Fox Launches Second Demographically-targeted Specialty Division with FoxFaith
News Corp.'s Fox Filmed Entertainment today announced plans to target the Christian audience with the formal launch of the FoxFaith Home Enertainment Division.
FoxFaith will acquire up to twelve films a year, with a minimum of six theatrical releases a year under partnerships with AMC Theatres and Carmike Cinemas. The label will target evangelical Christians, a group whose beliefs have traditionally been at odds with secular Hollywood fare (including some of the racier content seen on Fox's broadcast network). The label has also partnered with the Dove Foundation, a non-profit that offers seals of approval to qualifying films free of offensive content.
Productions will be based on bestselling Christian fiction and will have production budgets under $5 million. Recent updates indicate they will be acquisitions, and not studio productions Additionally, the films will receive marketing support nearly equal to the production budgets, a significant figure for marketing low-budget films. This will complement Fox’s already hefty grassroots database of 90,000 congregations and 14 million evangelical households.
As we reported here over a year ago, FoxFaith has been making major inroads into the Christian marketplace in the DVD arena. Since the launch of the FoxFaith initiative last June, Fox has shipped over 30 million faith-based DVDs. As the DVD distributor for ‘Passion of the Christ,’ fox has sold an impressive 15 million units and established a considerable competitive advantage in marketing to the Christian community.
Another interesting element to this announcement: As opposed to the rest of Hollywood’s alignment of their theatrical and home video divisions along genre lines (Foreign, American Independent, Horror, etc.), Fox is throwing that paradigm out the window by aligning them along demographic lines, first with Fox Atomic, and now FoxFaith. It’s doesn't seem like much of a stretch to imagine a FoxAsian or FoxWomen specialty unit. After all, this model has been put to the test via specialty cable networks for several decades, but the web has given the model even more promise. With the lower cost of marketing to a known cohort, the centralization of these communities in online social networks, and the ease of building up reusable grassroots databases over time, Fox may have discovered a winning formula for combating the fracturing of the mass audience. The Weinsteins Company has placed a bet on this model as well with Our Stories Films, a specialty studio catering to the African-American audience.
Warner Bows 'The Lake House' Simultaneously on DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray
Today Warner Home Video announced that they will be releasing 'The Lake House' simultaneously on standard DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray formats.
With a September 26th street date, Warner will be the first studio to release titles in all formats. They will also be releasing the film as a combo disc, with a high definition DVD on one side and SD DVD on the other side, priced at $39.99. The Blu-ray version will be available for $34.99 SRP. And a standard DVD will cost $28.98. The bonus materials will be available on all versions, though Warner did not disclose if they would be in high definition on the HD DVD and Blue-ray versions.
'The Lake House' is a time-travel romance starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, and is a remake of a recent Korean film. Warner may be banking on the geek appeal of the film’s plot and Keanu Reeve’s Matrix pedigree to appeal to the early adopters who are currently the biggest segment of the high definition player owners.
In theatrical release this past summer, 'The Lake House' took in $52.3 million domestically and $49 million overseas, coming in at #38 for 2006.
Thinkfilm and Clickstar Test Release Windows with ’10 Items or Less’
Clickstar will make Morgan Freeman’s latest drama '10 Items or Less' available on the web just two weeks after its release in theaters, according to a recent Los Angeles Times article.
The company also announced that the film will be available for purchase and rental on DVD in tandem with Thinkfilm’s theatrical release. ClickStar, Freeman’s joint venture with Intel, will handle web distribution. Thinkfilm announced theatrical distribution rights earlier this week at the Toronto Film Festival.
Directed by Brad Silberling, the film follows a washed up former A-lister (Freeman) who, while prepping for a role in a low-budget movie, strikes up a friendship with a fiery-tongued checkout clerk (Paz Vega) at a local market. According to the Los Angeles Times, Clickstar produced the film for under ten million dollars and shot it guerrilla-style in under three weeks with handheld HD cameras.
Thinkfilm has yet to announce the theatrical premiere date.
HD DVD Group Announces $150 Million Marketing Push
This week at the annual VSDA conference, The North American HD DVD Promotional Group announced an ambitious $150 million marketing and advertising blitz to build consumer awareness, Video Business reports.
The campaign will push the high definition format in print, TV, online, cable and outdoor channels, with a six month minimum commitment. The campaign’s theme is “The Look and Sound of Perfect,” and a corresponding website featuring hi-def trailers launched at lookandsoundofperfect.com as well.
