Major Case Study Final
Transcript of Major Case Study Final
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Thesis Statement
Warner Bros Pictures used a marketing campaign consisting of social, traditional,
and new media channels to promote the movie Inception. The campaign sought to
stimulate consumer interest and intrigue in the films concepts and mysterious plot
in order to drive consumers into theaters.
History of Warner Bros
Warner Bros is a global broad-based entertainment company that stands at
the forefront in the creation, production, distribution, and marketing of all
forms of media that exist today. Specifically, the company produces and
distributes feature films, TV, animation, comic books, and other digital
products. The company is divided into 8 divisions, (Home Entertainment,
Motion Picture, Television, Consumer Products, DC Entertainment, Studio
Facilities, Intl. Cinemas, and Live theater), employs anywhere from 7,000 to
15,000 people (depending on production scheduling for any given year), and
has a vast library consisting of more than 6,500 feature films, 40,000
television titles, and 14,000 animated titles.1 Conceived by four brothers,
Jack, Sam, Harry, and Abe, Warner Brothers began producing and distributing
movies in the early 1900s in Pennsylvania and New York City before finally
ending up in Burbank, California, where the company currently resides. After
1 Warner Bros Entertainment. "Warner Bro's COmpany Overview." Warnerbros.com | The Official Site For
Warner Bros. Warner Bros Entertainment. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
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the move to California, Warner Brothers eventually became a pioneer in the
early movie business, making revolutionary changes such as being the first
studio to feature sound in a motion picture (The Jazz Singer). In the 1930s
and 40s Warners continued to be a leader in the ever-booming movie
business by releasing classics such as Casablanca, and launching the careers
of famous actors such as Humphrey Bogart, Frank Capra, and Bette Davis.
Throughout the 1950s and 60s, the movie business changed and the
production and distribution system that Warners had pioneered was
crumbling. In 1966 Jack Warner sold the company to Seven Arts Productions
for $32 million, who shortly after sold the company to entrepreneur Steven
Ross. In 1971 Ross changed the name to Warner Communications and
expanded the company into new territories (cable TV, music, publishing, and
video games), as well as once again producing a slew of successful films such
The Exorcist and All the Presidents Men. In 1980 control of the studio
was handed over to Bob Daly and Terry Semel, who found success with star
driven and franchise projects throughout the next two decades. However, the
decade proved to be a tumultuous one, as the video game market crumbled,
Warners Stock fell right along with it. Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch
attempted a takeover of the company, but was thwarted when Steven Ross
turned to Herbert Siegel, who ended up buying 19% of Warners. The
company rebounded with more commercially successful movies such as The
Color Purple, and ended up purchasing Lorimar Telepictures, one of the
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countrys top TV production firms, in 1989. In 1990 Time purchased Warner
communications to become Time Warner, while still producing films with the
Warner Bros name under a subsidiary. After another round of successful films
in the 1990s (The Fugitive, Twister, The Matrix), studio heads Bob Daly and
Terry Semel abruptly resigned, only to be replaced by in house stalwart Barry
Meyer. In 2001 Time Warner was purchased by AOL, which was the same
year that the Harry Potter and Oceans Eleven Franchises began. These two
films were highly successful, making Warners the most profitable movie
studio in the world that year, and subsequently bringing it back to its golden
era status of the 1930s and 40s. Throughout the following years(to 2006),
Warners went through many smaller mergers of film, TV, and video game
companies, which only led to the studio becoming larger and stronger.
Franchises such as Harry Potter, Batman, and Oceans Eleven carried the
studio into profit margins and growth that it had never seen before,
culminating with the 2008 release of The Dark Knight2. The Dark Knight
became the most successful superhero film of all time, grossing
$1,001,921,825 worldwide3, thus solidifying Director Christopher Nolans
2"Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc." Hoover's Company Records. Hoover's INC, 12 July 2011. Web. 12 July
2011. .
