A Z of The Entertainment Marketing

a-z
CONTENTS
a ANALYZE, ANALYZE, ANALYZE

by Klara Gavran P6
b BLOCKBUSTER PHENOMENON
by Klara Malnar P12
c CINEMAS, ARE THEY DYING?

by Klara Malnar P17
d DID YOU KNOW?

by Irma Jakić P22
e ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING IN 2019

by Klara Malnar P27
f FAMOUS CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS
by Irma Jakić P30
g GO BIG OR GO HOME
by Irma Jakić P31
h HOLLYWOOD VS BOLLYWOOD
by Klara Malnar P35
i I WANT TO THANK THE ACADEMY…AND MY

CAMPAIGN STRATEGIST
by Klara Malnar P38
j JOYS OF DIGITALIZATION
by Klara Gavran P43
k KEEPING UP WITH THE STREAMING SERVICES

by Klara Gavran P47
l LEANING INTO SOCIAL LISTENING

by Klara Gavran P51
m MUSICIANS TO ACTORS AND VICE VERSA
by Irma Jakić P60
n NOT YOUR AVERAGE MARKETING CAMPAIGN
by Klara Gavran P62
o OFF-CAMERA: ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY BY

THE DOLLAR
by Irma Jakić P71
p PR NIGHTMARE, BUT LONG OVERDUE

by Iva Anušić P75
q QUICK FIX
by Iva Anušić P79
r RAZZIES
by Irma Jakić P88
s SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON THE

ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
by Klara Malnar P90
t THE COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: HOW CAN
STREAMING SERVICES BENEFIT
by Klara Gavran P96
u USER-GENERATED CONTENT
by Klara Malnar P99
v VIEWER’S CHOICE
by Klara Gavran P103
w WHAT ABOUT FILM FESTIVALS?

by Klara Malnar P105
x X FACTOR
by Irma Jakić P111
y YHBT (YOU HAVE BEEN TROLLED) CULTURE

by Iva Anušić P113
z ZOMBIES
by Irma Jakić P116
a
ANALYZE, ANALYZE, ANALYZE
“Pay attention to what the people and the start a few months, half a year, or even a whole
press are talking about. Recognize year in advance.

emerging trends in conversations, what The way social listening can be useful during
seems to be the thing attracting the most this period is by tracking its success. As our
attention or causing disinterest or even ebook Media Analytics For Marketers explains,
outrage.” there are three parts to keeping track of your
promotional activities using media monitoring:
before, during and after the campaign.
Klara Gavran
C ollection and interpretation of data are Before the campaign: create a
crucial in any marketing activity - from unique campaign tag

market research to campaign analysis. As media monitoring tools work by tracking
In this chapter, we’ll mainly focus on the keywords, creating a tagline or a hashtag
importance of tracking promotional activities. unique to your campaign ensures all

mentions appearing in your feed would be
Promotion is a big part of any entertainment
campaign-related. It’s fairly easy for any
project - be it a movie, TV show or an album
entertainment project. Take movies for
release. As any promotional campaign, it is
example. The very name of the movie can
meant to build awareness, create buzz and
become a hashtag as well as the movie
generate interest of the target audience.
tagline. Avengers Endgame, for instance,
It is not out of the ordinary for the campaign to heavily relied on the hashtag
a ANALYZE, ANALYZE, ANALYZE 7
#AvengersEndgame, using it in every social establishing them right away eases the
media post during the campaign. However, process later on.
another tagline caught on - “avenge the fallen”
- following their posters featuring the fallen During the campaign: keeping track
Avengers and those that lived. These were
of online chatter & reacting to it
taglines most closely related to the movie, and
The best way to keep track of online chatter is
ones that could have been easily traceable by
to sort mentions into categories. For
media monitoring tools, ensuring a better
instance, Mediatoolkit allows you to separate
mention quality.
and group mentions by different factors using
Before you launch your campaign, you’ll want
tags or collections.
to know which keywords to track, so
Source: Official Avengers Instagram Account

Let’s start more broadly by separating the and you care. Award the positive mentions
media outlets and consumer mentions. That with your attention - the audience will love
way, you can have a more organized insight it.
into what the media and the fans, respectively,
Don’t ignore the mentions with negative
are saying about your campaign.
sentiment, though.
Then, you can group campaign mentions by
Rather, address the possible issues head-
positive or negative sentiment or actors who
on. Did the audience react negatively to a part
play in a movie. You can group them by
of your campaign, did one of your actors or
different taglines (if you have more than one),
actresses cause negative press, did a leaked
to see which one resulted in more
TV show plot cause outrage over the direction
engagement.
the show is going? These are all things you
By grouping mentions, you can have a more have to know are happening and which you
comprehensive insight into your have to address as soon as possible.
campaign.
By reacting promptly to both positive and
When going through your campaign mentions, negative mentions, you take control of the
pay attention to what the people and the press narrative.
are talking about. Recognize emerging
trends in conversations, what seems to be After the campaign: analyze the
the thing attracting the most attention or results
causing disinterest or even outrage. What was the campaign outcome? Was it
Most importantly, once you do recognize ways successful or not? Media monitoring metrics
people and press engage with your project - provide you with an insight into the return on
engage in conversations yourself. your investment.
Don’t be a passive observer Few of the most important metrics are as

follows:
Look for opportunities to insert yourself in
online conversations. Interact with the fans Reach or the number of people your
over social media, respond to their tags and campaign has reached. Media monitoring tools
comments and tweets - show you see them give you data on the total number of mentions
your campaign had, as well as the total Sentiment analysis

number of impressions. Additionally, for each Sentiment analysis is important for figuring out
specific campaign mention, you have access the impact your campaign had. While the
to metrics like interactions (the number of reach is an important metric to take into
people who’ve liked, shared, commented on a account, it doesn’t tell you much by itself -
post), engagement rate (percentage of other than how many people saw your
people who interacted with the mention via campaign efforts.
comments, share, likes, etc.) and
Sentiment analysis, on the other
influence score (a score of 1 hand, offers you an insight
to 10, indicating how into the way people
influential the source is responded to your
compared to any other promotional activities.
source on the internet). It breaks the campaign
down into positive
Mention spikes
and negative
Media monitoring tools mentions. Thus, by
also offer you an insight looking at the positive-
into how your mentions negative sentiment ratio, you
Source: Mediatoolkit’s
Sentiment Chart
performed over time, thus discover if the campaign was received
indicating when there was a spike in mentions, positively or negatively, and in what
i.e. when your keywords were mentioned far percentage. Likewise, you’ll have insight into
more than usual for the observed period of both positive and negative mentions, so you’ll
time. You can find out what caused more know exactly what caused the approval and
engagement among the audience by looking what caused the disapproval. Again, making it
into the mentions on peak days. Was it a something to take note of for the next
certain aspect of the campaign - a new trailer, campaign.
a theme song release, something an actor
posted? By looking into what caused a bigger Channel dominance
engagement, you can take note of it for future This metric refers to the social media
campaigns. platforms’ performance and is great for
evaluating your channel strategy. According to and making sure your investment was
the data on how each channel performed, you worthwhile, you need to set up your analysis
need to take note of which channels are you strategy from the very beginning. The end
currently using and are they still profitable, results analysis is important, but to best
which channels you need to add, and which understand it, you have to keep track of your
channels do you need to remove from your campaign process from beginning to the
strategy? end.
After all, results don’t come from focusing on

every available social media channel, but rather
from focusing your energy on a few platforms
with the biggest impact.
Analyze, analyze, analyze
Marketing campaign analysis is an all-

encompassing venture. For the best results
Source: Mediatoolkit
Create brand
reports in
24/7 mention minutes
monitoring for
100+ million online
sources
Analyze mentions
and find brand
influencers
Receive real-time
mention alerts
Fast, affordable and simple for everyone to use.
SIGN UP FOR FREE

b
BLOCKBUSTER PHENOMENON
“Movie studios spend an average of $30 Let’s dive into the process of creating and
million to market the typical PG-13 action marketing blockbuster films and see what it
film in the U.S.” takes for success!
How does a movie become a

