THE JUNGLE BOOK: LESSONS 6+7 - MARKETING AND AUDIENCE
SYNERGY:
//where two or more compatible organisations/products sell each other. e.g. The Jungle Book 67+16, Disney theme parks.
1967 MARKETING:
Disney handled it's own marketing and promotion for films produced and released by Walt Disney. The company had diversified into theme parks, creating Disneyland, and television, and Disney had been aware of the value of merchandising from the very beginning (a visit to a famous online auction site will often show examples of early JB merchandise.
CROSS-MEDIA CONVERGENCE:
Disney builds brands around it's characters and intellectual properties, and it monetizes those brands via multiple platforms at the same time. A successful movie means more business opportunities for Disney in areas such as live shows,toys and merchandise, video games, and theme park attractions, among others. This is called cross-media convergence.
Media Convergence - Where films like JB16 are available/consumed and can be marketed on a number of cross-media platforms e.g cinema, streamed, DVD, XBox, PlayStation etc. Film websites often have convergent links to a range of rich media.
CMC AND SYNERGY:
The strategy of cross-media convergence has become a basis for the Walt Disney Company's rapid growth. Some examples include re-releasing on DVD but through tie-ins with other companies - McDonalds had Jungle Book 2 happy meals, for example, which promoted the film. Also, Disney licensed the characters for use by other companies, such as Virgin who developed a Jungle Book video game for Sega, Gameboy and PC in the early 90's
2016 MARKETING:
//Disney did not use many of the traditional marketing techniques it used for the 197 version for the new film.
//The first marketing stunt for the Jungle Book was an announcement at D23 Expo with all of the cast. By going to happy, peppy Disneyphiles first, they ensured that the movie's initial blast on social media would be a positive one.
//Favreau was aware of the technological inter-relationship between the making of the film and it's promotion:
"What's interesting about the film is that we are telling an old story with new technology, and that's bled over into other aspects of film and promotion... We had an extremely sophisticated technological landscape that we were dealing with day-to-day as we created the film. Now, as we explore the means by which we share it with people, technology seemed like a very inherent part of the Jungle Book live-action movie."
MARKETING VIA TECHNOLOGY:
//Disney uses social media, having JB16 Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. The accounts released teasers and making of photos and videos (including behind the scenes) in the months before the theatrical release and kept up the promotion for the release on DVD and as downloads. Sharing is obviously an invaluable promotional tool. There are a number of articles talking about how Disney generally uses social media.
//Apart from traditional marketing devices (theatrical trailers and print-based posters), Disney uploaded an interactive poster on Snapchat and users could apply a Jungle Book filter to their photos to look like the snake, Kaa. The film tied in with other partners for promotional opportunities, with competitions and other products.
//When an animal talks in a movie, unless it's a comedy, older moviegoers tend to skip it. Most of Favreau's animals are not catoonish and cuddly (not by a long shot), but Disney couldn't rely on trailers and TV spots to convey that message.
//So, Disney used bloggers and entertainment news sites to hammer home a point: Favreau used sophisticated filmmaking techniques to create the animals.
GET THE TEENS WITH SCARES:
In part to make the Jungle Book appeal to teenagers - older siblings tend to influence younger siblings - Disney packed the first trailer with scary moments while hiding the musical numbers and keeping Baloo's goofiness to a minimum.
PULL MARKETING:
Stars are another way to make adults and teens pay attention. To elevate JB16 in the minds of grown ups, Disney in MArch circulated dramatic photographs that paired the voice actors with their onscreen counterparts.
TARGET THE MEN:
//Generally speaking, women and girls see Disney's magic castle logo on a trailer and are pulled closer. This can be the opposite with men. So, Disney aggressively and repeatedly pitched JB16 to male audiences.
//Commercials on ESPN portrayed the movie as coming not from the makers of 'Cinderella', but 'from the studio that brought you Pirates of the Caribbean'.
//An extended trailer for JB16 was attached to Star Wars: the Force Awakens which had a 58% male audience.