3"Inception (2010), Box Office Report." Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
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status as an elite film maker with the studio and the general public. In
addition to the superb acting, production, and directing, The Dark Knight was
catapulted into the upper echelon of the box office due to its celebrated why
so serious marketing campaign, which set the bar for future Warner Bros
promotional endeavors. Shortly after the release of the Dark Knight, Nolan
went into production for his next film for the studio, a high concept action
thriller called Inception4.
Industry Landscape/Business Problem
The film industry in the United States is very lucrative, with total revenues peaking
just over $10 Billion dollars in 2009.5 Also known as the big Big 6, (Paramount,
Warner Bros, Universal, 20th century Fox, Disney, and Columbia) the major studios
4"Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc." Hoover's Company Records. Hoover's INC, 12 July 2011. Web. 12 July
2011. .
5 "Movies and Entertainment Industry Survey." Standard and Poors Net Advantage. Mcgraw Hill Co., 17 Mar.
2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
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in the United States repeatedly battle it out for majority market share in the feature
film industry year in year out.
Even though Warner Brothers had come out on top in terms of market share the 3
years before Inception had opened (15.5%-2007, 17.96%-2008, 20.4%-2009)6,
6 "The Numbers - Annual Movie Chart for Year 2008." The Numbers - Movie Box Office Data, Film Stars, Idle
Speculation. Nash Information Services. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
"The Numbers - Annual Movie Chart for Year 2009." The Numbers - Movie Box Office Data, Film Stars, Idle
Speculation. Nash Information Services. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
"2007 Market Share and Box Office Results by Movie Studio." Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Web. 9 Apr.
2011. .
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the industry was becoming more and more competitive, with studios frequently
choosing content that was already accepted by consumers, such as remakes,
sequels, and pop-culture adaptations (ex: transformers, all comic book movies)7 in
order to ensure a high return on investment. New concept films were becoming
less frequent, being seen as risky investments by the studios in favor of the safe,
already accepted content. For Example, some of the top grossing films from the
peak summer seasons (Last weekend of May-First weekend of August) of the 3
years leading up to Inceptions release were as follows:8
2007: The Simpsons Movie, Harry Potter 5, Transformers, Fantastic Four 2, Evan
Almighty, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Oceans 13, Shrek 3
2008: Incredible Hulk, Hellboy 2, Indiana Jones 4, Batman: The Dark Knight, Iron
Man
2009: Transformers 2, Harry Potter 6, Ice age 3, Terminator Salvation, Night at the
Museum 2
Inception was definitely a gamble for Warner Brothers because it had a highly
involved plot that, according to The Hollywood Reporter, defies easy
7"Movie Theaters-July 2009." Mintel Reports Oxygen. Mintel Group, July 2009. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
8 "Weekly Box Office Index, 1982-Present." Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
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characterization in a one-sheet tagline or even a trailer9, and was being released in
the peak summer months, facing content already accepted by the general
audience(Toy Story 3, Twilight: Eclipse, The Karate Kid, Shrek 4)10. The studio had
to find a way to stick out from the rest of the films that were being released at the
time, giving filmgoers something that they say they want but rarely support: a
movie that is not a sequel, adapted from a comic book or inspired by a toy11. With
a fresh concept (along with the apparent stigma from consumers), a cast full of
household Hollywood names, and a director who has had huge success with his last
two movies (Combined domestic gross revenue= $ 738, 689,132)12, Inception faced
a grandiose fate of success or failure at the hands of Warner Bros marketing
department.
SWOT
Weaknesses
- The film has mysterious and
Strengths
-The past and recent success of Warner
9DiOrio, Carl. "'Inception' Is No Dream for Marketers - The Hollywood Reporter." The Latest Entertainment
& Hollywood News - The Hollywood Reporter. 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2011.
.