Klara Malnar
blockbuster?
B
efore we begin, let’s define what a In 2018, Verdict spoke to advertising insiders in
blockbuster movie specifically means: the movie industry to find out.
“A blockbuster is a Hollywood movie that's
According to experts they talked with, there
made with a large budget and big stars. A
are 9 steps - finding a budget, deciding who
true blockbuster is extremely popular and
to market to, creating the first trailer, creating
brings in a lot of money.”
accompanying assets, dissemination, gauging
Okay, so Hollywood, large budget, big stars, the reaction to the first trailer, keep advertising,
popular and lots of money. junkets/interviews/clips, rinsing and repeating
for the DVD release.
At first glance, it could look fairly simple to
create a blockbuster. Especially when it We’re going to follow the Verdict’s steps and
comes to marketing. examine how the process works.
“Why do Avengers need tons of money spent Finding a budget

on marketing when everybody around the
According to Verdict, a few things are
world knows about the franchise?” - you may
important here. In order to define the budget,
wonder.
b BLOCKBUSTER PHENOMENON 13
you need to have a clear understanding of marketing accounts for an average of 29%.
what type of movie you actually have on your Also, on the basis of his dataset, he debunked
hands (independent, art…). To figure that out, a myth that marketing a Hollywood movie can
you need to hold screenings for industry cost up to twice the cost of the film’s budget.
insiders, cinema bookers, etc. in order to
collect their feedback. That feedback is used Deciding who to market to
to estimate the film’s lifetime box office gross
Who’s your target audience?
and size of its release. After you collect and
analyze all of this data, you can set a budget Hint: everybody is not an answer.
for advertising. According to Neurostar, movie Red Rock Entertainment Ltd. cites Star Wars
studios spend an average of $30 million to and Paranormal Activity as two examples of
market the typical PG-13 action film in the U.S. good audience targeting. Star Wars
Stephen Follows analyzed 29 Hollywood encompassed everyone, no matter the age,
blockbusters who cost more than $100 million gender, or where someone lives. Paranormal
to make and concluded that out of the total activity, on the other hand, had an extremely
costs that involved making and selling a movie, narrow niche that was interested in seeing the
The best blockbusters ever, source: Shortlist

movie. However, both are box-office Verdict writes that the agency that did work for
successes and are known worldwide. Deadpool 2 created around 600 individual
assets for all the markets around the world.
In order to realize who’s your target audience,
you need to know why your film is unique and A year ago, Rotten Tomatoes created a list of
worth watching, refine the concept of the film, 10 killer marketing campaigns, and it’s full of
conduct research to find out where your target creative approaches. For example, to promote
audience is, and finally, refining the collected Inception, the studio created a game that
data and testing. ultimately unlocked the movie trailer.
To promote the first Deadpool movie, the

Creating the first trailer
studio used parody posters, custom emojis, a
According to Verdict, all the trailer has to do is feud with Wolverine (and Hugh Jackman), a
to get as many people as possible to think “I costume reveal via the faux-nude spread and a
want to see that film”. Furthermore, the trailer flaming bag of a poop yule log, to name a few.
doesn’t have to be true to the plot or any
Accompanying assets are important as they
particular elements of the film, but only if the
can reach a vast number of people through
people approving the trailer agree with that.
social media mainly, and arouse the curiosity of
Also, there are myriad ways you can make the the ones who otherwise wouldn’t check out
trailer. It can be linear (or not), you can tell little the movie in the cinema.
with it (or a lot)... There aren’t any strict rules.
Disseminating the trailer and posters
Website Looper writes that film trailers evolved
tremendously over the years, and are still Did you know that Walt Disney spent more
continuing to change. Also, the site published than three years promoting “Tron: Legacy?”
a list of the most epic trailers of all time.
Well, according to the New York Times, the
practice of creating long promotional
Creating accompanying assets
campaigns is no more. In this day and age,
The trailer alone is not enough. You need to people don’t like to wait and want things “right
have additional content that you’ll be able to away” so promotional campaigns are usually
use to engage your audience and motivate shortened to four or five months for major
them to check out your film. movie releases such as Avengers.
But, a shorter campaign doesn’t mean less. People were mortified with scenes of actors
On the contrary. NYT writes that the promotion being CGI-ed into cats. The controversy soon
of the latest Avengers movie “Endgame” went viral, and reactions were not what the
started late, but the advertising bombardment director Tom Hooper expected.
was aggressive.
We’re going to talk about the social media
When it comes to advertising budget impact on movies later on in this ebook.
allocation, Neurostar’s study showed that Anna Zaikina pointed out to Verdict that
digital media drove 46% of movie box office reactions to first trailers are informative
revenue, despite making up just 14% of studio because, based on that input, they can
marketing budgets, while TV accounted for change the campaign in order to influence
82% of marketing budgets and was more positive reactions. Also, they can let the
responsible for driving just 42% of media- studio know which parts to include/exclude in
driven box office revenue. the next trailers.
Anna Zaikina, head of social insights at DMS, Zaikina says that on-going social media
described Verdict their social media strategy. tracking is essential for identifying any crises or
They use native platform analytics and social negative publicity very early on and reacting to
media listening tools to understand when them in a timely manner.
account followers and people talking about

certain titles are online and are likely to Keep advertising
engage. That way they can understand more
Just keep advertising. Just keep advertising.
about behavioral patterns and interests of a
Also, learn from your previous mistakes and
particular segment they’re interested in.
keep creating a buzz.
Gauge reaction to the first trailer

Junkets, interviews, and clips
Have you seen the movie “Cats”? Better yet,
This is the part where the stars of the movie
have you seen the first trailer of the movie
step in.
“Cats”? After the first trailer aired, social media
was on fire. According to Film Threat, there are a couple of
ways they can promote their own movies.
Interviews - they are a great way to spread Most of these steps can be applied to every
information about the upcoming movie. Movie movie marketing campaign, and it doesn’t
stars can go on (late-night) talk shows, talk to matter that many don’t have blockbuster
magazines and newspapers, they can do budgets to begin with.
YouTube interviews, the list goes on. The point
is to reveal a tiny bit of the plot to keep the
audience interested. Unless you’re watching
Mark Ruffalo that is. Then the chances are you
might get your movie spoiled.
Social media - these days, social media is

inevitable. When casting actors for the role,
studios are taking into account the social
media following a certain actor has. But, what
a better way for actors to spread the word
about new movies than on their highly followed
social media accounts?
Teasers and posters - sometimes those two

intertwine and are great for generating interest
in movies.
Rinse and repeat for the DVD release
Verdict writes that once a film is out and the

marketing cycle finishes, then it’s time to do it
all over again. This time for the DVD release!
And that’s that! Creative thinking, relying on the

data, listening to your audience are just a
couple of things essential to implement to get
a successful marketing campaign.
c
CINEMAS, ARE THEY DYING?
“On the question about whether there's a whether we can draw conclusions from both
future in theater for anything besides perspectives.
blockbusters, the answers in part seemed
grim. Most of the answers had a common B.C. - before Coronavirus
thread which is the acknowledgment of the
Last year, the New York Times gathered some
dramatic change happening in the last few
of the top Hollywood names to discuss what
years and the urgency to act on it.”
the next 10 years will look like for movies. They
also talked about the future of theaters.
Klara Malnar Here are the main takeaways:
I
n normal times (i.e. not in the midst of a On the question about whether there's a
global pandemic), this would be a much future in theater for anything besides
blockbusters, the answers in part seemed
easier topic to cover. And many did cover it.
grim. Most of the answers had a common
But now, I can’t help but wonder if all that was
thread which is the acknowledgment of the
written before the pandemic applies now.
dramatic change happening in the last few
How much damage will Coronavirus, along
years and the urgency to act on it.
with existing archenemies such as streaming
On the question of the importance of the
services who are thriving right now, cause to
theatrical release, many mentioned the
cinemas around the world?
dilemma they face when deciding whether to
opt for theatrical release or to go to the
Let’s analyze what was said before the
streaming services directly. Some movies that
pandemic, what is said right now, and see
C CINEMAS, ARE THEY DYING? 18
weren’t successful in the theatre became Also, predicting the death of cinemas based
popular later when aired on the TV or on the box office revenue trends may not be
streaming services. the best thing to do since, as Forbes describes
it, it’s a “consistently inconsistent” variable.
In early February of 2020, Forbes published an
article that focused on 7 reasons to be Let’s look at the seven reasons Forbes noted
optimistic about cinemas (Hollywood) in 2020. to be signs for optimism:
Yikes!
Attendance isn’t as bad as it’s being made
out to be - as the article points out if we look
In the article, it says that even with all the
at the big picture, the drop in the cinema
streaming services, and the fact that in 2019
attendance was only 11% in the last 12 years.
box office was down 4.2%, there’s a place for
On the other hand, automobile sales dropped
optimism if you dig deeper into the numbers
40% in the same period, but no one is painting
and trends. The article highlights that the
car buying as something that’s dying.
cinema isn’t dying, but rather it’s evolving.
Source: Europa Cinemas

Global Box Office and Global Attendance the engine by which success or failure of a film
hit all-time highs in 2019 - when reporting will be measured. The decision to premiere a
about the movie-going, the media often film on a streaming channel instead of
focuses on domestic attendance (USA) but thousands of cinema screens around the world
doesn’t look at the global scale. The article will not be made lightly.
points out a significant growth potential in
The dissipation of CapEx - yes, cinema
places like Africa and the Middle East.
chains should continue upgrading their
A return to the studio quality - studios are theaters to constantly improve the experience
finally realizing that artistic success and box for moviegoers. But, in 2020 their capital
office success can co-exist. expenditures should be a bit more reasonable.
The 800-pound gorilla loses some weight