//They also rolled out an action-oriented trailer during the Super Bowl.
LATIN AMERICANS:
Studio marketers have learned that hispanic moviegoers tend to buy tickets in particularly large groups; if you hook one family member, you can get an exponential result. To achieve that goal, Disney teamed up with Univision (the largest Hispanic-American channel) for a five-week stunt that brought Jungle Book characters and clips to telenovelas, talk shows and sports coverage. Disney even built a tool to allow Univision personalities to appear in movie scenes.
AUGMENTED REALITY AND IMMERSIVE MEDIA:
If moviegoers enjoy immersive entertainment, they are more likely to spend $3 to $5 more on a ticket to see JB16 in 3D, which can lift opening weekend sales considerably. To emphasise the scope and scale of this movie, Disney introduced a maze-like Law of the Jungle website in partnership with the female-leaning Tumblr; ran special promos at IMAx theatres focusing on the snake, Kaa; and created a touring VR experience and 360-Degree facebook video emphasising the 'Avatar'-like world of it's jungle.
DISNEY TV USE AND THEME PARKS:
Various corners of the Disney empire pitched in to promote JB16. A New Year's Day stunt on the Disney Channel, for instance, as used to portray the film as one of the year's first blockbuster offerings for families and children.
But the synergistic heavy lifting was done by the Disney theme parks. During the jam-packed spring break weeks, park theatres in Florida and California offered sneak-peak footage of the movie, with Jon Favreau often providing commentary.
MERCH (ON A GLOBAL SCALE):
The many theme park stores that sell Disney merchandise had Jungle Book sections. Also, Disney built photogenic 'Jungle Book' sand sculptures at it's Animal Kingdom and Epcot parks in Florida.
MERCH FOR ADULTS AND MAD SYNERGY:
//Kenzo - The fashion retailer created a limited-edition line of clothing inspired by the movie and it's classic.
//Airbnb - Ran a promotion offering $100 off treehouses listed on the service that was supported by a co-branded TV spot including footage from the movie.
POSTERS:
INTERTEXTUALITY:
Within the movie, there are constant references towards other DIsney films, and not just it's predecessor. There are many references to the Lion king throughout the movie, mirroring many scenes with Timon and Pumba in them.
1967 AUDIENCE:
//Disney was highly aware of how to build and maintain audiences nationally and globally, from the shaping of the original product to appeal more to a family audience (Walt Disney's intended audience), the marketing and distribution by it's own company, merchandising etc.
//Disney was an early master of synergy, persuading companies to tie-in wit their film's release, running a character merchandising department.
//In addition to pioneering synergy, branding and merchandising beginning in the 30s, Walt Disney also developed the idea of synergy between media consumption and theme park visits in the 50s.
//The producer of animated films used the popularity of his famous cartoon characters for a weekly show on ABC that served as an advertisement for his theme park. In turn, visiting Disneyland helped secure customers' brand loyalty to Disney trademark for the future. This strategy of cross-promotion has become a basis for the Walt Disney Company.
2016 AUDIENCE:
//"Stepping back to look at it, Disney has developed a marketing strategy not dissimilar to a political campaign... Disney has pulled off some big, complex marketing in the past, but nothing quite as perfect and impressive as what they accomplished with the Jungle Book."
//Part of the huge box office success was marketing to appeal to a large range of age groups, such as targeting action-adventure fans, not just Disney's traditional family audience.
//According to surveys, 49% of the sales were attributed to moviegoers that were over 25 years of age and 51% were under 25. Audiences within the 18-24 category dominated with a 33% sale.
//The movie is playing to not justthe coveted Disney female audience, but to all demographics. Males have flocked to the film, attracted by the cutting-edge technology used for it's visual effects.
Disney leads the world in the production and distribution of popular culture. What's more is they can use their incredible back catalogue of production and re-represent it for new audiences: to have this incredible vault of content that they can go back to and reimagine, retool and recreate for today's audiences just gives them a depth and breadth of film that is unparalleled.