10"Weekly Box Office Index, 1982-Present." Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
11Fritz, Ben, and Claudia Eller. "Inception Trailer - Warner Gambles on an Unproven Commodity - Los
Angeles Times." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. 13 July 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
12 "Christopher Nolan Box Office Report." Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
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complicated story lines that may not be
appealing to the average movie goer
-Creative executives at major studios
have intensified their search for ways to
minimize the gamble involved with new
releases by greenlighting more projects
based on existing brands or franchises
-Despite carefully planned marketing
campaigns and hype creation, research
suggests that a trip to the cinema and
movie selection are largely decisions
made at the last minute
Bros films such as the Harry Potter
series, the Dark Knight, etc. give the
studio a lot of credibility with the general
public
-The strength of the cast and crew that
made the film. Includes household
Hollywood names, up and coming
actors/actresses, and a director who has
had recent success with films such as
the Dark knight and Batman Begins
- The $170 million dollar investment of
the studio ensured that the film could beas good as it possibly could be(ie:special
effects)
-Box office receipts have seen a large
boost during the recession, making the
movie theater industry one of the few
discretionary spending markets to show
substantial revenue growth13
-Warner Bros is one of the largest movie
studios in the world and has one of the
largest marketing budgets to go along
with it
Opportunities
- Partnership with Verizon, one the
worlds largest telecommunications
companies
-Between 2009 and 2014, total
Threats
-pressure of releasing an unknown
entity in the lucrative summer months,
while other studios are releasing content
that is already accepted by consumers
13 "Movie Theaters-July 2009." Mintel Reports Oxygen. Mintel Group, July 2009. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
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domestic revenues of movie theater
operators are forecast to grow 17% at
current prices, from $15.4 billion to
$18.0 billion14.
-TV networks are actively courting
movie advertisers with discounted
airtime, since many traditional
advertisers (like car manufacturers)
have pulled out as a result of the
recession. Networks are also innovating
new ways to incorporate advertising into
their original programming.-Financial pressure has meant the
embracing of less expensive forms of
media and viral marketing, particularly
through popular sites on the internet.
Creative marketing efforts include
tweeting from live premiers, mobile
phone text missions, and the creation of
a conspiracy campaign through fake
blogs.
-Despite recent focus on internet and
viral marketing, traditional media
remains the most important form of
movie advertising. Radio and television
advertisements show the widest reach
by far, cited by 60% of respondents who
have recently gone to the movies as
ways they typically learn about
such as remakes and sequels
-communicating the complex concepts of
the film while at the same time not
giving away too many details about the
plot will be difficult
- Process of building buzz around the
film will be difficult
-Despite the boost in admissions seen in
early 2009, the cinema industry
continues to experience pressure from
substitutes in the form of internet video,
video games, and advanced hometheater technology.16
14"Movie Theaters-July 2009." Mintel Reports Oxygen. Mintel Group, July 2009. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
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upcoming releases. These ads are
particularly important for the 18-24
demographic, cited by 70% of these
most frequent moviegoers.15
Movie and Advertising Budget
According to the Los Angeles Times, Warner Bros spent $160 million to produce and
just over $100 million to market and advertise Inception.17 A Specific budget
breakdown by tactic and medium could not be obtained.
Informational objectives
1. The campaign sought to inform consumers on the general concepts of the films
complex plot
2. The campaign sought to inform consumers on the superb cast and crew
Motivational objectives
15"Movie Theaters-July 2009." Mintel Reports Oxygen. Mintel Group, July 2009. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
16"Movie Theaters-July 2009." Mintel Reports Oxygen. Mintel Group, July 2009. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
17 Fritz, Ben, and Claudia Eller. "Inception Trailer - Warner Gambles on an Unproven Commodity - Los
Angeles Times." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. 13 July 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
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1. Get the consumers to ask questions and start talking about and engaging with
the film
2. Get consumers from all across the US to go and see the movie in theaters when
it came out.
Key messages
1) The dream is real
2) From the Director of the Dark Knight
3) Protect your thoughts
4) The movie has a big time cast, including star Leonardo DiCapprio
5) The movie is about dreams, shifting realities, and secret agents,
6) This is an event unlike any other movie experience youve seen
7) The movie has mind blowing visuals and plenty of action.