A.C. - After Coronavirus
in 2020 - meaning, in 2020 Disney won’t have
the big guns such as the Avengers movie, Will theatres survive Coronavirus? Vanity Fair
Pixar sequel or Star Wars entry as it did in wondered the same. They write that the first
2019. That means spreading the wealth in the thing that happened after the outbreak is that
industry. a bunch of blockbusters got postponed. Black
Widow, Mulan, No Time to Die, A Quiet Place:
2020 is off and running - the box office in
Part 2, New Mutants, F9… All postponed, and
January ended up being 11% in plus. The
the estimated box office revenue for those
movie Bad Boys for life grossed $73 million in
movies was $1 billion.
the domestic opening weekend and it has
become the highest nono-expansion January As was hinted in the Forbes article, Vanity Fair
release in history. also states that 2020 was supposed to be a
comeback year. That’s hardly true anymore.
The threat of the collapse of “Windows”
seems to be subsiding - it’s no news that Something that might hint the changes that’ll
streaming services are trying to shrink the happen A.C. is the fact that Universal will
theatrical window. The article poses a question release its animated adventure comedy Trolls
of whether this will matter after the studios World Tour in theatres that are still open at the
start to debut their streaming services. But, the same time as on streaming services which will
article also points out that theaters will remain close the previously discussed theatrical
window. For theatres that window is still encouraging is that the audience attendance
important as it provides 40% of the revenue for grew higher than any other decade before and
theatres from the box office. after.
On the other hand, BBC paints a rather Even though the Coronavirus situation is much
optimistic picture for the future of cinema more complicated than the “Spanish flu” was
despite the pandemic by looking at the difficult from the standpoint of business (today, all
historic events and how cinema survived. cinemas are closed, film festivals postponed,
all filming halted), BBC points out that if we’re
For example, a “Spanish flu” pandemic that
to judge from history - cinemas always adapt
happened a century ago.
and bounce back. Being forced to watch
movies indoors for months may motivate
BBC states that when the flu hit, cinemas
people to go to cinemas after all this is over.
closed around the world but not in the same
way as today because municipal governments
To conclude
in most had been responsible for making
orders. Those orders didn’t come lightly, For me personally, going to movie theatres is
especially in the UK. The British government something of a tradition. I love going to the
actually saw cinemas as being essential for cinema and love the experience. I’m excited to
public well-being (and propaganda). watch movies in theatres and usually go to see
them in the first week of their release if I’m able
Interestingly, the open theatres had to be
to. Watching a movie on the TV or laptop
ventilated for 30 minutes every three hours,
(never have I ever watched a movie on a
children were banned from entering, and all
phone, I’m not crossing that line) is OK, but
carpets were removed. Some were showing a
I’m not as focused on the movie as I am in the
15-minute public information film.
theatre.
BBC notes that at that time the film industry
Judging by the expert information compiled in
was impacted but it didn’t suffer overall but
this article, the answer to the question in the
rather changed shape. Many small companies
title is - no. Cinemas are not dying. Just as
went out of business, and the bigger
radio didn’t kill newspapers, and TV didn’t kill
companies became even bigger resulting in
radio, streaming services (and Coronavirus) will
studios that we have now. What’s more
not kill cinema. It’ll change the cinema, but it

won’t kill it. And change is not always a bad
thing, right?
d
Di d yo u k
n ow ?
?
500 hours of video

are being uploaded
on YouTube every
minute.
Source
The most pirated film of all time is Avatar.

It was illegally downloaded over 21 million
times.
Source
The first celebrity to be pictured on the

cover of Vogue Magazine was Madonna,
in 1989.
Source
23
?
5,902 book titles

are being published
every day.
Source
On average, people spend 18 hours

a week listening to music.
Source
89% of people listen to music

through on-demand streaming.
Source
24
?
The movie Titanic

cost more than the
ship itself.
Source
Bollywood produces twice as many

films a year as Hollywood.
Source
The highest grossing animated film of

all-time is The Lion King (2019).
Source
25
?
The Oscar trophy

costs $1 and it’s
forbidden to resell it.
Source
There’s a Starbucks cup in every

Fight Club scene.
Source
?
Video Killed The Radio Star by the
Buggles was the 1st music video
shown on MTV.
Source
26
e
t i nd u s t in 2019
e n ry
nm
i
ta
er
Ent
Virtual alternatives
Since everything in the world is canceled right now (and probably will
be for some time), marketers have to rethink, adjust, and move all of
their campaignings online. Strengthen your social media efforts and try
to engage with your consumers through the content (e.g. live stream
interviews, Q&As…).
Source: Marketing Week
Influencers
Luckily, there’s no shortage of influencers when it comes to the

entertainment industry. You can integrate this point with the previous
one for great results.
Source: Econsultancy
Think like a fan
Think of something you’re a fan of and ask yourself: “What would I like
to see from “XY”? And do it!
Source: StoryFit
28
Artificial Intelligence
The Drum writes: “Deep learning can digest, asses and contextualize
unstructured data quickly to derive actionable insights.” Data is king.
Use it!
Source: The Drum
29
f
FAMOUS CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS
“80s were a game changing period for on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial. But,
celebrity endorsements.” Jackson decided not to sue and instead urged
Pepsi to build a burn center in the hospital
where he was treated so the incident ended
Irma Jakić with a silver lining.
But, to take your mind off this story - we’ll
B
ig sponsorship deals between remind you of a less grandiose sponsorship
companies and celebrities is and one of everyone’s favorite example of a
something we’re all used to. But the 1980s funny endorsement.
were a game changing period for celebrity
It happened in 2010 when Kim Kardashian
endorsement when two most famous MJs in
teamed up with Charmin toilet to promote
the world - Jackson and Jordan - became
their public restrooms followed by the
faces for big brands that way starting the
statement that “During the holiday shopping
era of co-branding and integrated
season” she was “happy to join Charmin as
marketing that lasts to this day. Jackson
they give the gift of restrooms near Times
included his music into Pepsi commercials
Square.” Well, it is a very crucial gift.
and Jordan used his basketball talent to team
up with Nike in making the still very popular But, hey, money is money and promotion is
Air Jordan’s, the first branded shoe. promotion - good or bad - and celebrities
definitely know that.
Though Jordan’s and Nike’s partnership went
pretty well, Jackson and Pepsi had an
incident in 1984 when the singer’s hair went
30
g
music & movies
m e
h o
go
Go bi g o r
The most profitable low-budget
movies ever
Paranormal activity The Blair Witch Mad Max

(2007) Project (1999) (1979)
Budget: $15,000 Budget: $60,000 Budget: $200,000

Box office: $193M+ Box office: $248M+ Box office: $99M+
Profit: 1,289,000% Profit: 414,300% Profit: 49,800%
Source: DigitalSpy
The most expensive movies

ever
Pirates of the
Spider-Man 3 – $294
Caribbean: On Stranger Titanic – $295 million
million
Tides – $378.5 million
Source: Showbizz CheatSheet
32
Highest paid actors in
2019
Dwayne Johnson Chris Hemsworth Robert Downey Jr.

$89.4 million $76.4 million $66 million
Source: Forbes
Highest paid actresses in

2019
Jennifer Aniston Kaley Cuoco Elisabeth Moss

$28 million $25 million $24 million
Source: USA Today
33
Biggest selling music albums
ever and number of copies sold
Eagles - Their Greatest Michael Jackson - Eagles - Hotel

Hits (1971-1975) Thriller California
36 million 33 million 26 million
Source: Business Insider
Highest paid musicians in

2019
Taylor Swift Kanye West Ed Sheeran

$185 million $150 million $110 million
Source: Forbes
34
h
HOLLYWOOD VS BOLLYWOOD
“Bollywood produces more movies in a featured movie made in Bollywood was Raja
year than Hollywood.” Harishchandra in 1913. But, some say that the
Indian movie industry started long before that
in 1899 with silent films. As for Bollywood, its
Klara Malnar Golden age began around the 1950s and
lasted for over a decade. In that period, many
L
et’s begin this chapter with a little Indian iconic movie stars, producers and
history lesson. directors emerged, and their legacy can still be

seen in Bollywood movies.
To be precise, how did Hollywood become

Hollywood and how did Bollywood become Differences between Hollywood and
Bollywood. Bollywood
In 1910, In Old California was the first movie There are some of the key differences between
made entirely in Hollywood, and the next year the two:
the first studio appeared on Sunset
A single Bollywood movie will encompass a
Boulevard. Soon after, a Golden Age of
bunch of genres. Meaning in one movie
Hollywood began - large studios know as “Big
you’ll get comedy, horror, drama, romance,
Five” emerged, Hollywood movies and movie
etc. Meanwhile, Hollywood movies will
stars became internationally known, and
usually be focused on one subject.
some of the best movies were made in that
Hollywood uses a lot of technology and
era.
special effects in the process of
On the other side of the planet, the first moviemaking, while that’s not the case in
h HOLLYWOOD VS BOLLYWOOD 36
Bollywood. In 2019, Dwayne The Rock Johnson was the

