HYPEi n t h e m o v i e i n d u s t r y

Presented by: Goh Guan Yi Gwen (UB No. 08028639)

• Worldwide box office for all films reached US$29.9 billion in 2009, a 7.6% increase from 2008

The U.S. Movie Industry

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

8.8 9.2 9.6 9.6 10.6

14.316.3 16.6

18.1

19.3

US/Cananda International

Marketing expenditure for a movie

can cost as high as 50% of the

production costs.

What is Hype?

Dictionary:

„Deception‟, „A confidence trick‟ or „A publicity stunt‟

Scholars:

„Mechanism to stimulate an atmosphere of excitement or enthusiasm‟

Responses from exploratory pilot study:

„To amplify and make something bigger than it really is‟

„Excessive publicity‟

„Bring up the energy to a very high level‟

„A sense of excitement that intrigues your motivation towards

accomplishing something‟

• Opening weekend sales

– Representation of the motivational power of an

effective marketing campaign to convert hype and

anticipation for a movie into ticket sales.

• Buzz

– Where hype is present, there must be significant

word-of-mouth or buzz.

– Buzz is a dominant force in building hype

Indicators of Well-Hyped Movies

Hypothesis

Marketing campaign effectiveness for movies in the 21st

century revolves around hype; hype is critical in the

formation of demand for a movie before its release and it

also determines the overall success of the movie.

Making a purchase decision

Consumer Decision Process

Social Influence and Peer Pressure

Response process towards movie advertising

Traditional Hierarchy Models

Alternate Hierarchy Models

Consumer Involvement Theory (Adcracker.com)

Literature Review

• Decision to watch a movie do not follow a sequential thought process .

• Response process towards movie advertising varies amongst consumers.

• Selection of the movie to watch is based on emotional reasons rather than logic.

• The strong social component in movie validated the influential power from social groups.

• Consumer involvement theory is the most relevant and practical.

– Movie as a product: Low involvement / emotional

Literature Review Summary

Hype creation goes beyond traditional marketing.

The Dark Knight

Why So Serious Campaign

SOSTAC Analysis

• The campaign was concentrated in the U.S.

market.

• Primary target audience are mainly Batman fans.

• Secondary target audience are comic books fans or

people who like super hero films.

SOSTAC

Situational Analysis

Economic

• Launched during 2008 subprime mortgage crisis.

Social culture

• Hollywood has a significant cultural impact worldwide.

• Going to the movie is a lifestyle activity for Americans.

Technology

• Filmed in 2-D rather than 3-D.

SOSTAC

Pest Analysis

Strengths

• Proven track record

Weaknesses

• Death of Heath Ledger

Opportunities

• Death of Heath Ledger

• Strategic timing of film release

Threats (Potential)

• Movies launched near the same period

SOSTAC

SWOT Analysis

Marketing

• Drive ticket sales

• Dominate box office sales

• Surpass gross revenue record of its 1st batman

sequel

Marketing Communications

• Generate anticipation for the movie by creating buzz

SOSTAC

Objectives

Message

• Appeal to the inner child within the target audience

Media

• Online and offline element

• Alternate reality game

• Form deeper engagement with audience

• Enhanced realism of The Gotham City

SOSTAC

Strategies

SOSTAC

Tactics

• Outdoor ad buys

• Fictional websites

• Leveraging on Comic Con

Exhibition

• Rallies for Harvey Dent

• Scavenger hunts

• Collaboration with Domino

• Collaboration with Nokia

S O S T A C

T a c t i c s

Tasks list at www.whysoserious.com

Gotham Police Department

Gotham Cab

Gotham Unified School District

Gotham National Bank

@ Comic Con Convention 2008

SOSTAC

Action

• Campaign was launched in May 2007, slightly over a year

before the movie’s release in July 2008.

• Rolled out in multiple phases, each with a different objective.

Pre-Phases

– First aim was to create a general awareness of the

movie.

– Participants with Joker make-up roamed the streets.

ARG

– Rise of the Joker

– Campaigning for Harvey Dent

– Uncovering cell phones in cakes

– Scavenger hunts

SOSTAC

Control

• Campaign activities were limited within the confines of the

U.S.

– More variables can be controlled

– Ground staff could be easily mobilized

• Well-thought out activities to minimized possibilities of

causing harm and disruption.

• Buzz

Source: http://www.hollywoodchicago.com

Results for „Why So Serious‟ campaign

• Over 100,000 email submissions

• Over 10,000 videos and pictures

• Over 2,000,000 website visitors

• Over 2,000,000 unique downloads of The

Dark Knight preview trailer

• Over 70,000 phone calls

“One of the most interactive

movie-marketing campaigns

ever hatched by Hollywood”

- LA Times, March 2008

Objectives

• Determine if hype marketing done

before the movie is critical in the

formation of demand and whether it

has a direct impact on the success of

the movie as the top grossing movie

for opening weekends of all times.

Research Design

• Online survey

• Targeted at US respondents from The

Dark Knight‟s Facebook page.

• Sample size of 200

• Qualifier question – Have you watch

The Dark Knight?

Method

• Structured, close ended questions

• „Others‟ options were given when

applicable

Primary Research

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Very Unimportant

Unimportant

Neutral

Important

Very Important

2

12

1

38

121

3

6

20

87

58

79

88

5

2

0

0

1

5

79

89

Importance of factors leading to participation of campaign

The love for the

Batman sequel

Convenience of

taking part

Meeting other

Batman fans

The Company of

Friends

Key Research Findings Summary

Key Research Findings Summary

I would not have

caught it on the

first weekend

I would have still

caught it in the

first weekend

I would still

watch it

I would not have

watched it at all

129

24 21

0

Impact of the campaign on respondents decision

Key Research Findings Summary

All the time0%

Most of the time3%

Sometimes50%

Rarely39%

Never8%

Frequency of catching movie on the first weekend

• Time

• Restriction of sample method

• Unrepresentative sample size

Research Limitations

Conclusion

Putting the Campaign into

Perspective

• Hype creation goes beyond traditional marketing

– Marketing traditional assets in unconventional way

Using Comic Con to release movie trailers.

• Motivation for tickets purchase stems from emotional aspect

– Majority follow a ‘FeelThinkDo’ process.

Introduce arousing elements to get the target audience to be emotionally engaged

• Implication of the nature of movie (as a product)

– Strong social component: Introducing social component into the campaign

Leverage on core target audience to reach out

– Low involvement: Consumers engagement may be a challenge

Roll out multiple phases of activities

Strategic Recommendation

Hype Creation for Movies

Low involvement product; high involvement marketing.

Intense level of interactivity.

Strong social component.

Relevance to target audience.