Another component planned includes a ten city tour featuring an 18-wheeler truck covered with HD DVD promotional signage, hi-resolution screens and filled with sample products. The campaign is being coordinated by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the ad agency famous for the “Got Milk?” campaign.
Initial adoption of HD DVD has been slow so far, with only 20,000 players sold to date. However, sales of software have done extremely well given those numbers, and the article notes that hundreds of titles are being planned for the next several quarters. Additionally, players from other manufacturers will be available in stores for the holiday season.
In addition to the ad blitz, the promotional group has also established a task force to address in-store merchandising concerns regarding HD DVD products, including incorrectly calibrated displays, poor in-store display locations, under-educated sales staff, and misracked product.
MPAA Launches Online Consumer Market Research Panel
 The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) announced the launch of a new online consumer panel called “My Movie Muse” today. According to their release, the site will allow interested, qualified consumers to register so that they can participate in online surveys on issues affecting the organization’s member companies, including topics such as theater attendance, home video rental, advertisements, and piracy. The site plans on commissioning quarterly generalized surveys, and will also conduct “one-off” surveys that relate to specific demographic groups as the need arises.
The My Movie Muse site plans on enrolling 7,500 participants this year, and plans on doubling that figure in 2007. An international version of the site is also in the works.
Registration is currently open to the public at mymoviemuse.com, although it appears that studio employees or individuals involved in the market research of movies are ineligible to participate.
Twentieth Century Fox Promotes 'Night Watch' DVD Release with Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Twentieth Century Fox has partnered with Buzztone, a New York-based youth marketing agency, to conduct an online promotional scavenger hunt for the home video release of 'Night Watch.'
According to a joint press release, fans choose between "the forces of darkness or light" and then are tasked to find lost objects scattered across the web. Clues have been hidden on a wide slate of niche horror websites, including MonstersandCritics.com, HorrorFind.com, Bloody-Disgusting.com, and FemmeFatales.com, among others. In addition to a $2500 dollar grand prize for the top scavenger, Fox is also offering DVD players and horror DVDs as additional prizes.
A disappointment for Fox during its theatrical run, the film earned a meager $1.5 million during its U.S. release. However, the film is among the most successful releases of all time in its native Russia, earning more than $30 million.
The 'Night Watch' DVD hit stores on June 20th, but fans have until July 20th to participate in the promotion. You can visit the promotional site at buzztone.com/nightwatch.
[link]
DVD Burn-on-demand Kiosks a Low Priority For Retailers
Despite numerous speculative articles in the mainstream press, installing DVD burn-on-demand kiosks is currently a low priority for retailers, according to Tech News World.
Unlike rental kiosk companies like Red Box and DVDXpress, which have placed machines in fast food restaurants and drugstores, penetration for burn-on-demand is nonexistent despite the ever-increasing competition for DVD shelf space at retail.
The rental kiosk model has no outstanding rights issues and has a successful three-year track record in the United States. In contrast, burn-on-demand kiosks have numerous unresolved rights management and technological issues, and have no proven business model. However, recent studio concessions on DRM issues may signal that retailers will soon be able to offer a breadth of selection comparable to what online retailers currently provide.
Technorati tags:DVD marketing
[link]
New Video Launches Viral Game to Promote 'Monty Python' DVD Releases
DVD Distributor New Video launched a viral game called the "Silly Walks Generator" to promote their recent DVD release of "Monty Python's Personal Best" for A&E Home Video. The releases are six new DVDs featuring the best bits from all six Pythons plus new content. The game, which has a pretty slick interface, lets you pick a famous Python character and animate them into a "Silly Walk." Our favorite is the knight with the dead chicken, of course.
The viral component comes in when a walk is sent to a friend. I played around with it for a while, and I have to say, it's pretty cool. It took me a second to figure out that the space bar moved the character around, but I tried the animated tutorial, which explained all of the controls. The game comes from a company called Transmote, which, according to their profile, has developed some pretty sophisticated Flash Games for the cable networks (most recently Court TV).
This is the first viral game we've seen dedicated to a DVD release (please correct us if we're wrong) -- what's interesting is that they drive purchases to ten different retail partners - perhaps that's a way of generating "good mojo" with their distribution channels.
Technorati Tags: Viral Marketing, DVD, Monty Python, Flash Games, Movie Marketing
Has the Maturing of Generation-X prompted the rise of 'New Dude Cinema'?