Bollywood movies are much longer (around highest-paid actor with earnings of $89.4
3 hours) than Hollywood ones. million, while the highest-paid actress was
Bollywood produces more movies in a year Scarlett Johanson with $56 million.
than Hollywood.
Bollywood, on the other hand, had $2.83
Hollywood is the highest-grossing film
billion in revenue. The interesting thing is that
industry, while Bollywood is grossing
there are 2.2 billion Bollywood movie tickets
comparatively less.
sold annually throughout the country!
Bollywood movies are typically based on
Indian culture, real-life stories and issues, Akshay Kumar is the highest-paid actor in
while Hollywood movies cover a wide range India with total earnings of $65 million from
of topics. June 2018 to June 2019. The highest-paid
Many Bollywood movies are inspired by actress in Bollywood was Kangana Ranaut
Hollywood ones. with $26 million in earnings.
Let’s talk money! Bollywood remakes of Hollywood

movies
We’ve already mentioned that Hollywood is the
highest-grossing film industry, but let’s break While researching this topic, I came across a
down those earnings in detail. fun article that analyzed Hollywood and
Bollywood movie pairings. And apparently,
Last year, Yahoo! Finance analyzed which film
there’s quite a few of them.
industry earns the most. They analyzed the
Cinema of China, Hollywood, and Bollywood, Hitch (2005) and Partner (2007)
but we’re going to focus on the bottom two According to the author, Partner is by far the
only. most obvious remake out there:
By the end of 2019 Hollywood was estimated “Both feature a “cool guy” who fixes up a “not-
to earn $50.9 billion. Two years prior, in 2017, so-cool guy” with the girl of his dreams even
the Marvel Cinematic Universe was though she’s way out of his league, while
responsible for $9.8 billion in box-office simultaneously falling in love himself.”
revenue alone.
He even mentions some scenes that looked
h HOLLYWOOD VS BOLLYWOOD 37
identical. The movies were so similar, that

there was almost a lawsuit filed against the
filmmakers!
Check out the rest of the article here!

i
I WANT TO THANK THE ACADEMY…AND MY

CAMPAIGN STRATEGIST
“Serious Oscar campaigning started in nominated.”

1967 when Arthur Jacobs, a producer- Sure.
publicist, persuaded Fox to throw festive
parties on behalf of the musical Doctor
Here’s how it all started
Dolittle.”
Peter Bart in his piece for Deadline writes that
the actress Mary Pickford began it all in 1929
Klara Malnar when her rival Janet Gaynor won the first Best
Actress Oscar. The next year she threw a
T
lavish dinner party and won the Oscar.
he road to the Oscars is quite simple,
right? You make a great movie, people But, according to Bart and his historian friend
watch it, they like it, you get nominated, you Timothy Gray, serious Oscar campaigning
(maybe) win an Oscar and you live happily started in 1967 when Arthur Jacobs, a
ever after. The End. producer-publicist, persuaded Fox to throw

festive parties on behalf of the musical Doctor
Well, it turns out that the road to Oscars is
Dolittle. The musical didn’t impress critics, but
much more complex than that.
it was nominated for eight Oscars and won
Vox compared campaign for an Oscar to one.
campaigning for public office but with a twist.
Three decades after, in 1999, when
The twist is if you campaign for the Oscars,
Shakespeare in Love (read: Harvey Weinstein)
you should pretend to be chill about the whole
stole the Oscar away from Saving Private
thing.
Ryan, Bart says that Oscar gamesmanship
“You know, it’s an honor just to be
i I WANT TO THANK THE ACADEMY…AND MY CAMPAIGN STRATEGIST 39
took on a new dimension (read: smear Studios pick their candidates based on the
campaigns). “electability”, and the most important factor
is the Oscar-worthiness narrative around the
Modern campaigns film
Oscar campaigns are calculated steps on
Vox writes that according to the 2017 New
the path to the Oscars - reflecting values,
Yorker story, modern Oscar campaigns run as
aligning candidate with a viable archetype,
high as $15 million!
campaign events, endorsements, even
Now here’s where the similarities with playing a little dirty
campaigning for the public office, according to The point is to craft a belief in voter’s minds
Vox, step in: that not only the movie could win, but
Oscar campaign needs as much money and should
the influence that it can indirectly buy

(meaning: events, endorsements, The voters
advertising) Who are those voters campaigns are aiming
Source: Deadline
at? How does the voting process work? (Oscar-friendly films tend to come out late in
the year).
According to Digital Spy, there are 7,000
Academy members, all film-industry Follows states that studios budget for their
professionals, who are allowed to vote. Voting Oscar campaigns in two phases: the first
is done in branches for each category (e.g. phase is to get nominated and the second
Actors branch votes to nominate in all four one is winning the awards.
acting categories). The only categories that
He also notes that the exact split of the costs
have rules about who gets the nomination are
between two phases varies per film, but overall
Best Picture and the four acting categories
56% of the budget is spent on the first phase,
because they are voted for by the largest
and the rest in the second phase.
number of people. You need over 100 votes to
get the nomination.
Joaquin Phoenix: his own campaign
And how does one win? strategist
Digital Spy says that once everyone votes, In 2012, when he was nominated for the best
auditing firm PwC uses a very complex actor for the movie The Master, Joaquin
weighting system to measure the results and Phoenix called Oscar campaigning “total,
determine the five nominees for each category. utter bullshit” and said he doesn’t want to be a
When that’s done, all members get to vote part of it. After that, The Hollywood Reporter
across all categories. wondered if the “anti-campaigning” is the new
campaigning and whether this will cost
How’s it done? Phoenix his Oscar. Well, Phoenix didn’t win the
Oscar that year, but he did win one eight years
How do the studios influence voters?
later.
Writer and producer Stephen Follows note that
And he was the strategist of his own “Oscar
influencing includes:
campaign”.
Showing the film (screenings, on preview
This time, he did all the usual Oscar campaign
DVDs and via private VOD), Advertising,
stops, but he used his platform to highlight
Direct marketing, PR and lobbying, and
some of the causes he’s passionate about. In
Moving the film’s public release date
every acceptance speech he gave, he used
that time to point out what’s wrong in the You would think if studios are spending
world, and what should be fixed. For instance, around $15 million for their Oscar campaigns
in his Oscar speech, he talked about animal that there must be a great ROI for them. That
rights. On Golden Globes he talked about was true before, but recently it turns out that
climate change. On BAFTA awards he called the power of the Oscars (or so-called Oscar
out systematic racism in the acting bump) is fading.
community.
Last year, the LA Times wrote that many in the
These are not the type of speeches you hear in film industry are starting to increasingly
the award shows. The fact that he has put question the economic and cultural value of
himself and his success aside in those the awards. But, the reason behind the
moments to highlight various issues is worthy studios’ decision to continue spending the big
of applause alone. bucks is due to their fresh competition -
Netflix. There were rumors that Netflix spent a
Finally, are Oscar campaigns worth it? whopping $100 million for their Oscar
Source: HappyMag
campaigns for The Irishman and The marriage

story. Netflix is denying those rumors.
But, it seems that Netflix is the only one who

currently benefits from the Oscars campaigns.
As per the LA Times, the reason why Netflix is

aiming at the Oscars is not that they want to
attract viewers or boost the box office. Netflix
wants to boost its brand and convince more
top-tier filmmakers to make movies and TV
shows for them.
The rise of streaming services forced major film

studios to change a lot of their established
practices, Oscar campaigning being one of
them. It’s going to be interesting to watch how
the future of Oscar campaigning will look like
with new players stepping in the game.
j
JOYS OF DIGITALIZATION
“According to research by PwC, virtual before the first digital transformation.

reality and OTT video are the ones that will I say first because the entertainment industry
be seeing the biggest annual growth by has already undergone that one
2023.” transformation, but is also currently undergoing
a second one.
Klara Gavran In fact, by 2023, revenues for the global

entertainment and media industry are expected
to reach 2.6 trillion dollars and every year
digital revenues account for a larger share of
W
e’ve talked a lot about the
that revenue. By 2023, it is expected that
importance of digitalization and
digital revenues will account for 60% of total
a joint shift towards social media in our
revenue in the entertainment industry.
pharmaceutical marketing ebook. However,
that was not a key turning point specific to Let’s explore how the first digitalization
this one industry only, but rather one that changed and benefited the world of
permeated every industry ever - including entertainment and how it’s changing again, in
entertainment. real-time.
The entertainment industry has come a long

