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The Marketing of Gatsby

GGIn a summer movie season that arguably is being dominated by the Action Hero franchises , the marketing campaign for Warner Bros. big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s prized novel  “The Great Gatsby”  had to achieve maximum visibility, be unusual, targeted and visually powerful to standout  and compete for your box office dollars.

Thus one of the most aggressive outdoor marketing campaigns ever conducted by Warner Bros. was launched to herald the film’s opening weekend.

The aggressive, diversified campaign included  a visual storyboard comprising a string of 20 billboards and visuals targeting bus sides and shelters focused on New York and Los Angeles, the latter where car culture allows for constant reminders of the film’s impending arrival in theaters.

Prominent displays include the Grove in Los Angeles and New York’s Times Square subway station, the latter of which is blanketed with images from the movie.

The various images share the wealth among the main characters: from the star-crossed lovers Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, to Nick Carraway, who serves as the story’s one-man Greek chorus, to blue-bloods Tom Buchanan and Jordan Baker; and Tom Buchanan’s mistress, Myrtle Wilson

The deco flavored, ornate artwork that adorns this campaign creates a visual cohesiveness as one drives around town, creating  and putting you in the extravagant world of Gatsby.

Gatsby Campaign Artwork:

 

Gatsby5 Gatsby4 Gatsby3 Gatsby2 Gatsby1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ref. Variety 

 

Who are the The Richest Musicians Of All Time

You can easily guess the wealthiest living musicians, but how do they stack up to the richest musicians ever?

It helps to emerge at the right time (the late 1960s and early ‘70s or the mid- to late-‘90s, the two moments when the now-shrunken industry was at its largest), make shrewd investments (in publishing and elsewhere, but also by capitalizing on one’s own brand), and working across different media platforms (television, film, and touring).

Adjusting fortunes going as far back the the pre-rock-and-roll era for inflation,  some surprising discoveries emerged..

 

Top 10 Richest Musicians Of All Time:

 

1. Andrew Lloyd Webber: $1.2 billion

Webber became the richest musician in history practicing one of its oldest forms: musical theater. His ubiquitous works, which include “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Cats,” and “The Phantom of the Opera,” continue to bring in bundles with theatrical stagings, soundtrack recordings, and film adaptations.

On top of all this, Webber’s Really Useful Group profits diversified with ticketing agencies and venues.

 

2. Paul McCartney: $800 million

Guinness lists McCartney as the most successful composer and recording artist of all time. In addition to royalties from the Beatles back catalog, which tops the charts with each reissue, he’s reported to own more than 25,000 other copyrights, and his post-Beatles musical career has been huge, with Wings selling 8 million-plus albums in the U.S. alone.

His late wife Linda, herself part of the Eastman fortune, left him an inheritance of £200 million, and his recent tour grossed $87 million.

3. Bono: $600 million

Paul Hewson is known as much for his global diplomacy and forays into venture capital as U2’s music.

His investment in Facebook’s IPO—via his Elevation Partners private equity firm—didn’t make him a billionaire, but U2’s “360 Tour” grossed nearly $800 million between 2009 and 2011, making it the biggest tour ever.

Combine that with Bono’s many investments (including a clothing line and a five-star hotel), the fact that the band owns all the rights to its own music, and the numbers add up quickly.

 

4. Bing Crosby: $550 million

The man who sang “I Haven’t Had Time to Be a Millionaire” was incredibly wealthy.

Crosby ranked among the 10 richest Americans in the 1930s—before he sang “White Christmas” and became one of the biggest movie stars of the ‘40s.

His Bing Crosby Enterprises was the first pop artist entertainment empire, with properties ranging from television stations to Ampex magnetic tape technology to horse tracks.

 

5. Sean “Diddy” Combs: $550 million

Partly known for shepherding the Notorious B.I.G. through his tragically short career, Combs played a key role ushering in hip-hop’s late-1990s “jiggy” era via Bad Boy Entertainment.

With Sean John, he developed a clothing line with appeal beyond rap, to the tune of more than $100 million in annual profits.