//where two or more compatible organisations/products sell each other. e.g. The Jungle Book 67+16, Disney theme parks.
1967 MARKETING:
Disney handled it's own marketing and promotion for films produced and released by Walt Disney. The company had diversified into theme parks, creating Disneyland, and television, and Disney had been aware of the value of merchandising from the very beginning (a visit to a famous online auction site will often show examples of early JB merchandise.
CROSS-MEDIA CONVERGENCE:
Disney builds brands around it's characters and intellectual properties, and it monetizes those brands via multiple platforms at the same time. A successful movie means more business opportunities for Disney in areas such as live shows,toys and merchandise, video games, and theme park attractions, among others. This is called cross-media convergence.
Media Convergence - Where films like JB16 are available/consumed and can be marketed on a number of cross-media platforms e.g cinema, streamed, DVD, XBox, PlayStation etc. Film websites often have convergent links to a range of rich media.
CMC AND SYNERGY:
The strategy of cross-media convergence has become a basis for the Walt Disney Company's rapid growth. Some examples include re-releasing on DVD but through tie-ins with other companies - McDonalds had Jungle Book 2 happy meals, for example, which promoted the film. Also, Disney licensed the characters for use by other companies, such as Virgin who developed a Jungle Book video game for Sega, Gameboy and PC in the early 90's
2016 MARKETING:
//Disney did not use many of the traditional marketing techniques it used for the 197 version for the new film.
//The first marketing stunt for the Jungle Book was an announcement at D23 Expo with all of the cast. By going to happy, peppy Disneyphiles first, they ensured that the movie's initial blast on social media would be a positive one.
//Favreau was aware of the technological inter-relationship between the making of the film and it's promotion:
"What's interesting about the film is that we are telling an old story with new technology, and that's bled over into other aspects of film and promotion... We had an extremely sophisticated technological landscape that we were dealing with day-to-day as we created the film. Now, as we explore the means by which we share it with people, technology seemed like a very inherent part of the Jungle Book live-action movie."
MARKETING VIA TECHNOLOGY:
//Disney uses social media, having JB16 Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. The accounts released teasers and making of photos and videos (including behind the scenes) in the months before the theatrical release and kept up the promotion for the release on DVD and as downloads. Sharing is obviously an invaluable promotional tool. There are a number of articles talking about how Disney generally uses social media.
//Apart from traditional marketing devices (theatrical trailers and print-based posters), Disney uploaded an interactive poster on Snapchat and users could apply a Jungle Book filter to their photos to look like the snake, Kaa. The film tied in with other partners for promotional opportunities, with competitions and other products.
//When an animal talks in a movie, unless it's a comedy, older moviegoers tend to skip it. Most of Favreau's animals are not catoonish and cuddly (not by a long shot), but Disney couldn't rely on trailers and TV spots to convey that message.
//So, Disney used bloggers and entertainment news sites to hammer home a point: Favreau used sophisticated filmmaking techniques to create the animals.
GET THE TEENS WITH SCARES:
In part to make the Jungle Book appeal to teenagers - older siblings tend to influence younger siblings - Disney packed the first trailer with scary moments while hiding the musical numbers and keeping Baloo's goofiness to a minimum.
PULL MARKETING:
Stars are another way to make adults and teens pay attention. To elevate JB16 in the minds of grown ups, Disney in MArch circulated dramatic photographs that paired the voice actors with their onscreen counterparts.
TARGET THE MEN:
//Generally speaking, women and girls see Disney's magic castle logo on a trailer and are pulled closer. This can be the opposite with men. So, Disney aggressively and repeatedly pitched JB16 to male audiences.
//Commercials on ESPN portrayed the movie as coming not from the makers of 'Cinderella', but 'from the studio that brought you Pirates of the Caribbean'.
//An extended trailer for JB16 was attached to Star Wars: the Force Awakens which had a 58% male audience.