From analog to digital
way and technological advances brought with
it a lot of advantages. It made it possible to Sharper sound, clearer picture, immersive
discover new opportunities for growth, as well experience - all characteristics of today’s films,
as break out of the barriers of the world be it in cinemas or at home.

j JOYS OF DIGITALIZATION 44
Back then having it rain on you as it rained in of downloading or streaming the content you
the movie was unthinkable. Today, 3D and 4D want to consume. Playing video games online,
are par for the course and a far cry from downloading your favorite album, or streaming
analog. And even though, for instance, some the next season of your favorite TV show - all
photographers are returning to film from the comfort of your home.
photography - it’s exactly that, a matter of
artistic choice and not the only option. Second screen experience
That’s exactly where entertainment benefited Enhanced or interactive TV, as are its
from digitalization. It made creating easier and monikers, is exactly what its name suggests.
of higher quality, but also offered creators a It’s a second device you use while watching TV
multitude of choices. - be it a phone, tablet or your laptop. It has
become, among many, a preferred method of
Distribution: easier and cheaper watching TV. It’s a way to pass the time
through uninteresting parts of the program, or
Remember a time when there were such
enhance your TV experience by interacting via
providers like Blockbuster? Remember a time
related apps or social media - learning more
when you had to go to a physical location to
about what you’re watching or sharing your
rent or buy a movie or video game or an
thoughts and commenting on social media
album? If anything, digitalization made
platforms. Networks may provide additional
distribution a lot easier. Now there’s the option
Source: widerfunnel
coverage online, or an app with additional Avengers: Endgame and a remake of the Lion
content. It’s a long way from simply sitting King, among others.
down to watch TV and do nothing else.
The rise of OTT
The technological advances are continuous
and the entertainment has since been steadily Over-the-top (OTT) media service is the
and subtly been improving. But now, there’s a practice of delivering video and other media
new era of digital transformation - one moving content directly to viewers bypassing
towards virtual and augmented reality, artificial intermediaries like cable, satellite or
intelligence, OTT video, among others. broadband. OTT usually refers to streaming
platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+,
According to research by PwC, virtual reality
HBO Go, and Hulu among others. These
and OTT video are the ones that will be seeing
streaming services have especially seen a
the biggest annual growth by 2023.
boost in the last few years, with new platforms
popping up left and right - one of the most
Virtual reality
popular of the latest additions being Disney’s
It snuck into many facets of the entertainment streaming platform Disney+. You can read
industry - from music and movies to video more on the rise of streaming services under
games and museums. Today you can go on a the letter K.
virtual reality tour or even have an enhanced
experience visiting a museum with the help of Artificial intelligence
VR or AR apps.
By using AI, entertainment businesses can
Missing out on your favorite artist’s concert predict consumer behavior by collecting and
due to tickets selling out is no longer an issue, analyzing. This results in personalized content
as many artists (e.g. Lewis Capaldi, Whiz and experience for their consumers. Netflix is a
Khalifa, etc.) employ the use of VR for fine example of using AI for enhanced user
streaming concerts to VR headsets. VR experience. Using AI to predict a user’s movie
gaming is a big, coveted thing nowadays. or TV show choices and offer
Even movies are not exempt from dipping their recommendations is part of their value
toes into VR water. VR filmmaking is more proposition. The same goes for music
present than ever - having been used in streaming services like Spotify which relies on
AI to deliver recommendations and curate

playlists for their users.
And it hasn’t only changed the way we

consume content, but also how we produce it.
For instance, Google’s open-source platform
Magenta project produced songs written and
produced by AI.
Additionally, AI has found purpose in

marketing, too - from chatbots to automating
repetitive tasks that can help content creators
easily deliver content.
And there are many more examples and

there’ll be many more in the future, too, as AI
becomes a staple in the world of
entertainment.
This digital transformation happening in the

media and entertainment industry in general
changes how the content is produced, but
also consume. A lot of emphasis is put on user
experience and engagement. Personalization
and content consumption when and where the
consumers want and on what device is at the
heart of it.
k
KEEPING UP WITH THE STREAMING SERVICES
“Netflix became the jumping-off point for consume media, especially movies and
streaming services. It paved the way for music.Streaming has become a staple in the
Hulu and then all the other streaming way we consume content. Now, we get lost in
services that came after them.” the myriad of streaming services and barely
keep count of how many there are - from the
pioneer Netflix to HBO Go, Hulu, Prime Video,
Klara Gavran Disney Plus, Spotify, Apple TV Plus and Apple
Music. The number of streaming platforms
A
keeps rising.
nother joy of digitalization is streaming
and streaming services. As predicted But how did it all come to be?
by research conducted by PwC, OTT media
How did we go from physically renting movies
service (which mostly refers to streaming) is
to streaming them?
expected to have the second-biggest annual
growth between 2018 and 2023. And it’s
The Netflix origin story
turned out to be true thus far, as streaming
has become widely popular, with new Netflix was launched in 1997 by Reed Hastings
streaming platforms coming out every day, it and Marc Randolph. And even though some
seems like. say Netflix was Hastings’s answer to avoid

paying for Blockbuster’s late fees, the reason
Just a decade or so ago, you’d be hard-
was more business-minded. The duo’s
pressed to find a household without cable or
inspiration came from Amazon as they wanted
satellite TV or radio. Fast forward to today,
a media equivalent to this giant. They started
and there’s a stark difference to how we
by making it possible to rent movies by a click
k KEEPING UP WITH THE STREAMING SERVICES 48
of the mouse and have it delivered home in the off their pedestal and tried getting into the
now-iconic red envelopes. Sometime later, game too late. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.
even though the technology wasn’t quite there
Thus, Netflix became the jumping-off point
yet, they set out to make their idea of
for streaming services. It paved the way for
streaming movies over the internet come to
Hulu and then all the other streaming services
life. Enter Blockbuster, the VHS-selling mogul,
that came after them.
to which Hastings proposed a business deal.
Netflix would become Blockbuster’s streaming Today, there’s a steadily rising number of
service for a cool $50M. Safe on their pedestal streaming services available that one can’t
and still dismissive of the digital media, help but wonder - how many streaming
Blockbuster refused - several times. services are too many?
Hastings remained undeterred and continued As the competition becomes more fierce,
with his pursuit. And he did it very successfully streaming platforms have to fight to keep their
if we look where Netflix is today. Blockbuster, subscribers. To do so, they’re fighting to keep
on the other hand, now has one store left in exclusive rights to older shows and generating
existence.It’s safe to say they’ve been knocked original content.
Iconic red envelopes, source: SecureThoughts

k KEEPING UP WITH THE STREAMING SERVICES 49
And while it’s great that there’s so many old

and new movies and TV shows at viewers’
disposal, it makes you question at what
cost? Paying for one platform was fine, but
having to pay for every single streaming
service just to get to watch that one show is
starting to become - simply put - unaffordable.
How does one choose between all these

platforms then?
It’s all about finding competitive advantage.

What sets one streaming service apart from
another? They have to think about their
unique selling points, and make sure they’re
emphasized as such.
Netflix was built on personalizing its content to

the user, HBO boasts its antiheroes, and
Disney Plus is a family-oriented platform.
It all depends on the user and what is the

unique value they respond to.
Still, is that enough? One streaming platform

cannot possibly satisfy all of the user’s TV-
consuming needs - they’re often too scattered
across the different platforms.
So no, those unique selling points don’t

diminish the issue of developing saturation in
the streaming industry. In fact, it remains to be
seen how long until it drives users to dust off
their pirating hats once again.
Monitor 100+ million online
sources
Use powerful search filters