In his latest column on Black Table, Tim Grierson has coined a new phrase to describe the emerging crop of frat-buddy comedies of the past year - "New Dude Cinema": The New Dude company of actors, dubbed the "frat pack," includes Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Ben Stiller, and the stars of Wedding Crashers. Unlike the dude comedies of a generation ago, these new films' heroes aren't fighting the system -- they're fighting maturity. You see this phenomenon everywhere. Whether it's Esquire or Adult Swim or Xbox, the modern man is battling to stay in a perpetual adolescence where you never have to grow up, but you get to have tons of cool gadgets and expensive material possessions anyway. Remember how you always told yourself that those fraternity blockheads would be in big trouble once they entered the real world? Well, guess what happened? There's a whole industry devoted to them now.
So what's fueling this emerging trend? Perhaps it's the salt-n-peppering of the Gen Xers, as reported last month in the Dallas Morning News: As they embark upon middle age, the oldest Xers are coming into their own for the first time, generational experts say. They're getting married, starting families and embracing traditional values that set them apart from the "Me Generation' of baby boomers.
"At 40, you are beginning to see a blossoming of a generation,' says Ann Fishman, president of Generational-Targeted Marketing Corp. in New Orleans. "Many of them are just beginning to find their place.'
There are roughly 50 million Xers in the United States all born between 1965 and 1976. So has Hollywood stumbled onto a goldmine of an audience -- one that seeks to perpetuate their carefree youth through the antics of their on-screen peers? Looks like a sizable market with a tremendous amount of spending power. [Via Black Table - Believe the Hype]
A Look at the Marketing Behind 'Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price'
The LA Times' Calendar section had an interesting feature on documentarian Robert Greenwald, the filmmaker behind last year's smash indie DVD releases Outfoxed and Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War. So how did Greenwald find an audience for his docs? According to Ralph Tribbey of the DVD Release Report, DVDs have created a market where niche films, especially those covering hot-button topics, can readily find an audience:
"DVDs are where the money is," he said. "If just 3% or 4% of 75 million DVD households are into a social message, selling a couple of hundred thousand units isn't unreasonable. It's always hard for independent filmmakers. But home video, the Internet and [news-hungry] 24/7 cable news channels help. Another point to take away from the article is just how early you can begin marketing issue-based, participatory films: The Web, Greenwald found, is a powerful tool for fundraising and information gathering. So far, he's raised $750,000 -- of which $50,000 came from donors. (Anyone giving $30 or more gets a free DVD.) The director also used the Internet to sign up 600 field producers, novices as well as professionals, and elicit footage, photos and tips about Wal-Mart. The title of the movie was the winner of an online popularity contest.
"This is my universal studio," said the 61-year-old filmmaker, pointing to a computer in his Culver City office... "Through our website we've reached hundreds of thousands of people without a multimillion-dollar marketing push." The combination of issue-fueled publicity and savvy online marketing is the one-two punch in overcoming a lack a traditional advertising-based release push. Fostering a passionate community is also important -- One look at the film's website illustrates just how integral this notion has become in all stages of an indie film's production, distribution and marketing:
- The main feature on the homepage is a call to action to get involved in the filmmaking process:
 - Individuals have the opportunity to post opinions, stories and photos relating to their personal experiences with Wal-Mart.
- The site offers a timely blog with an RSS feed.
- They provide numerous opportunities to join in and participate with partnering activist groups.
- They have a funny, participatory sub-site featuring the film's mascot, the "Evil Smiley." Incidentally, co-opting and modifying this universally recognized image has provided this film with arguably one of the best logos since Ghostbusters.
Based on an early look at blog trend tracking sites like Blogpulse, Icerocket and Technorati, the chatter in the blogosphere is just starting to pick up. But once the amplifying effect of thousands of linking blogs takes hold, expect this film to generate massive grassroots level buzz as the November 13th release date approaches. [Via calendarlive.com]
VSDA Panel: DVD Marketing Goes Local
Movie Marketers are conducting more local DVD promotions with regional retailers, according to an article in Video Business:
A 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment exec said during the VSDA session that the studio is working with retailers in the Northeast to drive sales of a Boston version of upcoming DVD Fever Pitch, which includes more bonus Red Sox material than the standard version.
And Sony Pictures Home Entertainment marketing VP Marc Rashba said the studio is involving stores in some national DVD promos, such as the recent push for TV Land DVD titles. TV Land and Sony ran commercials about Sony TV product available at retail, with Sony providing retailers with special display cases to promote the product more prominently in stores.