Combs made his name in the music biz, but it produces only 20 percent of his revenue at this point. Most recently, he has focused on Ciroc Vodka and his own cable music network.

 

6. Mariah Carey: $500 million

Carey’s been banking off that five-octave range since Nicki Minaj was actually playing with Barbies.

Her stats are the stuff of legend: an all-time record 18 #1 singles as a solo artist, more than 200 million albums sold worldwide, five Grammys, and the status as the most wealthy living female musician.

And then, of course, there’s “Idol.”

 

7. Jay-Z: $475 million

So what if he doesn’t have the biggest stake in the Brooklyn Nets.

The record-setting solo artist (12 #1 albums!) and erstwhile CEO of Def Jam co-created his Roc Nation entertainment conglomerate with Live Nation in 2008; co-authored Decoded, a bombastic tribute to globetrotting excess in 2011; and co-created the world’s luckiest baby the next year.

 

8. Dolly Parton: $450 million

The woman who sang “9 to 5” is worth nearly half a billion dollars, due to a tireless work ethic (she’s written thousands of songs, including “I Will Always Love You,” one of the best-selling singles of all time) and a shrewd awareness of how to market her cheerful persona and simple-country-girl backstory.

She does primarily via Dollywood, a theme park she bought and rebranded in 1986, and which draws millions to its gates each year.

 

9. Jimmy Buffett: $400 million

Buffett has been drawing his faithful Parrotheads and their battery-powered margarita blenders to amphitheaters every summer since 1976. (2011’s tour raked in $22 million).

And if you want an ersatz version of the experience, you might stop in at one of the many locations of Buffett’s Cheeseburger in Paradise chain restaurants, located off an interstate exit near you.

 

10. Michael Jackson: $350 million

The King of Pop earned $50 million a year through the 1980s and 1990s.

In 1985, he already had one of the biggest-selling albums ever (“Thriller,” which sold 66 million copies worldwide) a series of incredibly lucrative tours, and a record $5 million deal with Pepsi (worth $11 million today) to his name, and the questionable investments started coming quickly.

He dropped $47.5 million to buy ATV Music, which included the Beatles’ catalog (which Paul McCartney would later buy back at a bargain).

In 1987, he bought the “Neverland” ranch for $19.7 million and invested another $35 million in it. By 2003, he held $200 million in debt, but even that wasn’t enough to break him.

Not in the top tn but still very impressive are:

11. Garth Brooks: $325 million

12. Gene Autry: $320 million

13. Mick Jagger: $305 million

14. Gene Simmons: $300 million

15. Beyonce: $300 million

16. Elton John: $300 million

17. Ringo Starr: $300 million

18. Sting: $290 million

19. Dr. Dre: $250 million

20. 50 Cent: $250 million

 

Source: Popdust

Storytelling Rules from Pixar

Former Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats tweeted a number of valuable storytelling rules during her time at the animation studio.

  1. You admire a character for trying more,  than for their successes.
  2. You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.
  3. Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
  4. Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
  5. Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
  6. What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
  7. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
  8. Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
  9. When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
  10. Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
  11. Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
  12. Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
  13. Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
  14. Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
  15. If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
  16. What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
  17. No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
  18. You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
  19. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
  20. Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
  21. You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
  22. What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

 

The perks of winning an Oscar

The nominees were read, the envelopes opened, the Oscar i announced, the winner walks to the stage and delivers an acceptance speech (preferably before the walk-off music).  Beyond the Oscar after-parties and the iconic statue validating movie and talent excellence, winning, and even being nominated for an Oscar is worth much more.

One thing is certain – the Oscar brand is alive and well. Veteran movie marketers that know how to capitalize on the brand image of this $500ish statue will enhance their own brands and make a lot more money.

When used in marketing campaigns, this validation stamp increases the desire of moviegoers to see the films and the talent being honored. It also keeps the movies in theaters longer boosting box office receipts. And it substantially increases DVD, streaming, download, and cable TV revenues.