to fine-tune results
Invite the whole team
Try it out and have a chat with our employees!
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l
LEANING INTO SOCIAL LISTENING
“Social media plays a big role in the audience reactions, and fan engagement.
marketing of the entertainment industry.
Social media analysis, specifically, can Competitor analysis: opening weekend
uncover a sea of relevant information and & sequels
opportunities.”
“The biggest opening weekend ever” is
probably one of the most revered sentences
nowadays in the film industry. After all, a bad
Klara Gavran
opening weekend could mean the movie
S
barely breaks even or doesn’t even make
ocial listening or media monitoring, as
money at all for the studio. And it seems the
it’s otherwise known, has found its
box office records keep rising. It used to be
place in entertainment marketing, too.
that movies hitting below $100 million at the
Nowadays, it’s rarely a case that an industry
box office were considered unsuccessful, but
doesn’t benefit from this practice.
Marvel keeps breaking both the worldwide and
From promotional activities, starting as far as US records. Avengers: Endgame grossed $1.2
a year in advance, to charting plotlines in a TV billion worldwide, and $350 million
show - the benefits for the entertainment domestically, in its opening weekend.
industry are vast.
So, yes, one could argue that an opening
Here, we’ll guide you through 6 ways you weekend is an important event for any movie.
can take advantage of social listening: Likewise, you’d want to affect the opening
competitor analysis, market research, weekend as much as is in your power,
predictions, personal branding, analyzing especially if another movie is set to have the
l LEANING INTO SOCIAL LISTENING 52
same opening weekend as yours. This is lags behind the competition, you know you
where competitor analysis comes in handy. need to take action. You can do it by
boosting promotional activities - releasing
By tracking both your own movie and ones
sneak peeks, another trailer or new posters,
that open on the same weekend, you can see
engaging fans and pulling them into
how each movie performs. Start with the
interaction, using the actors’ influencer and
share of voice metric which shows the share
social media presence. Either way, you need to
of exposure between each movie, which is
identify areas for improvement by
especially important leading up to the opening
benchmarking your online presence with
weekend. You want to see which movie
that of the other movie.
generates a bigger buzz, both among the
audience and the press. If you see your movie
Marvel movies opening weekend box office, source: Good Brothers Digital
Sequels (& TV shows & albums) release, you’d have been able to analyze the
audience’s reactions to it.
If you’ve already used media monitoring for
your movie, that means you have the data that What was their response to the plot, to the
accompanies it. Thusly, you can benchmark characters, to the actors who play in the
that data with the data of the movie’s sequel to movie? Was the sentiment mainly positive or
compare campaign performance results. negative? What was the content of the
Better yet, you can use the first movie’s data to mentions, were they talking about wanting to
improve campaign strategy for the sequel, see the next part of the story, were some even
as well as see which parts of the campaign asking for a sequel?
performed better then and now. You can see if
Maybe you’d even get an insight into what
your efforts to improve the campaign bore
their predictions for the future of the characters
results or not.
were, what would they want to see happen?
This can also be applied to TV series for
It may even happen you weren’t considering a
each new season as well as an artist’s
sequel, but the fan response inspired you to
every new album.
do one.
Additionally, skip to the letter T (The
This analysis of their reactions is a great
competitive analysis: how can streaming
starting point, either way. You can see if there’s
services benefit) for a look into another way
an interest and you can benchmark it against
media monitoring can be used in competitive
your own idea for the next steps.
analysis.
Either way, you’d be able to predict the
Market research: from concept to release response the audience would have to a
sequel.
Media monitoring is a great way to test the
waters for a new project. For example, if
Predictions: box office & awards
you’re thinking about doing a sequel to a
season
movie, a media monitoring tool can help you
get insight into how people might feel Another way to make the most of social
about it.If you’ve been tracking your movie listening is to keep track of the online chatter
during the promotion period and after its surrounding box office and awards predictions.
To get the best results, it’s important to track What exactly is the audience saying - are they
select keywords during and after the praising the movie, the performances, the sets
promotional activities. The period during the or the costume design? Did they love the
campaign is the one that’ll lead you to box score? Are they championing for the movie or
office predictions and the one after will lead actors to receive the recognition they feel they
you to awards predictions. deserve?
For both, the keyword set-up has to be two- These are all important factors to consider
part. when trying to get a feel for the predictions.
The first should be set up to track the

Personal branding: the names behind
official, trustworthy news outlets and
the projects
channels that report on those subjects.
Mediatoolkit allows you to filter your mentions It’s the actors, the singers - the performers that
by the specific source - from websites and make any product of the entertainment
forums to social media profiles and authors industry.
(such as specific reviewers and/or critics).
It’s the face on the screen or the stage - that
The second set-up doesn’t rely on the source sometimes makes the movie, show, an album.
as much, as it does on the general public
Or breaks them.
opinion. You want to know how much your
movie is mentioned, are the mentions Personal brands are extremely important
dominantly positive or negative, but you also when it comes to the entertainment industry.
want to know the content of the mentions. The reputation they bring with themselves can
Keyword set-up for specific source, source: Mediatoolkit

either boost a project image or cause What’s important is to know to keep track of
outrage. these things and stay vigilant while doing so.
Thus, it’s important to keep track of the

Analyzing audience reactions
performers’ online reputation, especially in
the case of predicting and dealing with a PR Social media plays a big role in the marketing
crisis. of the entertainment industry. Social media
analysis, specifically, can uncover a sea of
By simply tracking a performer’s name in
relevant information and opportunities.
association with a project, you can have
real-time insight into people’s reactions to the It’s a place where fans flock to give their
pairing online. You can choose to receive uncensored, blunt opinions regarding
weekly or daily updates by way of alerts everything from movies and TV shows to video
and digests (another feature media games.
monitoring tools offer). There’s even a spike
Social media gave space to the rise of fan
alert that activates when there’s an unusual
bases and stans, offering an insight into how
spike in mentions. It can indicate a scandal is
and what they think and feel. For them, a
on the horizon, or it can mean a positive viral
character or a plotline is not just a character or
content.
a plotline - it’s something they emphasize with
Keyword set-up for performers attached to a project, source: Mediatoolkit

and form an emotional connection to. immediately want to know if the audience’s
response is positive or negative, you can
And they’re what makes or breaks a movie or
do so. If you want to compare the popularity
a TV show.
of certain keywords, you can do so. The
They’re the ones behind the viewership and possibilities for analysis are endless.
the ratings, and often enough, they hold the
This kind of audience reaction analysis
power.
especially resonates with TV shows, as they
There are examples of TV shows getting run on for years, accumulating strong fan
canceled, getting back on the air or bases, and are more susceptible to their
renewed, and changing plotlines due to reactions and how they affect ratings.
the vocal power of a fan base on social
Characters and actors that resonate with an
media.
audience can start being featured a lot more,
Sense8 was brought back for a two-hour finale and likewise, those that don’t cause as strong
after being canceled, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was of an audience reaction can be featured less.
picked up by NBC after being dropped by Fox
Take Riverdale for example. Riverdale is
- all due to strong audience reactions.
based on Archie Comics and as such features
So, yes - analyzing social media is important. its characters. As its name suggests, Archie
Even more important is taking note of Andrews was supposed to be the main
audience reactions. And this is where media character, and it is - in certain aspects.
monitoring comes in. By tracking keywords However, the character of Jughead Jones was
(e.g. a TV show’s name, relevant hashtags, supposed to take more of a narrative role.
actors, characters…) you get a feed that’s Instead, due to extremely positive fan reactions
accumulated mentions from all over the to this character some of the series’ biggest
internet. Even better, you can filter the plots revolve around Jughead.
mentions by source - so if you want to see
This is a show that has a very dedicated, nay,
only Twitter mentions by a particular query, you
passionate fan base that connects strongly to
can do so. If you want to track how the
the characters, but especially to the
number of mentions changes over time
characters’ romantic entanglements. Some
(marking what event, in particular, caught the
would argue their ships are the only thing
audience’s attention), you can do so. If you
keeping the show still going. It would stand to relevant to the situation, the query
reason that if you mess with the ships - you accumulated almost five thousand
mess with the fans, and subsequently - the mentions, and incredibly, over 23 million
ratings. impressions. The number of mentions truly
peaked since the day of the leak, with a 231%
And that’s exactly what Riverdale writers did.
increase in mentions.
Unfortunately for them, an episode recap
leaked a week before the episode aired - Not surprisingly, the mentions were mostly
causing quite the commotion amongst fans. It negative (58%) as a result of fans expressing
involves a cheating scandal and, assumingly, outrage and starting trending hashtags like
breaking up the biggest relationships on the #riverdaleisoverparty, #boycottriverdale,
show. Safe to say fans were not happy and and #riverdaleiscanceled. The outrage
took to social media to express their ranged from petty hurls thrown at the writers
dissatisfaction, claiming that they’re going to to carefully constructed criticism, but it seems
stop watching the show. to be that the fandom was mostly heartbroken
and reacting before thinking.
We’ve analyzed the situation using a social
listening tool Mediatoolkit. It didn’t help this happened in the time of
extreme uncertainty in the entertainment
In just a few days of tracking keywords
Source: Twitter
industry due to the coronavirus. Fans are Because the show very much did depend on
feeling a lot more unmoored, especially the fandom’s amazing response to its two big
knowing that season will end before its time, romances.
as the show hasn’t been able to film the last
By practicing social listening, though, shows
few episodes because the production was
can get an insight into the scale and gravity of
halted.
the developing situation, as well as get an
This just goes to show how big of an impact insight into how their audience thinks and acts.
a show can have on its audience, but also
how big of an impact an audience can Fan engagement
have on a show. A lot of the fans are already
Tracking the audience’s reactions to any
now saying they won’t be watching the cursed
entertainment projects is not enough - it’s
episode, as well as announcing their
important to engage and interact.
departures from the fandom and saying:
“now I can finally stop watching Riverdale”. People love when they receive attention from
Ratings dropped, source: Twitter