//They also rolled out an action-oriented trailer during the Super Bowl.
LATIN AMERICANS:
Studio marketers have learned that hispanic moviegoers tend to buy tickets in particularly large groups; if you hook one family member, you can get an exponential result. To achieve that goal, Disney teamed up with Univision (the largest Hispanic-American channel) for a five-week stunt that brought Jungle Book characters and clips to telenovelas, talk shows and sports coverage. Disney even built a tool to allow Univision personalities to appear in movie scenes.
AUGMENTED REALITY AND IMMERSIVE MEDIA:
If moviegoers enjoy immersive entertainment, they are more likely to spend $3 to $5 more on a ticket to see JB16 in 3D, which can lift opening weekend sales considerably. To emphasise the scope and scale of this movie, Disney introduced a maze-like Law of the Jungle website in partnership with the female-leaning Tumblr; ran special promos at IMAx theatres focusing on the snake, Kaa; and created a touring VR experience and 360-Degree facebook video emphasising the 'Avatar'-like world of it's jungle.
DISNEY TV USE AND THEME PARKS:
Various corners of the Disney empire pitched in to promote JB16. A New Year's Day stunt on the Disney Channel, for instance, as used to portray the film as one of the year's first blockbuster offerings for families and children.
But the synergistic heavy lifting was done by the Disney theme parks. During the jam-packed spring break weeks, park theatres in Florida and California offered sneak-peak footage of the movie, with Jon Favreau often providing commentary.
MERCH (ON A GLOBAL SCALE):
The many theme park stores that sell Disney merchandise had Jungle Book sections. Also, Disney built photogenic 'Jungle Book' sand sculptures at it's Animal Kingdom and Epcot parks in Florida.
MERCH FOR ADULTS AND MAD SYNERGY:
//Kenzo - The fashion retailer created a limited-edition line of clothing inspired by the movie and it's classic.
//Airbnb - Ran a promotion offering $100 off treehouses listed on the service that was supported by a co-branded TV spot including footage from the movie.
POSTERS:
INTERTEXTUALITY:
Within the movie, there are constant references towards other DIsney films, and not just it's predecessor. There are many references to the Lion king throughout the movie, mirroring many scenes with Timon and Pumba in them.
1967 AUDIENCE:
//Disney was highly aware of how to build and maintain audiences nationally and globally, from the shaping of the original product to appeal more to a family audience (Walt Disney's intended audience), the marketing and distribution by it's own company, merchandising etc.
//Disney was an early master of synergy, persuading companies to tie-in wit their film's release, running a character merchandising department.
//In addition to pioneering synergy, branding and merchandising beginning in the 30s, Walt Disney also developed the idea of synergy between media consumption and theme park visits in the 50s.
//The producer of animated films used the popularity of his famous cartoon characters for a weekly show on ABC that served as an advertisement for his theme park. In turn, visiting Disneyland helped secure customers' brand loyalty to Disney trademark for the future. This strategy of cross-promotion has become a basis for the Walt Disney Company.
2016 AUDIENCE:
//"Stepping back to look at it, Disney has developed a marketing strategy not dissimilar to a political campaign... Disney has pulled off some big, complex marketing in the past, but nothing quite as perfect and impressive as what they accomplished with the Jungle Book."
//Part of the huge box office success was marketing to appeal to a large range of age groups, such as targeting action-adventure fans, not just Disney's traditional family audience.
//According to surveys, 49% of the sales were attributed to moviegoers that were over 25 years of age and 51% were under 25. Audiences within the 18-24 category dominated with a 33% sale.
//The movie is playing to not justthe coveted Disney female audience, but to all demographics. Males have flocked to the film, attracted by the cutting-edge technology used for it's visual effects.
Disney leads the world in the production and distribution of popular culture. What's more is they can use their incredible back catalogue of production and re-represent it for new audiences: to have this incredible vault of content that they can go back to and reimagine, retool and recreate for today's audiences just gives them a depth and breadth of film that is unparalleled.
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