The Marketing Strategies of Hollywood

The Marketing 1 Strategies of Hollywood

Consuello: Be prepared for a Hollywood holiday 1)blitz! The season is getting its 2)kick-off with one of the most 3)anticipated films this weekend. Harry 2 Potter and the Chamber 3 of Secrets is the 4)sequel to the wildly successful Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which sold 971 million dollars worth of tickets world-wide. But this year's holiday offerings are 5)wrapped in more marketing tie-ins than ever, designed to pack you into theatres as well as into stores. Are they worth the price of admission? Joining us is the Wall Street Journal's Hollywood 6)columnist 4, Tom King. Tom, good to see you. 

King: Good to see you, Consuella. 

Consuello: Now look, I learned from your column that the New James Bond movie, Die Another Day, will have some 24 different tie-ins. What is going on here? 

King: Yikes! Look out, Consuella and all you other movie-goers out there! MGM, I think, is setting some kind of record here by 7)lining up so many marketing companies to help it promote its movies. Not only are they hooking up with Finlandia Vodka and Aspen-Martin cars, but they've also made promotional tie-in arrangements with Samsonite Luggage, and Circuit City. 

Consuello: Why are they doing this, Tom?

King: Well, the studios look to these marketers to help them market their movies. In a very competitive holiday movie season, the studios have to spend an awful lot of money on television advertising 5 to open their pictures. And to 8)break through the 9)clutter 6, they turn to these other marketers and have them write out some cheques and spend some of their money to help them promote their films. 

Consuello: Right. Now MGM's new Bond movie is one extreme. But you reported that Miramax's Pinocchio, starring Roberto Bennini of Life is Beautiful fame, is taking a different tack 7 only three promotional partners. Why is it limiting their partners?

King: Well, if you listen to Miramax, they say that they think that if you line up 24 different promotional partners, that it will 10)backfire -- that movie-goers sense that as a real marketing 11)avalanche 8 and that it's a turn-off to them. So Miramax said they turned only to McDonald's, FAO Schwartz, and Langer's Juice, so it's a much more conservative campaign there.

Consuello: Sounds like a balancing act between Hollywood and the marketers. Tom King, thanks for joining us. 

King: Thank you.

好莱坞的新招

康休洛：准备好，好莱坞的假期闪电战开始了！本季有一部万众期待的电影要在周末开演--《哈利波特与密室》，它是《哈利波特与魔法石》的续集，后者大获成功，全球票房高达9.71亿美元。但是今年假期放映的影片比往年有更多的搭配销售，务求吸引大家既进电影院又进商店。高昂的票价是否物有所值呢？且听《华尔街杂志》的电影专栏作家汤姆·金的高论。汤姆，你好。

金：你好，康休洛。

康休洛：我从你的专栏中读到，新“007”电影《择日而亡》的搭销伙伴竟高达24家。到底是怎么回事？

金：嗳！注意了，康休洛和影迷们！米高梅又刷新记录了，它找到更多商家来帮忙宣传新片。这回它的搭销伙伴不仅Finlandia Vodka和Aspen-Martin汽车，还有Samsonite Luggage和Circuit City。

康休洛：他们为什么这么做呢，汤姆？

金：因为电影公司想让这些商家帮宣传电影。在竞争激烈的节假日播映期，首映前电影公司不得不花费巨额在电视上做宣传。为了解决困难，他们转向让别的商家出钱，利用其中部分金额来做电影宣传的费用。

康休洛：是的。米高梅的“007”新片就是个典型例子。可你还说米拉麦克斯公司的《匹诺曹》，由演过《美丽人生》的罗伯特·贝尼尼来主演，却只用了三家公司来宣传。他们为什么会限制搭销规模呢？

金：这个，不知你听过米拉麦克斯的说法没有，他们说如果一口气起用24个不同商家来做宣传，会起相反的作用--影迷们一旦察觉到宣传之势排山倒海，就会心生排斥。所以米拉麦克斯说他们只找了麦当劳、FAO Schwartz和Langer's Juice，保守地进行竞争。

康休洛：听起来像是电影公司和商家之间寻求的平衡。汤姆·金，非常感谢你的评论。

金：谢谢。

注释：

1) blitz [blits] n. 闪电战

2) kick-off [5kik-Cf] n. 开始

3) anticipated [An5tisipeitid] a.期望的

4) sequel [5si:kwEl] n. 续集，续编

5) wrap [rAp] v. 包装的

6) columnist [5kClEmnist] n. 专栏作家

7) line up 排列，安排

8) break through 打破，突破

9) clutter [5klQtE] n. 混乱

10) backfire [bAk5faiE(r)] n. 相反作用

11) avalanche [5AvE7lB:nF] n. 雪崩，崩落