the official social media accounts (be it from user-generated content you’d like to share and
movies, TV shows, celebrities or other). That’s group them under a tag UGC.
why it’s beneficial to look for ways to
Either way, social listening is a great way to get
organically insert yourself into online
a comprehensive look into how the audience
conversations. Be it by answering to a
behaves and reacts and to create a strategy
comment, retweeting or replying to a
for accomplishing greater engagement and
tweet, liking and sharing user-generated
positive response.
content.
Social listening tools ease the process of

finding the content you can engage with.
By tracking all the relevant keywords (e.g.
the movie taglines or promotional hashtags),
these tools accumulate all the mentions in one
place and making it easy to filter and sort
through. You can filter them by specific
social media platforms, for instance, if you
only want to see Twitter mentions.
With Mediatoolkit, for instance, you can also

group similar mentions, which works great
for retweets. That way they don’t appear as a
singular mention but are rather grouped into
one (with the source of the retweets still
visible).
Another way you can organize your feed for

maximum efficiency is to group mentions
into collections or create a tag. You can go
through the feed and select mentions you
want to retweet and group them under the tag
Retweets. Or select mentions that contain
m
MUSICIANS TO ACTORS AND VICE VERSA
“The first person to probably cross otherwise their musical talent and fame will not
everyone’s mind when reading this is Lady promote the movie in a desirable way. And, it
Gaga with her “knockout, charismatic sure won’t repair the damage their terrible
performance” in the critically acclaimed A acting can do to the movie. So, before hiring
Star Is Born for which she received, among famous entertainers in hopes of bigger
other awards, nominations for an Academy promotion and earnings, movie directors and
Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe movie companies should ask themselves one
Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for question - can this person act?
Best Actress.”
Sometimes it turns out they can’t so hit-
makers like Mariah Carey, Britney Spears
and Vanilla Ice earn themselves the title of the
Irma Jakić
Worst Musicians Turned Actors Of All Time
(according to Ranker).
S
ome people have so many ambitions it
is hard to track all the things they had a But, other times musicians shape their short
try at in their career, more or less acting career into a big hit. So, let’s rather
successfully. One of the best examples for forget Mariah Carey’s role in Glitter, Spears’s
that crossover in the entertainment industry is “lack of acting talent” in Crossroads and Vanilla
when musicians have a try in acting. Even Ice’s fiasco in Cool as Ice and let’s rather focus
though bringing a huge star to a movie screen on their music industry colleagues who’ve
sounds very promising, it is not always that outdone themselves in acting. Even though
way. Movie directors need to make sure their there are many examples, let’s name a few
guest-star has some actual acting talent, most successful ones.

m MUSICIANS TO ACTORS AND VICE VERSA 61
The first person to probably cross everyone’s the surface in hit movies such as Bad Boys,
mind when reading this is Lady Gaga with her Men in Black, and, ofcourse, the unforgettable
“knockout, charismatic performance” in the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air which made
critically acclaimed A Star Is Born for which him one of the best actors today. Besides
she received, among other awards, Smith, there are many other examples of
nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA successful rappers becoming successful
Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Screen actors - Queen Latifah, Ice Cube, LL Cool
Actors Guild Award for Best Actress. J, 2pac, to name a few.
But, even though this star is born to excel in The list of successful singers-turned-to-actors
both music and acting, she surely isn’t the only is very long, and we unfortunately cannot
ace Hollywood has when it comes to acting name them all, so don’t mind us if we forgot to
and singing. Let’s not forget Cher and her mention your favorite singer/actor! And, to all
several acting accomplishments - her movie directors reading this - look for acting
Broadway debut in Come Back to the Five and talent when hiring big stars!
Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean and her role
in the film version of the play earned her a
Golden Globe nomination, she won the Best
Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival her
role the movie Mask, and received an Oscar
nomination for her role in the movie Silkwood.
The Believe hit singer didn’t stop there and
later won her first Oscar for Moonstruck.
We cannot discuss singers turning into

successful actors without mentioning the one
singer (rapper, to be exact) who turned out to
be so talented in acting that everyone refers to
him as an actor today - Will Smith. Even
though he started out as a rapper whose
career granted him several hits and a Grammy
award, Smith’s other talent - acting - came to
Lady Gaga in “A star is born”, source

n
NOT YOUR AVERAGE MARKETING CAMPAIGN
“However cliché it may sound, try and think engagement that marketers count on, as you’ll
outside the box. Create intrigue and see later on.
curiosity among your audience. It’ll make Not your average marketing campaign looks at
them want to engage.” some of the more successful and engaging
marketing campaigns from 2019 and lessons
we can take from them.
Klara Gavran
Category: Movie / Avengers: Endgame
M
arketing of the entertainment industry
most often utilizes celebrity Let’s start off with an important piece of
endorsements, product placements, and information: “Avengers: Endgame” made
brand partnerships to promote and Marvel Studios’ history due to the biggest
generate interest in upcoming entertainment (and most expensive) promotional
events. campaign. It is estimated at $200M,

surpassing Infinity War. And was it ever worth it
Social media platforms, especially Instagram
- the movie broke the record by having the
and Twitter, are a big player in these marketing
best first-day US online ticket sales,
tactics, as that’s where the fanbase has the
beating Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
opportunity to directly engage and interact
with their favorite movie, tv-show or artist. So, where did all those promotional dollars go?
Fans and their dedicated support are a big The Endgame promotional campaign was 5-
part of what makes the entertainment wheel part and it included trailers, cross-promotion,
keep spinning. It’s that dedication and social media marketing, influencer marketing,
n NOT YOUR AVERAGE MARKETING CAMPAIGN 63
and brand partnerships (so many brand superhero was coping along with flashbacks to
partnerships). previous movies meant to pull on those
nostalgic strings, but no scene revealed
They knew where and who their audience was,
anything about the plot. In short, the focus
and they acted accordingly.
was on characters, and not the action.
Trailers
The second trailer was especially interesting
These trailers were a new kind of trailer for from the marketing perspective, as it featured
Marvel’s Avengers, as they were not action- a scene with a new superhero, one never
based. Infinity War was emotional, the fans featured before. And that leads us to part two
suffered a loss in the shape of their favorite - cross-promotion.
characters, and Endgame trailers were a look
Cross-promotion
into the world that deals with the aftermath.
They gave a peek into how each surviving The date the second Endgame trailer was
Endgame trailer featuring Captain Marvel, source: YouTube

published was no coincidence. In this case, that was Endgame and Captain
Marvel served as a build-up. Fans were
It was absolutely no coincidence that it
excited to have another movie to tie them over
happened to drop on the second weekend of
and ease the wait for the last of the Avengers
Marvel’s Captain Marvel.
movies.
This Endgame trailer with Captain Marvel
Social Media
herself was meant not only to promote the
Captain Marvel movie but also to pull fans It seems that every new movie that comes out
in even further with the new superhero. has its own Instagram, Twitter or YouTube
After all, every Marvel fan knows that there’s profile. And it was no different for the Avengers
more to come even after the credits roll. I movie. They made good use of these
myself am one of those people who stubbornly platforms because that’s where their fanbase
and impatiently wait for those famous Marvel is. It’s where they can directly communicate
post-credit scenes. After all, they are a glimpse and engage with the audience. And it’s all
into the next Marvel movie and what’s going to about the content they put out. Case in point,
happen. their “Avenge the Fallen” posters. These were
Avenge the Fallen posters, source: Hollywood Reporter

again meant to highlight the characters, the that were canceled.

