Superbrands 2004 - Brand Autopsy

ENTERTAINMENT
Superbrands
2003, slipping just 1% from the record $9.52 bil-
mega partner deals. Marketers feel as if studios
lion of the prior year. Spending on advertising
are signing on anyone and everyone, and wor-
by major studios, meanwhile, rose to $3.3 billion,
ry their brands are getting lost in the shuffle
up $200 million from the prior year with the aver-
(and, as a result, at 99-Cent stores.) Studios are
age price for making and marketing a film rising
becoming more conscious of this and trying
to a whopping $100 million.
to resist the temptation to take on a half dozen
For studio marketers, the high costs make it
or more promotional partners per picture.
imperative to find promotional partners with
Warner Bros. reaped gains last year on its over-
ready cash and to deftly satisfy businesses with
hyped Matrix movies, but learned that brands
different objectives. Merging art with commerce
and filmmakers sometimes don’t mix. It inten-
will always pose a challenge, but heading off
tionally lined up only three partners—Pepsi,
potential problems is easier for those who bring
Kraft and Amtrak—for The Polar Express, its
everyone, and their ideas, to the table early on.
November 2004 tentpole.
“We’re making an effort to come up with cre-
Hollywood execs are also getting
ative in the beginning; sitting with our film-
more proactive in pitch meetings
makers and companies we want to tie in with and
with brand partners. Instead of
saying, ‘Can we do this? Is this the way we want
going in and outlining a film’s
to go?’” said Erin Corbett, svp-domestic promotions
for Warner Bros. Pictures, the top
grossing studio with $1.6 billion in box office
The color of money: Shrek 2 renews
the jolly green franchise.
plot, Corbett and Louise Soper,
vp-national promotions, are armed
with storyboards and specifics for
last year. “We hypothetically all sign off on this 18 months in brand tie-ins and other tools to get the creative
advance, so why not deal with it upfront to help avoid these issues juices flowing. “They’re really responding to it,”
from coming up later?”
Soper said. “Even if it’s not something they end up
While flashy tie-ins abound, brands are getting fed up with using, it gets them to see how a film partnership could work.” B
www.brandweek.com JUNE 21, 2004 S41