 


Payoff for winning

According to IBISWorld, the best picture winners overs the past five years had an average production budget of $17 million and earned an average of $82.5 million at the box-office – generating a 485.6 percent margin. Winners earned…

  • $35.2 million in box office revenue, or 42.8%, before being nominated;
  • $29.4 million, or 35.6%, after they were nominated;
  • $17.9 million, or 21.7% after winning the Oscar.

In 2010, The King’s Speech, garnered $138 million in domestic box office – over $100 million more than was expected before it won. In Hollywood, talent agents and managers estimate that their clients will get a 20% boost in pay for their next film if they win the award for Best Actor or Actress.

Nominations pay off too

Even though winning the Oscar does wonders for movie careers and box office receipts, there is often considerable benefit in being nominated. Per IBISWorld, movies nominated for the Best Picture Oscar from the 2007 to 2011 awards seasons had an average production budget of $42.1 million and earned $104.2 million in box-office revenue for a 247.2 percent margin. Nominees earned…

  • $81.2 million in box office revenue, or 77.8%, before being nominated;
  • $19 million, or 18.2%, after they were nominated;
  • $4.2 million, or 21.7% after the awards show.

The King’s Speech was initially projected to gross $30 million worldwide. After receiving 12 Academy Award nominations, the revised estimate was over $200 million. After winning the Oscar for best picture, its worldwide box office surpassed $427 million with domestic DVD sales adding nearly another $32 million.

According to Reuters, an Academy Award nomination can boost ticket sales by one-third and cause a jump in the DVD sales of movies no longer in theaters. When you add downloads, streaming and cable TV revenues, the monetary rewards from receiving a nomination can be substantial.

Turning nominations into profits

Most important of all, award nominations can mean the difference between profits and bankruptcy for some movie productions. This is why marketers go to great lengths to promote their movies for the Oscars long before the nominations are announced in January. They spend from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars promoting their films for an Oscar nomination.

It is reported that Harvey and Bob Weinstein spent millions promoting The King’s Speech and timed the release of the film to accelerate the Oscar buzz and boost the number of nominations. While actual figures are a highly-guarded secret in Hollywood, some peg the promotional investment in the King’s Speech to rival the $15 million the Weinsteins spent on promoting Shakespeare in Love in 1999.

Marketing investment in nominations pay off

The Oscar marketing strategy paid off again last year. The Weinstein marketing magic is credited with catapulting The Artist—a silent, black & white, French film—to 10 nominations and 5 Oscars including best picture. The previous year, the King’s Speech’s had 12 nominations to put it ahead of the field, and helped it to win. In fact, over the past 20 years, the film with the most nominations has won 15 times. This bodes well for this year’s two top nominees — Lincoln (12 nominations) and Life of Pi (11 nominations)—even though many are betting on Argo and Zero Dark Thirty.


Oscar 2013 What it Costs

THE ACADEMY AWARDS:

Walt Disney Co., which pays $75 million annually for the rights to broadcast the awards show through 2020.
$21.8 million

The amount AMPAS  (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) spent to present the 84th annual Oscars ceremony in February 2012.

 Producers’ honorarium: $100,000-plus

As a token of gratitude for overseeing the massive enterprise, the Academy sends the telecast’s producers (this year: Craig Zadan and Neil Meron) a thank-you card and a check in the low-six figures.

 

Host’s fee: $15,000-$25,000
The responsibility of keeping the awards show entertaining and ending it on time goes to the host, and for shouldering that burden, first-time host Seth MacFarlane is paid above the $15,000 SAG-AFTRA minimum.

 

Oscar statuettes: $45,000
The value of the 24-karat-plated mini man is tied to the price of gold, currently about $1,600 an ounce. THR calculates that each of this year’s 50 statuettes from manufacturer R.S. Owens is worth about $900.

 

Security: $250,000
A private firm unaffiliated with the Academy estimates it costs a quarter-million dollars to secure the Oscars, a process that requires thousands of hours of preparation and months of planning and training.

