covering these unsung movie marketing heroes and the work they do -- companies like Aspect Ratio, Poster Child, Gas Station Zebra, Trailer Park, Midnight Oil and the Ant Farm.
For capsule summaries of some of these companies, here's a good overview from the Hollywood Reporter.
One interesting tidbit from the article:
Nielsen MonitorPlus reports that advertising spending by the studios and major independents hit nearly $3.3 billion last year, an increase of $200 million from 2002. And with increases in advertising rates and the demands of standing out in a media-saturated universe, all signs point to it continuing to rise.
looks like really good news for our unsung heroes...
Related Link:
U-Press Telegram -- Believe the hype
Will 'Fahrenheit 911' Slip Through Spiderman's Web?
Posted on Tuesday June 1, 2004
Filed under
According to my trusty Daily Variety, it looks like 'Fahrenheit 911' will probably be shoe-horned into the release slate just before 'Spiderman II' swings into theaters. The Weinsteins and Moore are apparently in serious discussions regarding distributors and the exact release date:
Sources close to the talks said Moore was eyeing a June 25 or July 2 theatrical release date, with a home-video release in October. That leaves little time to secure the right playdates in the right markets to exploit public awareness of the film, which was still running high over Memorial Day weekend.
At first glance it looks a bit tight on the release schedule -- especially if they want to go really wide. Ironically, a nice big window might be open if Disney's 'Around the World in 80 Days' crashes and burns. 'Stepford Wives' and 'The Terminal' will be hogging a lot of real estate in the Multiplexes, but duds like 'Riddick' and possibly 'Garfield' should make room if they do go wide.
Can Mr. Moore best his last outing? With all the brouhaha, it's a must-see for plenty of people.
Variety.com - Moore covets July 4th fireworks (subscription required)