The article also mentions how smaller mom and pop rentailers are getting shut out of the mix, particularly when it comes to screeners and advertising support. This speaks somewhat to the irony of the VSDA show itself, which has morphed from a huge trade show floor catering to independents to what it is now: a straight sales session in the suites for the retailers. All you have to do is look at the hot dog machines and tanning beds on the trade show floor to realize the shift away from rental is underway.
[Via Video Business Online]
Fox Teams up with the USO for 'Patton' DVD Relaunch
According to a company press release, 20th Century Fox will donate a portion of their total sales from 'Patton' and 25 other upcoming war classics DVDs to the USO:
The DVDs will arrive in stores nationwide on July 26 with fifty cents of each DVD's purchase price donated to the USO, with the donation totaling up to $150,000. Each DVD will also carry a "Support Our Troops" sticker on package. In addition, copies of each movie will be distributed to the USO's 121 centers worldwide.
This initiative is a good example of social cause marketing that makes sense for both parties involved -- not only are they doing a great thing by aiding the USO, but Fox is also reaching a demographic that are huge consumers of military-themed DVDs. Prior to 2000, the USO was an aging institution, and usage of their centers had fallen off considerably. With the current tempo of military operations, however, thousands of soldiers will be exposed to these products. Looks like a win-win situation for both parties here.
[ Via Businesswire]
Netflix to Launch Advertising Program
According to a press release from online DVD renter Netflix, the company will begin selling advertising to those interested in reaching the company's three million subscribers:
Netflix said it will offer advertisers a range of options, from placements in emails to its members to presence on its trademark red mailers and positioning on its Web site.
This could be an great opportunity for movie marketers, especially if their advertising platform allows for precise segmentation of specific demographics. Imagine, for example, targeting all people who have rented 'Winged Migration' with ads for 'March of the Penguins.' Their media kit should have some interesting insights about the habits of online renters...
Via Yahoo! Finance
Anchor Bay Joins Growing List of UMD Distributors
According to Home Media Retailing, Anchor Bay Entertainment will become the latest indie retailer to release titles for the UMD format:
Anchor Bay, known chiefly for its large library of horror films, will begin its rollout Aug. 23 with six titles on the Universal Media Disc (UMD) format: Halloween, Evil Dead, Time Bandits, Blood the Last Vampire, Ghost in the Shell and Ninja Scroll. Each title will be priced at $19.98.
Ray Gagnon, SVP of sales for Anchor Bay, says all six films appeal primarily to PSPs target young-male demographic. He said Anchor Bay was prompted to take the plunge because theres so much support among big retailers.
Based on their release slate, Anchor Bay's approach looks like it will initially focus on proven back catalog titles, as opposed to new releases.
Every major distributor besides Warner is now on board, with over 100 titles available by the holiday shopping season. PSPs will likely be a hot commodity this christmas, which may be what prompts the smaller retailers currently on the sidelines into the game (especially in the Anime arena).
[Via Home Media Retailing]
Fox to Bow DVD premiere of 'Family Guy' Movie with Massive Marketing Push
According to Video Business, Fox announced this week that they will launch a DVD premiere for their 'Family Guy' franchise titled 'Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story!' on September 27th, and will back it with a massive marketing campaign:
In addition to synergy cross-promotions across most Fox broadcast and media outlets and licensing units, the studio's multi-million dollar marketing campaign on the title will include national print and television advertising and a major grassroots college campaign targeting co-eds at bars, clubs, fraternity parties and via special screening events.
If you're wondering why Fox is pushing the title so aggressively, it because the 'Family Guy' franchise has been enormously lucrative -- Having sold-through over 1.35 million units, the franchise is second only 'The Chapelle Show' in units sold, but because of the set's higher SRP is more profitable.
If anyone knows who Fox's college marketing partner will be, please send us an email.
[Via Video Business Online]
British Online Renter Video Island to Boost Marketing Spend
After securing 15 million in venture capital, upstart British online DVD rental company Video Island announced a 6 million increase in marketing spending:
Saul Klein, chief executive of Video Island, said that the majority of the 6m marketing push would be spent within the context of its partnerships, which include companies such as Boots, Currys and Times Newspapers.
The company, which also owns ScreenSelect, said it would look at testing other forms of above-the-line advertising, including television. It has already run some radio, outdoor and print advertising, created in house, but Klein said the focus would remain on performance-based advertising and partner marketing.
