Marketing to Moviegoers

3 Paid Media Advertising

 

I know that half of my advertising budget is being wasted, I just don’t know which half.

John Wanamaker

A famous retailing mogul uttered the preceding pithy statement more than a century ago, and the statement still has relevance to the movie business today. Film distributors sense they are overspending but can’t quite figure out where, which makes them reluctant to institute cuts.

Spurred by competitive pressures and a buoyant business climate, movie marketing expenses skyrocketed a startling 28% per film for Hollywood’s major studios in 2003, according to the trade group the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). That percentage encompasses buying ads, costs of creating ads, publicity, promotion, and making ...