Target Audience
1) Men, ages 15-54
2) Fanboys
Inception was given a PG-13 rating by the MPAA, and was largely targeting two
demographics: Men ages 16-37, as the film is science fiction, action, and special
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effects driven, which are typically genres associated with males, and not females,
however, it was stated that the plot and idea of the film appeals to both genders.18
The other target demographic is die-hard fans of Christopher Nolan who can also be
categorized under the term Fanboys. Fanboys are typically fans of science fiction,
comics, and fantasy based movies, video games, and TV shows. These fans are
very tech savvy and want to stay up-to-date, frequenting online websites dedicated
to their favorite shows/movies/games, in this case, the Website Nolanfans.com
served as the hub for early discussion and buzz surrounding the movie. Nolan Fans
has roughly 19,000 registered users on its forums and has over 2,000 topics posted
on its forum section regarding Inception.19 Fanboys also frequent conventions such
as WonderCon (which drew an audience of around 40,000 people total20, which
usually draws speakers from science fiction and fantasy based projects, such as
Christopher Nolan, who spoke there in 2010. These Fanboys were at the
forefront of engaging with the Inception campaign online.
Strategies
18 "Presentation on the Target Audience of Inception." SlideShare.com. SlideShare INC, 23 Jan. 2011. Web. 9
Apr. 2011. .
19 "Forums | Index Page." Nolan Fans. Nolan Fans.com. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
20 "WonderCon 2010 :: What's New." Welcome to Comic-Con International :: Up Next...San Diego Comic-Con
2011 - July 21-24. ComiCon Intl. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
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-Incorporate and intermix various media channels to engage and intrigue
consumers.
-Leak basic information and film details over a month by month basis
-Form a solid partnership with Verizon Wireless
Strategic Approach
Warner Bros main goals of the campaign were to create a buzz surrounding the
films mysterious and intriguing plot, and to highlight the fact that it was created at
the helm of one of the next great directors in show business, Christopher Nolan. In
order to engage the target audience with a film that was for the most part a
mystery, numerous online, guerilla, mobile, and digital approaches were used to
complement traditional TV spots and print ads for Inception.
Tactics
Online21
The Cobol Job- Comic Book produced by Yahoo movies featuring the main
character of the movie on a job, traveling in and out of peoples dreams.
21Thilk, Chris. "Inception: Movie Marketing Campaign." Movie Marketing Madness. Voce Communications, 19
July 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
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Was one of the last facets of the campaign, as it gave away possibly the most
details regarding the films plot22.
Facebook Page- Contained links to other film websites, updates, and served as
an easy way to connect with other people who were intrigued with the film23
Wired Magazine Article- publicity stunt with the popular publication Wired
magazine, which featured a story regarding a mysterious manual that
showed up at Wired headquarters, detailing how to use the pasivdevice a
contraption used to enter peoples dreams.24
PasivDevice- Website that was in conjunction with the Wired article
Christopher Nolan Dream Research video- video posted on Youtube of
Christopher Nolan interviewing scientists about the possibility of people
joining dreams.
Enter the Dream- The domain name from various QR codes that took the user
to the Inception Warner Brothers home page. Casually leaked out trailers,
picture, and film synopsis as the campaign unfolded
22"INCEPTION: THE COBOL JOB." Yahoo! Movies: Read Movie Reviews, Find Showtimes and View Trailers .
Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
23 "Inception | Facebook." FaceBook- Inception Movie Page. Warner Bros Entertainment. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
24 Thill, Scott. "Mysterious Dream-Share Manual Is a Viral Mind-Wipe | Underwire | Wired.com." Wired.com. 1
June 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
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Mind Maze- A game that had users beat levels to unlock new trailers, pictures,
and information surrounding the film as the campaign went on.
What is Dream Share?- Website that served as the homepage for the Verizon
Wireless application and game download.
Guerilla/Non Traditional25
Verizon Mind Crime prevention APP-Exclusive game for Verizon Subscribers
which was similar
WonderCon SWAG- A t-shirt given out after Nolans speech at WonderCon
2010 contained a QR code on it that lead to the Mind Crime Game
Billboards on Side of buildings- In New York City, Unique billboards that
appeared as if the image was popping out and coming toward the viewer.