Video Island is the biggest online rental service in Europe, with a selection of over 33,000 titles. The company recently partnered with ITV and MSN UK to offer co-branded rental services.
[Via Digital Bulletin]
The Backlash Against So-called "Special Edition" DVDs Continues
We discussed consumer weariness over "double-dipping" last week, and it looks like the repackaging jig will soon be up. Tom Maurstad of the Dallas Morning News notes how the 'Jaws' 30th Anniversary Edition is really just the same old pig with new lipstick:
And then there's the anniversary package that takes a great movie and turns it into an exercise in mediocre repackaging. Which brings us to the 30th anniversary edition of Jaws. It comes with a handsome commemorative photo journal and a second-disc of special features. The only trouble is that it was just five short years ago that the 25th anniversary edition of Jaws was released, with nearly all the material included in this "new" package.
As a marketing gambit, it's a success. It got the lead-review treatment in USA Today and Entertainment Weekly and video clips on all the cable-news channels' entertainment segments. But as a consumer product, it's just a flashy but pointless package. If you don't own Jaws, then this is the cutting-edge edition for you. But there's nothing here worth buying that wasn't there five years ago.
Maurstad also lambastes the laughably-titled 'Father of the Bride: 15th Anniversary Edition' as a pointless exercise. Guess its time for Hollywood movie marketers to relearn how to create customer value:
1. Discover and quantify the customer's needs.
2. Make a commitment to impact your customers.
3. Create meaningful and understandable customer value.
4. Assess how you did.
5. Improve your value package.
One only has to look at the music industry to see what happens when you ignore customers who are clamoring for value in the name of short-term profitability -- they create their own value, with or without you.
[Via kvue.com (registration required)]
Poll: Audiences Prefer Watching Movies at Home
According to an AP-AOL Poll, 73 percent of adults said that they prefer watching movies at home on DVD and VOD over going to the theater. One portion of the poll doesn't bode well for this summer's theatrical prospects:
Just 22 percent said they would rather see films in a theater, according to the poll conducted by Ipsos for The Associated Press and AOL News. One-fourth said they had not been to a movie theater in the past year.
However, rather than take the same "sky is falling" approach to this year's lackluster box office as we've seen in other media outlets, the AP explores the notion that perhaps the poor attendence so far this year is merely product-driven:
"I think this slump is product-driven," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations. "That to me is a much less chilling problem than some sort of cultural shift in people's moviegoing habits. A cultural shift takes longer than 16 weekends of down box office."
Box office revenues have been down every weekend since late February. "Batman Begins," which opened Wednesday, could snap the streak this weekend. But if business is off again, Hollywood would match a 1985 downturn of 17 weekends, the longest recorded slump since analysts began keeping detailed box-office figures.
The 1985 slide came with similar dire predictions that movies on videocassette would devastate the theater business, Dergarabedian said. Box-office grosses were stagnant into the late 1980s, then rebounded strongly.
In the 1950s, some analysts foresaw the demise of movie theaters as people stayed home to watch television. While business plummeted from 4 billion or more admissions a year in Hollywood's glory days, movies remained a prime entertainment choice.
One interesting thing from the poll they mentioned was that DVD users, downloaders and gamers are more frequent moviegoers than the rest of the population. This young, male and tech-savvy audience is the veritable sweet spot of movie marketing, and coming up with initiatives that feed this symbiosis will become even more important than it already is now.
[AP Wire via Kansas.com]
Breaking News: Warner Brothers Preempts Chinese DVD Pirates
According to the Los Angeles Times, Warner Brothers released 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' on DVD in China the same day it appeared in North American theaters:
...several industry executives said they believed it was the first time a major U.S. studio had taken a movie scheduled for a wide-scale theatrical run and released it simultaneously on DVD in another country.
"It's a necessary move," said movie industry analyst Tom Adams of Adams Media Research. "It's obviously not as good as having control of the Chinese market, but it's about the next best thing that you can do."
The move comes during a recent debate over DVD release windows here in the United States. Another recent experiment in the Chinese market, which is widely known as a bootleggers paradise, included Sony's svelte 45-day release window for 'Kung Fu Hustle', which resulted in an impressive 2 million copies sold.