 

Singers: $14,000-plus
Adele and Norah Jones receive a minimum of $3,500 to perform nominated songs; union rates for other numbers start at $2,400 for soloists like Barbra Streisand and $5,000 for groups like the Les Mis ensemble.

 

The set: Less than $1 million
The cost of the Dolby Theatre set is comparable to that of a major musical: at least several hundred thousand dollars. The Academy saves by renting equipment that vendors are loath to loan to open-ended Broadway runs.

 

Winners’ envelopes: $10,000
Stationery designer Marc Friedland spends 110 hours laminating, hand-folding, goldleaf-stamping and embossing 488 nominee cards, but only the 24 bearing the winners’ names will be revealed onstage.

 

The red carpet: $25,000
Unaffiliated L.A.-based Red Carpet Systems quotes $1.50 per square foot for the priceless experience of walking the world’s most famous crimson corridor, which is 500 feet long and 33 feet wide.

 

OTHER:
$11.1 million
Oscar-related activities include nominees’ events and legal expenses.

Membership screenings: $250,000-plus
The Academy’s year-round calendar includes events and screenings in L.A., New York and London for all the Oscar-nominated films.

 

Nominees Luncheon: $260,000
The 156 Oscar contenders gathered at the Beverly Hilton on Feb. 4 for the annual luncheon and class photo, after which each received an “Oscar nominee” sweatshirt.

 

Copyright/trademark protection: $1.5 million
The Academy pays about $1.5 million in annual legal expenses, some of which was spent this year on a lawsuit against domain registrar GoDaddy.

 

Governors Awards: $865,000
On Dec. 1, the Academy saluted D.A. Pennebaker, George Stevens Jr. and Hal Needham and recognized Jeffrey Katzenberg with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

 

Sci-Tech Awards: $432,000 
Star Trek’s Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana hosted the Feb. 9 ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel to honor the film industry’s scientific and technical trailblazers.

 

GOVERNORS BALL:
$1.8 million
Thanks to vendor deals, event planner Sequoia Productions spends up to four-fifths less than the estimated retail value of the items below.

 

Sterling Vineyards wine: $58,000
The Napa winery is providing 540 bottles each of its 2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (retail $75) and its 2009 Reserve Chardonnay ($33), which took 1.8 million grapes to create.

 

Thienot Champagne: $87,000
The relatively obscure brand will make its Oscar debut at the Governors Ball with Thienot Brut ($40) at the preshow reception, followed by Thienot Rosé ($66) and the Thienot Vintage 2005 ($50).

 

White truffles: $34,800
The creme de la creme of the prized delicacy hails from Alba, Italy, and Wolfgang Puck is using 10 pounds of the stuff for his chestnut tortellini, among other dishes. Rakuten.com offers 4 ounces for $870.

Snake River Farms steak: $25,300
The Idaho-based purveyor’s website sells two 10-ounce New York strip steaks for $79. Puck has ordered 400 pounds, which he will serve with Japanese matsutake mushrooms ($45 a pound).

 

Chocolate: $20,000 

From “pop rock” pops to gold-dusted Oscars, there’s no shortage of the guilty pleasure on pastry chef Sherry Yard’s menu, which will use 1,000 pounds of Guittard bittersweet chocolate ($30 for a dozen two-ounce bars).

 

Decor: $100,000-plus
Lux Lounge EFR is creating 423 lounge pieces, which will be covered in 1,935 yards of fabric from Resource One. Custom glass cocktail tables will feature blooms from Mark’s Garden sprouting from the pedestal.

 

Chandelier: $1 million
The grand centerpiece of this year’s ball is a custom-designed 120-by-70-foot six-tier fixture, composed of 1.78 million beads and 18,000 LED points of light. It will be available to rent after the party.

 

Event staff: $240,000
To accommodate the 1,500 VIP guests, at least 1,000 personnel (including 350 culinary staff in uniforms designed by ball chair Jeffrey Kurland) will be on hand, working about 12 hours at an average of $20 an hour.

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