StreetView postings- In Major cities(LA,CHI,NYC) wallpaper like postings were
placed all over that read Thought theft is real and Protect your thoughts
with a QR code leading to various websites created for the film.
Traditional26
25 Thilk, Chris. "Inception: Movie Marketing Campaign." Movie Marketing Madness. Voce Communications, 19
July 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
26Thilk, Chris. "Inception: Movie Marketing Campaign." Movie Marketing Madness. Voce Communications, 19
July 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
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Outdoor on billboards
TV Spots featuring the trailer
Teaser trailers being released in theaters
Timeline
The marketing and advertising campaign for Inception began in August of 2009,
roughly 8 months before the movie premiered in the US27. The multi-channel
campaign was released part by part, month by month, slowly giving away plot
details (thus adding fuel to the fire that was the mysterious plot) and featuring the
projects greatest strength, its cast and crew.
August 2009
Teaser trailer is released online and in theaters, Facebook Page for the Film is launched
Website for the Film is released, hosting basic movie synopsis (without giving away too
many details), sweepstakes, and 3 different trailers (as they are released)
December 2009
madness-inception/>.
27 Thilk, Chris. "Inception: Movie Marketing Campaign." Movie Marketing Madness. Voce Communications, 19
July 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
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Social/viral component begins, Mind Crime game is launched on a microsite, where users
play a maze type game. Winners of the game are presented with the first official poster for
the movie.
January 2010
Movie posters released around the US, second and third trailers are released.
April 2010
Christopher Nolan Appears at WonderCon, QR codes linking to a second micro site are
included with convention SWAG. Microsite contains description of device (PasiDevice) from
film that the characters will be using.
Ominous YouTube video is leaked containing the director interviewing scientists about
dreams and the possibility of people entering one anothers dreams. User Manual for the
PasiDevice (see above) was sent to the Wired Magazine headquarters. Manual is placed
online for readers to see and interpret, huge article is written by Wired.
Guerilla Style outdoor posters saying protect your thoughts and thought theft is real
appear in major cities around the US. Posters contain a QR code linking consumers to
Verizon based microsite. TV spots supporting the prevention of thought theft containing
QR code air around the US.
May 2010
Visually stimulating outdoor advertisements for the film appear on the side of buildings in
New York and other major cities across the US. TV Spots containing new trailers of the film
start to air across the US.
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Mind Crime Prevention APP is created and released exclusively for Verizons Droid
Smartphone. 15 page Comic debuts on Yahoo movies containing the characters of the film.
July 2010
Film Opens on the 16th. 28
Principles of Creative leverage
1. Always start from scratch- The marketing Department at Warner brothers
started from scratch for this campaign by getting down to exactly what they wanted
to express about the movie in their campaign. They basically came up with a list of
6 things that they wanted in movie-goers minds before the movie premiered.
These 6 things include: 1) This is an event unlike any other movie experience
youve seen 2) The plot is complex and mysterious, and you will have to experience
it to completely understand it. 3) The movie is about dreams, shifting realities, and
secret agents, which is all you will need to know to enjoy it. 4) The movie has mind
blowing visuals and plenty of action. 5) This movie is the Directors (Christopher
Nolan) follow up to the highly successful Dark Knight 6) The movie has a big time
stars in Leonardo DiCapprio and Michael Caine, as well as up and comer Ellen Page
2. Demand a ruthlessly simple business problem- The business problem
surrounding the Inception campaign was as follows: How does one market this film
28 Thilk, Chris. "Inception: Movie Marketing Campaign." Movie Marketing Madness. Voce Communications, 19
July 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
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that is not part of a trilogy, is not a remake, and has a complicated plot to mass
audiences during peak movie season? Warner Brothers accepted the problem for
what it was and turned it into an opportunity, as they made it clear that It is not
like any other movie that will be in theaters during the summer months. its
different, its an event.