[Via the Los Angeles Times]
Wolfe Video to Integrate Ads into DVD Releases
According to Video Business, specialty DVD Distributor Wolfe Video has added advertisements for online contests on two of their upcoming releases:
With upcoming titles Brother to Brother (June 14) and Producing Adults (July 19), Wolfe has placed Web site addresses on each menu screen promoting contest giveaways. Consumers can plus those addresses into a computer to go online and fill out entry forms to win a Wolfe gift certificate on Brother to Brother or a Dell Computers Pocket DJ MP3 player on Producing Adults.
This test contest is being administered by DVD Spotlight, a California-based tech company. If there is demand, Wolfe would eventually like to make the links "live" for viewing on a computer.
Wolfe hopes to attract advertisers interested in reaching Wolfe's largely affluent gay and lesbian consumer base. If the test is successful, the company hopes to sell up to six ad slots per disc.
While these links are a form of "passive" advertising, is cluttering up the DVD menus with "free iPod" ads a smart move? If their customer base is upscale, perhaps they should be focusing on developing a "luxury" line of DVDs like Criterion. Because in reality, the reach you'll likely get from these on-disc ads will be limited. Consider this: a niche, gay-themed DVD release will probably ship a maximum of 15-20K units to wholesale. Sell-through will probably equal 30-40% over the first year, equaling 4-6K units in the hands of consumers. If even 50% of those people actually write down the URL, sit through and ad, and then enter the contest, that would only be 2-3K ads viewed over the course of a year. Now granted, with the aggregate of several releases you may have something, but you could probably do better just by buying PPC ads on Google. Perhaps it would work on mass market releases geared towards the 18-35 set - what do you think?
[Via Video Business]
DVD Marketing Tactics: Using the 'Unrated' Moniker
We all know that sex sells, and in the world of DVD marketing, focusing on a title's more salacious elements has become extremely profitable. One of the most effective ways of doing this has been the marketing of 'unrated' editions of theatrical releases. According to a recent Los Angeles Times article on the subject, these unrated versions are like heroin to the male 18-35 set:
With the exception of the word `free,' `unrated' is one of the most enticing words in retail," said Thomas Lesinski, president of Paramount Pictures Worldwide Home Entertainment, which released the unrated Team America, an anti-terrorism satire from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. "It suggests something clandestine or taboo."
According to data compiled by Santa Ana, Calif.-based Home Media Research, unrated versions of DVDs account for 80 percent to 90 percent of a title's sales when both versions come out simultaneously. Others say the figure is closer to 65 percent -- still a windfall.
In the past, the studios were including scenes that had to be cut for MPAA ratings. Now, they deliberately shoot scenes for the unrated versions:
"We sit down with the filmmaker in the script phase, figuring out if we can shoot additional scenes that won't make the cut. One of those shot for the unrated version of American Wedding -- the third in the American Pie franchise -- "was so great they actually put it in the movie."
The trick, studio executives said, is to differentiate unrated DVDs enough from the original to boost sales but not so much that it alienates the fan base.
Note to indie marketers: The studios have co-opted your "unrated" cred! Use the massive DVD marketing budgets building awareness for "unrated" editions to your advantage -- if you've got a title with racy scenes, you should be including an "unrated version" cap on all of your DVDs and sellsheets!
[Via Southflorida.com]
James Dean Festival a Marketing Flop for Warner Brothers
Originally anticipating up to 100,000 visitors per day, the James Dean Festival should have been a coup for the Warner Brothers marketing team. The reality is a much bleaker picture: preliminary attendance figures show only 6,000 showing up over three days. This poor attendance, combined with losses stemming from damages incurred during severe weather, have cost Warner Brothers a good sum for what was probably the most expensive DVD release party on record:
Warner Bros. Studios lost an estimated $75,000 on the festival, said Brian Jamieson, the studio's vice president of worldwide marketing and international projects.
He said Rocco Productions, which the studio hired to promote and produce the three-day festival, lost at least $1 million - and possibly as much as $1.3 million - on the festival.
Warner Bros. paid to bring in a 100-foot-wide movie screen and high-tech digital projection equipment to show Dean's three motion pictures, Jamieson said.
That $75,000 figure is probably way off. It's hard to tell from the article, but our guess is that Warner Bros. may have some sort of contractual obligation to share in Rocco Production's losses, making this one costly promotional event if that's the case.
[Via the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette]
Are DVD Consumers Getting Weary of "Double Dipping?"
Have you ever bought a DVD, only to have a new "deluxe edition" crammed with extras appear only months later? According to an article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, this practice, known in the industry as "double dipping," has become a mainstay of the DVD biz.
