Major Case Study Final

8/2/2019 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


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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


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.

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/>.


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


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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Date post:	06-Apr-2018
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Major Case Study Final

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