T2 | Wk 10 | Monday - CMC / Synergy - marketing case study - Disney

 We are moving into marketing and distribution!

Let's take a look at Disney's marketing strategies. 

 https://businessmodelanalyst.com/walt-disney-marketing-strategy/#:~:text=Streaming%20Services%3A%20Disney%20reaches%20audiences,greets%20that%20strengthen%20brand%20loyalty.

 https://taodigitalmarketing.com/why-the-avengers-end-game-marketing-is-genius/

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/avengers-endgame-watershed-moment-cinema/1583251

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/avengers-endgame-marvel-promo-campaign-cost-mcu-infinity-war-release-date-a8875676.html

https://www.webchanakya.com/5-insane-but-true-facts-about-marvel-marketing-strategy-for-the-avengers-endgame/

CROSS MEDIA CONVERGENCE AND SYNERGY TERMINOLOGY

Activity#1

Research the definition of the following terminology and get examples from the case study above (Avengers Endgame) and/or Avatar, Way of the Water, for each one;

- 360' Marketing / immersive marketing 

- viral marketing 

- hype/ buzz

- global marketing 

Also look up the following;

- Box office for this film, how it was released and how well it did.

Activity #2 - we will work on this during the week

Write an essay in response to the question below, using all the terminology and case study research above...

"How far does cross-media convergence and synergy affect the success of a film?"

Week 10 HOMEWORK (Due Fri Week 10) - CMC and synergy

Here's your essay question for the week ahead. 

"How important is cross-media-convergence and synergy for institutions and audiences within a media area which you have studied?"

Here's some resources below to add to what you already have, to help with what to include...

https://www.slideshare.net/kimfyson/synergy-and-cross-media-convergence-43956766

Cross Media Convergence
This is really a Business Studies term and refers to companies coming together vertically or horizontally (or both). The example often cited in exams is of Working Title making use of its parent company(s) to gain access to bigger stars and a better distribution network for their films.  The same theory can be applied to the music industry where small labels are bought up and taken under the wing of larger groups, like Sony and EMI.  Sony is a good example where they produce films, TV and music as well as the hardware to view/listen to their products (including smart phones)

Synergy
Synergy basically means working together to achieve an objective that couldn’t be achieved independently. Cross-media convergence can help with synergy if companies are wise enough to take advantage of the links they have forged. Disney is an obvious example of a synergistic company from the top down from Film Studio to Kids’ TV Channel (where it further plays and promotes its films) to the Disney Store (in the street and online) where your kids can pester you to buy all the merchandise and DVDs/CDs they’ve seen on the TV/Web or in the cinema.

T2 | Wk 9 | Thursday - CMC / Synergy examples - Disney

  Hi guys!

Today I want you to do some research into MARKETING strategies for your case study films.

I want you to add examples of SYNERGY and CROSS-MEDIA CONVERGENCE for how your films were marketed to their audience. 

Did they use any marketing campaigns? Were they global? Were they successful? Did they use vertical integration in any cases? 

Write a few bullet points for each case study movie.

ALSO, we are adding Disney to our case study list as an institution we study. I want you to write down a few key examples from our online class as well as add a few of your own to the list on how they successfully use synergy and cross-media convergence in marketing. 

Here's the Disney video we checked out the other day if you want to re-watch it to make some notes.

T2| Wk 10 | Wed - China + Global audience/ ownership issues

    

Have a watch of these 2 videos and make notes. Be careful to get stats/ quotes and case study examples that you can use in essays.

You can use the concept of a global audience impacting representation / impacting Hollywood in the following essays;

- Audiences (in relation to how audiences are not just local, consuming local media but Global and the issues that arise with this)

- ownership (in relation to how Hollywood are powerful but with money being their bottom line, they compromise on Western values to gain Chinese audience support)

- technology (in relation to how proliferation of the internet has shifted audiences from local to global and some of the issues that arise with that)

https://education.cfr.org/learn/learning-journey/globalization-case-studies/big-in-china-the-global-market-for-hollywood-movies

ACTIVITY

1. What is the current quota of USA films allowed into China?

2. What ways are US filmmakers making Hollywood films more appealing to China?

3. How big is the Chinese market in comparison to the US?

4.  Look at some examples of some movies and compare Box Office in US and China 

T2 | Wk 9 | Friday - Distribution research

  

ACTIVITY #1

Click here to read the article on DISTRIBUTION (The Art Of the Deal) and then answer the following questions;

1. What are the two different financial models that distribution agreements are based on?

2. Describe what they both entail.

3. What are ancillary rights?

4. What is the definition of the film's 'opening' and what factors are taken into account when making decisions about a film's opening? 

5. What does it mean if a film has 'legs'? What factors might determine this? 

6. At the time of this article, how many theatres were there across USA and where are they mostly located?

7. What role does a 'buyer' play and what are some of the terms they negotiate?

8. What are the 2 ways a theatre may release a movie? Explain how they work.

9. What is meant by a 'loss leader'? 

ACTIVITY #2

Go to your case study notes on the 4 films you looked up information for. Check what information you have about your film's ditribution process.

- who distributed the films?

- how were they distributed?

- Where were they released and when?

- What type of release did they have?

T2 | Week 9 | Monday - Audiences and Institutions - Film Case Study Research

  

Case Study requirements;

 - a NZ film - 'Pike River'

- Avatar, The Way of Water 

- an Indi-film (one not made/ funded by a big Hollywood production studio) Back Rooms 

- A film that didn't do well (The Interview)

You need to know EVERYTHING about these films. 

- date of release 

- what their budget was

- what they made on opening weekend

- what gross earnings were for the film

- who directed it

- any A-list cast / actors?

- controversy or context around it - if any?

- who distributed the film? 

- who funded the film (Indi - if so? How did they fund it? - crowd-funding etc)

- what did critics say about it? reviews and how it was received by the public

- how was it distributed? (DVD / streaming platform etc)?

- Marketing campaigns - what was marketing budget / what ways was it marketed? 

T2 | Wk 10 | Monday - Synergy (concept + case study)

   Hi class,

Task 1: In preparation for this week's essay, I want you to watch this video and make some detailed notes (in your own words), explaining what synergy is. 

You should also have some examples (like the Black panther examples) of how your case studies used examples of Synergy.  

 Task 2: Take a look at this slightly tedious but very informative video and make some notes on the difference between Cross-Media-Convergene and Synergy.

SLIDESHOW Video link 

Video with explanation of what synergy is 

Another good resource that we used in class. Scroll down to get to the slideshow about synergy + cross media convergence 

Link for synergy + cross media convergence slideshow