Now granted, replacing some of the more spartan discs from the early days of DVD is one thing, but lately, the studios have been pushing the envelope, as the article points out:
But increasingly, for new movies, the period is just a few months -- and with no advance word that a re-release is planned when the first version comes out. It's not just today's three releases from Fox, whose representatives declined to comment when asked. For example, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment put out the "Underworld" DVD on Jan. 6, 2004, not announcing until after its release that a two-disc special edition was coming just a few months later, on May 25. Warner Home Video did the same with the Halle Barry thriller "Gothika," out on March 23, 2004, and again on Oct. 12.
Talk about disappointing your customers -- eventually, they're going to figure out the game. In the meantime, here's what some of the studios are doing to minimize the inevitable backlash:
But there are right ways for the DVD companies to do such quick-turnaround re-releases while keeping consumers in mind.
When New Line Home Entertainment announced the DVDs of "The Lord of the Rings" movies, it noted at the same time that special extended editions would be coming later in their respective release years. Before Sony released the first DVDs of "Hellboy" and "The Grudge," the makers of each film had already been widely quoted online and in articles that souped-up versions would be coming soon afterward.
Philosophically, we agree with giving the customer what they want when they want it. That's why approaches like New Line's (or 2929 Entertainment's recent day and date release of 'Enron', for that matter) will supplant practices that aren't customer-centric.
[Via the Star-Tribune]
Universal Bows 'Meet the Fockers' DVD With New Broadband Ad Format
According to Digital Bulletin, Universal is supporting the U.K. launch of the 'Meet the Fockers' DVD with a new broadband ad format:
It is a new format that capitalises on broadband connection by delivering full-screen, high-quality video streaming, run from any fixed-position ad.
Film distributor Universal is using the format to stream the television ad through the Lycos homepage and within an ad placement on the FHM homepage. It could also be used to stream movie trailers or other content.
Overlays will also stream the TV spot on sites including The Sun Online, Virgin.net and NTL World.
As broadband penetration continues to gain a greater foothold both here and abroad, video ads will become the norm rather than the exception on high-profile releases. However, I think that these ads will also be an important tool for smaller films where audiences would be much less likely to be exposed to a trailer.
20th Century Fox Jumps on the UMD Bandwagon
Per Retail Merchandiser, 20th Century Fox has announced a slate of five UMD titles to bow this Summer:
Targeting the platform's core demo of men ages 18-34, the first five titles to be released by the studio include 'I, Robot,' 'Napoleon Dynamite,' 'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,' 'Super Troopers,' and 'Predator.' The initial wave of titles will hit retail shelves in July, with a catalog of releases immediately scheduled for subsequent waves.
No prebook, street date, or SRP were announced, but they will more than likely be in-line with other studio's offerings. This Announcement comes on the heels of Universal's announcement yesterday. How long before we see the independents join the game? That's dependent on how rich the licensing scheme with Sony is -- right now, it might not pay to release titles that won't move 50-75K units. However, I think that an independent could really clean up by releasing martial arts and extreme sports content (skateboarding, snowboarding, motorcycle racing).
[Via Retail Merchandiser]
Universal to Release Six UMD Titles for the PlayStation Portable
According to a press release issued today, Universal announced that they plan to release six titles in the new UMD format for the PlayStation Portable: "Assault on Precinct 13," "The Rundown," "Van Helsing," "Dawn of the Dead: Unrated Director's Cut," "The Chronicles of Riddick: Unrated Director's Cut" and "The Fast and the Furious." The titles have a street date of July 26, 2005 and a SRP of $19.98 (except for "Assault on Precinct 13," which will bow with an SRP of $29.98). Craig Kornblau, President of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, shed some light into their decision to enter the market:
"The PSP offers consumers an exciting opportunity to expand their
entertainment experience beyond the living room," said Mr. Kornblau. "In selecting the first wave of films to be released on UMD, we have chosen films targeting young male consumers who, not surprisingly, are the early adopters of the multimedia device," Mr. Kornblau added.
Universal joins Sony (the company behind the UMD format), Disney and Lions Gate as early providers of the format. As more sales data becomes available (many retailers have miscategorized UMD titles as games) we should have a better idea of the sales potential. Not including Universals titles, there are now over 50 UMD titles available for sale or pre-purchase on Amazon right now.