3. Discover a proprietary emotion- The proprietary emotion that Warner
Brothers instilled in their target consumers was curiosity. Since the director did not
want the studio to really give away too many details regarding the films plot, and
the fact that the plot would have been too complicated to communicate to
consumers with just regular advertisements, Warner Brothers slowly released more
and more peripheral details regarding the films plot through various alt. forms of
advertising. They wanted consumers to start talking about the film and have more
questions about it than they wanted/could handle. The answers lay at their nearest
AMC Theater.
4. Focus on the size of the idea, not the size of the budget- The core concept
of the Inception campaign is that there is this movie with a super-complicated plot,
has great actors, and has plenty of action. Basically, there is whole lot going on in
this movie, and because of this, Warners realized that if they were going to sell
tickets, the marketing campaign would have to be just as involved as the film itself.
Warner brothers ended up playing all of the angles (plot, great actors, big time
director, action, cool effects) in virtually every media channel available.
5. Seek out strategic risks-Warner Bros Pictures sought out a strategic risk by
putting a movie with a complicated science-fiction based plot in the middle of peak
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movie-ticket sale season, all while other studios were releasing content already
accepted by consumer such as remakes and sequels. Warners knew their film had
the chance to stick out while the other studios films were blending together, and
they ended up rolling the dice with their bet placed on Inception. (I think the
bigger risk would have been to not release the movie in the lucrative summer
months. Good call WB)
6. Collaborate or Perish- Warner Bros Marketing department collaborated with
Verizon Wireless to create the Mind Crime Prevention app for users of Droid
phones. The app includes film information, video, music, a game based on the
movie, and nearby show times. They also collaborated with a digital ad agency
called Avatar Labs to create the online facets of their campaign.
7. Listen Hard to your customers, then listen some more- In the previous
years leading up to inceptions release, Hollywood was releasing numerous films
that were considered to be remakes, adaptation of popular culture, or sequels/parts
of trilogies. This created a gap that needed to be filled with new, fresh, and
creative concepts for movies. By releasing Inception, a film that had a unique, new
concept, Warner brothers was listening to the average American Movie goer who
wanted something more than a safe, comfortable movie.
Results
Info1. The campaign sought to inform consumers on the general concepts of the
films complex plot, cast, and crew
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Result- Although I could not retain data for site visits, downloads, and page views
for the various microsites associates with the film, the Facebook page has
6,302,945 fans29. In a survey given by the movie ticket website Fandango to all
attendees at theaters in LA before the films premiere, Showed that they were they
were interested in the cerebral thriller because it stars Leonardo DiCaprio (82
percent) and because Christopher Nolan is the director(81 percent)30.
Motiv1. Get the consumers to ask questions and start talking about and engaging
with the film
Result- In a survey given by the movie ticket website Fandango to all attendees at
theaters in LA before the films premiere, showed that 93 percent of planned
Inception ticket buyers were "more intrigued" to see the sci-fi action flick because
the plot had been kept under wraps. Also, this crowd seems to be especially
affected by sequel fatigue66 percent described themselves as tired of reboots and
retreads.31 NolanFans.com has roughly 19,000 registered users on its forums and
has over 2,000 topics posted on its forum section regarding Inception.32
29 "Inception | Facebook." FaceBook- Inception Movie Page. Warner Bros Entertainment. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
30
Stanley, TL. "With 'Inception,' Did Warner Bros. Sell More by Giving Away Less?" BrandFreak. 19 July 2010.
Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
31Stanley, TL. "With 'Inception,' Did Warner Bros. Sell More by Giving Away Less?" BrandFreak. 19 July 2010.
Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
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Motiv2. Get consumers from all across the US to go and see the movie in theaters
when it came out
Result- Warner bros found remarkable success in a handful of money-making films
in 2010, and they ended up taking the top prize as #1 studio in terms of market
share, reporting total box office revenue of nearly $1.9 billion33. Director
Christopher Nolan gained positive reviews from critics, and the film ended up with 8
academy award nominations34. Inception was also in the list of top-grossing films
that year, taking in more than $825 million globally, while its budget was only $160
million35
.