[Via PR Newswire]
Dreamwork's 'Madagascar' trailered on a Paramount DVD
According to Video Business, the upcoming Dreamworks film 'Madagascar' has been trailered on Paramount's DVD release of 'Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events'. Although header trailers of new releases have been on DVDs for some time, this is the first instance of a competing studio's trailer on a DVD.
The unusual move is due to pre-existing promotional agreements between Dreamworks and Paramount:
This unusual case of a studio promoting another's fare came about because Lemony Snicket is a Paramount and Dreamworks co-production and thus the two are splitting domestic and international DVD revenue. The CG-animated Madagascar, however, is not a co-production.
DreamWorks and Universal Studios Home Entertainment discs often include cross-promotion of each other's movies, but that's attributable to the fact that Universal is DreamWorks' distribution partner. Paramount entered the mix back in November 2004, when DreamWorks' Shrek 2 DVDs featured a trailer for Lemony Snicket.
There just happens to be another great article in VB today discussing the inevitability of third-party studio commercials on DVDs. Today, a partner trailer, tomorrow, a Pepsi ad? Is this the opening salvo towards greater ad exploitation of the DVD platform?
[Via Video Business Online]
Fox Execs Make Store Checks to Hone DVD Marketing Efforts
The Los Angeles Times has a great article about how Marketing execs at Fox make frequent store checks to better gauge their merchandising and marketing efforts. The article sheds an interesting light on marketing DVDs in a big box environment:
"Men usually buy two or three, while women walk away with one," observes Mike Dunn, president of the division. "Eye level is not always the optimal position low is good for kids," adds Simon Swart, who heads up sales.
"The worse the weather, the better for business unless, of course, it's a blizzard," Senior Vice President Steve Feldstein says.
Here's another bit of wisdom:
In the store, packaging and labeling missteps became obvious. Type positioned too far down could be obstructed by store shelving, Fox executives found. "Long boxes," developed to discourage shoplifting, solved that problem. But after the monotone black was found to be a consumer turnoff, they now get a four-color treatment.
For all of the DVD Marketers out there that can't afford endcap promos, custom displays or even face-out fees, remember to pay attention to your spine -- that's how most smaller retailers get displayed, and its easily overlooked.
Chicago Tribune | Coming soon to a store near you: Fox executives
Sony Will Release Four Movies for the PlayStation Portable
According to CIO Today, Sony has announced that they will release four movies in the UMD format. The titles will street on April 19th following the PlayStation Portable's release in late March.
According to the article, Sony will use UMD-formatted movies to expand the adoption of the PlayStation Portable beyond young males. However, the initial slate doesn't look like it will deviate from their device's core user base:
The movies the company has chosen, however, may not do much to expand that demographic out of the gate. The four titles -- "XXX," "Hellboy," "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" -- have a fairly limited appeal. They do add to the device's reputation as a viable video viewer, though.
Sony already has announced that it intends to include a copy of "Spider-Man 2" in the first one million PSP units to be sold in the U.S. There is no word on whether or not the movie will be available for separate purchase.
So which titles should Sony release? I would personally like to see more sophisticated fare like 'Closer' or 'Monster' -- what would you movie marketers out there like to see?
CIO Today - Worldwide Technology - Sony To Release PSP-Compatible Movies
Racy 'Harold and Kumar' DVD Poster Stirs Free Speech Debate
 According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, racy posters advertising the 'Harold and Kumar go to White Castle' DVD have riled up some of the faculty and student body at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville.
The poster, which advertises DVDs of the movie "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," depicts the torso of a woman, whose face isn't shown, with a DVD - one for the regular version of the movie and one for the unrated version - covering each naked breast. The poster reads, "Either way, you score."
The poster was placed in campus common areas by 360 Youth, a New York-based ad company catering to the college market. Several other unnamed universities have already pulled the ads, but SIU Edwardsville has not made a final determination yet. The ads have spurred a free speech debate on the campus, and the school's paper has rallied behind the ads. However, the school has said they will pull the ads if a majority of the students and faculty call for it.
Whatever the final outcome may be, one thing is certain: the ads, though tacky, have definitely been effective. While suggestive, the ads are not really any worse than a swimsuit issue, and they definitely capture the attention of their target market. In fact, compared to the relatively tame, off-target key art for the theatrical release, the DVD ads have been well thought out. This is just one more example of studios rethinking the DVD campaign on its own terms, especially when the theatrical campaign underperformed.
Racy ads stir free speech debate at SIUE
Universal to Release an NC-17 version of 'Seed of Chucky'
| | |