Evaluation/Critique
The Mystique Factor
Although Inceptions campaign is for the most part an aesthetic extension of
Warner Bros successful viral marketing efforts on The Dark Knight, at its core it is
more in tune with the campaigns for The Matrix, The Blair Witch project, and
Cloverfield in the sense that there was a mystique surrounding the plot,
32"Forums | Index Page." Nolan Fans. Nolan Fans.com. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
33Warner Bros Entertainment. "Warner Bro's COmpany Overview." Warnerbros.com | The Official Site For
Warner Bros. Warner Bros Entertainment. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
34"Inception (2010) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
35Warner Bros Entertainment. "Warner Bro's COmpany Overview." Warnerbros.com | The Official Site For WarnerBros. Warner Bros Entertainment. Web. 9 Apr. 2011. .
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ultimately created by marketing efforts. This mystique factor is what made this
campaign successful.
For example,The Matrix, which came out in 1999 (and was also a Warner Bros
project), had a complicated plot that would be too difficult to reveal through trailers
and traditional advertising. Warner Bros solved this problem by using the internet
(which was a fresh outlet for advertising at the time) to send out messaging such
as what is the matrix, as well as highly intense trailers that looked cool but really
did not give out any information, which is very similar to what Warner bros did for
Inception (The Matrix ended up grossing $203,600,000 worldwide and triggered
two successful sequels)36. A similar strategy was used to promote The Blair Witch
Project, which had a mysterious plot surrounding a trio of students and their
encounter with a paranormal entity. Fake Missing persons flyers were posted
online and across US colleges, in addition to the launch of a website which hosted
fake news clips and articles surrounding the trio of students in the film. These
tactics gave out some details, but like Inception, left a lot to the average
consumers imagination (Blair Witch grossed $248,639,099 worldwide)37.
Cloverfield, which came out in 2008, also had a plot surrounding a mysterious
event, as something was terrorizing the United States and destroying New York
City. The Marketing efforts, like Inception, began as a teaser trailer before the
36 "The Matrix (1999), Box Office Report." Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Web. 9 Apr. 2011.
.
37 "The Blair Witch Project (1999), Box Office Report." Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Web. 9 Apr.
2011. .
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premier of a highly anticipated movie. The Cloverfield trailer gave people a taste of
what was to come (ie: the main characters at a party, confusion, destruction), but
did not give away adequate details in the trailer to really know just what exactly
was going on (it didnt even include the films title). Intrigue followed, as people
flocked online to try to find answers to questions they desperately sought after
watching the trailer (Cloverfield Grossed $170,764,033 worldwide)38.
The point of these three campaigns was that there was some element of the plot
that was either too incriminating or too complex to reveal in the advertising. Thus,
the messaging was highly focused on the mystique surrounding these films. The
goal was to get people to get curious and start asking questions and holding
discussions regarding the film, ultimately buying a ticket to see just what the film
was all about. In all three cases, the movie grossed very high in worldwide ticket
sales, due to the marketing efforts. This is the same technique and strategy that
Warner Bros employed for Inception. I felt that this was the most important
component of the campaign. They wanted to generate Buzz for a film that was
unique and unlike anything else being screened at the local theater, and they
succeeded.
Appendix A
Collaboration: The digital agency Avatar Labs aided in this campaign by creating allof the micro sites and games. The movie-ticket website Fandango aided in
evaluating the campaign by conducting a survey on the Day that Inceptionpremiered. They sent representatives out to movie theaters all around the Los
38 "Cloverfield (2008), Box Office Report." Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Web. 15 Apr. 2011.
.
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Angeles area and surveyed a large number of consumers who purchased tickets forthe movie.
Warner Brothers Pictures Inception
Marketing Campaign
Case Study
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By Evan Jeszka
Table of Contents
Thesis 1
History 1-3
Industry Landscape/Business Problem 3-6
SWOT 6-826
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Movie/AD Budget 8
Objectives 8
Key messaging 9
Target Audience 9-10
Strategy 10
Strategic Approach 10
Tactics 11-13
Timeline 13-14
Principles of Creative Leverage 15-16
Results 16-17
Critique 18-19
Appendix A 20
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