superheroes themselves. The ones left
Influencer marketing
standing and the ones that need avenging.
And the posters reflected that. Each poster Influencer marketing ties in well with the social
featured one character, and if that character media, or rather the cast’s social media
was one of the fallen, the poster was in black profiles. The Avengers movies have an
and white. If it was a character left standing, it impressive list of cast members - from Robert
was in color. This content was a way to Downey Junior and Chris Hemsworth to
highlight the movie’s story and support the Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans. All with a
trailers’ premise: it’s about the characters, not big social media following and influence of a
the action. certain degree. And you better believe they

advertised that movie on their social media.
What’s more, fans and wider audiences
reacted virally: “Avenge the Fallen” has Brand partnerships
become a meme. The phrase was featured A lot of those marketing dollars went into
across a myriad of different characters we’ve broadening the scope of their audience. While
lost on film or TV. And it wasn’t just characters, a lot of content was meant to connect with the
it ranged from on-screen deaths to TV shows existing fanbase, these brand partnerships
“Avenge the Fallen” meme, source: eBaum's WORLD

didn’t speak just to them. They were meant to Coca Cola released limited edition Endgame
appeal to wider audiences of millennials, cans featuring our favorite superheroes.
families and multicultural audiences.
Stand Up To Cancer featured Endgame stars
That’s why they partnered with brands like
talking about defeating the greatest enemy -
Audi, Ulta Beauty, McDonald’s, Stand Up
cancer.
To Cancer, Coca Cola, GEICO - to name a
few. Ulta Beauty partnership was meant to appeal
to female viewership, as women are not as
Audi video spot featured Robert Downey
represented in the Marvel Universe.
Junior talking to an Audi designer about its
new electric model - making sure to take a And a lot more.
quick trip down the memory lane all the way to
Lessons:
the first Iron Man movie and back to Endgame
Know your audience (fans). Know where
- both movies starring an Audi model.
Coca Cola Endgame Cans, source: Mike Shouts

they are and how to connect with them. Give It partnered with Red Cross, Mountain
them enough to pull them in, but not enough Dew, Bud Light, Oreo, among others, and
to spoil. Find that emotional connection - it can each of those partnerships was meant to re-
be humorous, it can pull on their heartstrings. establish its appearance after a long
But always know your tone of voice and stay hibernation period.
consistent.
Red Cross partnership was one for a good
Content matters. (That’s it. That’s the lesson.)
cause and garnered positive publicity whilst
Find relevant brands worth partnering with
putting the show back in the spotlight. The
to reach a wider audience.
Bleed #ForTheThrone campaign was meant to
boost the number of blood donations, and as
Category: TV show / Game Of Thrones
an incentive for donating the blood and using
Two years is a long time to wait for a new the hashtag - the prize was a life-size iron
season, let alone a series finale of one the throne. Which of course the show’s fans
biggest TV shows. In order to create a buzz flocked to.
amongst the audience, Game of Thrones relied
Mountain Dew partnership was realized in
on a series of brand partnerships to promote
the shape of their new limited edition
its last season.
packaging. These Mountain Dew cans
Game of Thrones & Mountain Dew, source: Forbes

featured the names on Arya’s kill list - but only engravings of all three remaining houses
when the can was cold. To get their hands on battling for the throne. In this case, the
one of these, fans had to post what they hashtags promoted were #GameOfCookies
would sacrifice for the can on Twitter using the and once again, #ForTheThrone.
hashtags #ACanHasNoName and
Lesson:
#ForTheThrone.
Incentivize fans into engagement through
Bud Light’s partnership brought Game of
brand partnerships and corresponding
Thrones all the way to Super Bowl. HBO and
hashtags that make them want to interact.
Bud Light aired a commercial featuring a fight
between the Bud Knight and GoT’s Mountain,
Category: Music / Harry Styles: Fine
with a cameo from Danearys’ dragon.
Line & Isle of Eroda
Oreo partnership went a step further and
Harry Styles’s new album came out at the end
produced a reenactment of the GoT’s
of 2019, and the campaign that preceded it is
introduction - entirely made of Oreos. Oreo
nothing short of interesting and - quirky. Just
also launched a limited edition of cookies with
Game of Thrones & Oreo, source: Bustle

like the singer himself. people that have been seeing the ads were his
fans - with pretty good investigative skills, it
Leading up to the album release, video
seemed.
campaigns and social media posts started
popping up featuring a tourist destination - They’ve noticed that the attractions listed on
Isle of Eroda. the website are named after the album
tracks, have recognized the photos of the
Except, that island didn’t exist.
island as places Styles has recently
So, why was it popping up everywhere and visited and realized Eroda spelled
confusing everyone? backward is Adore, which is also one of the
The island had its own website and social tracks on the album.
media channels and has adopted a hashtag Turns out the fans were right, and Island of
#VisitEroda, although people started noticing Eroda was actually part of a story for “Adore
inconsistencies and bread crumbs leading You” music video, and the video explains the
them to believe it was all a part of a ruse. legend of Eroda - “shaped unmistakably like a
Well, it was. frown, it is home to all but forgotten fishing

village that has had perpetual cloud cover for
As the ads were targeting those who’ve
as long as anyone can remember”. And in the
visited Harry Styles’s website, a lot of
Isle of Eroda website, source: POP! goes the music

video, Styles plays a boy born with a smile on

his face, ostracizing him for the island’s
people.
Isle of Eroda turned out to be a smart

marketing move, attracting the attention of
the internet and playing on people’s curiosity
to pull them into the story.
Lesson:
However cliche it may sound, try and think

outside the box. Create intrigue and
curiosity among your audience. It’ll make
them want to engage.
Isle of Eroda website, source: POP! goes the music

o
R A
E
M
A
-C
OF F
entertainment industry by
the dollar
$
$11.1 billion -
cinema box office
revenue in 2019
Source
27.8% - digital book’s percent of overall

consumer books revenue in 2019
Source
54.1% - percent of all films produced

in 2017 that were action and
adventure films
Source
72
$
34% - growth of
streaming revenue
Source
52.5 million - number of tickets sold in

2017 by events company LiveNation
Source
2.6 trillion dollars - expected worth of

the global entertainment and media
market in 2023
Source
73
$
9.7% - growth of global

recorded music
revenues in 2019
Source
$9.99 — mode price of online music

streaming subscription services
Source
$36 billion - the U.S. gaming industry

revenue in 2017
Source
74
p
PR NIGHTMARE, BUT A LONG OVERDUE ONE
“It is not an understatement to say the The power games
Weinstein case marked the beginning of The New York Times broke the story about a
both an unprecedented crisis and a shift in series of Weinstein’s sexual misconducts his
the entertainment industry. “ female co-workers and aspiring actresses were

subjected to over a period of nearly three
decades.
Iva Anušić This caused a ripple effect: dozens of women

came forward detailing how Weinstein
T
he appeal of the lavish lifestyle and promised to help advance their careers in
the glitz and glam that seemingly return for sexual favours and then tried to
come with a job in the entertainment silence them by offering monetary
industry is undeniable. Red carpet events, compensations or blacklisting them from the
luxury homes, extravagant cars and branded Hollywood film scene he had so much
clothes… It’s what we constantly see and influence on.
what many consider an ultimate dream life.
It is also the image that Harvey Weinstein, a

Hollywood mogul and an Oscar-winning film
producer, had portrayed until the sexual
harassment and assault allegations against
him surfaced in October of 2017 and shook
the entertainment industry to its core.
Source: The Times

p PR NIGHTMARE, BUT A LONG OVERDUE ONE 76
The list of women who spoke out against ‘Harvey Weinstein Is My Monster Too’,
Weinstein soon became disturbingly long. At “women are talking today because, in this new
one point, more than 80 women, including era, we finally can.“
actresses Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd,
Even with new allegations emerging on an
Gwyneth Paltrow, and Salma Hayek to name a
almost daily basis and another New York
few, accused him of making unwanted sexual
Times article that uncovered the machinery of
advances, ranging from forcing women to
accomplices and gatekeepers who, knowingly
watch him naked or massage him to raping
or not, covered up the mogul’s tracks and
some of them.
enabled him to do what he did for such a long
Many women publicized their experience using time, Weinstein unequivocally denied
the #MeToo hashtag that gained prominence everything.
and became a global movement that
He stayed persistent when everything went to
empowers women to share their stories and
court as well, pleading not guilty to numerous
raises awareness of the sexual misconduct
sexual assault charges filed against him in New
that continues to this day. As Hayek wrote in
York, while a number of lawsuits and reports
her New York Times opinion piece titled
Source: The Times

followed both in the US and the UK.
On the 24th of February 2020, he was found

guilty of sexually assaulting former production
assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping ex-
actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and convicted
to 23 years in prison. But, what holds even Although the problem of sexual harassment
greater importance is that the voices of his certainly wasn’t resolved by one sole
victims were heard and, finally, believed. conviction, the situation set firm grounds for
clear disapproval of such misconduct.
Change is a good thing Crisis management thus entered a new, post-

Weinstein era in which the Hollywood machine
It would truly be unfair to reduce the aftermath
built on protecting the image and reputation of
of Weinstein’s deeds to a mere PR nightmare.
A-list celebrities regardless of their troubling
But, it is not an understatement to say the
characters is now much more selective about
case marked the beginning of both an
who they choose to work with.
unprecedented crisis and a shift in the
entertainment industry. The Weinstein scandal also debunked the
myth that all PR is good PR, or as Oscar
Publicists, lawyers, PR professionals,
Wilde said, that “the only thing worse than
organizations, and key industry figures involved
being talked about, is not being talked about.“
in the situation started to disassociate
themselves from the former Hollywood There is this misconception in the
powerhouse in an attempt to mitigate the entertainment business that as long as
damage to their own reputations. people talk about you, it’s a good thing. And
when people stop talking about you, that’s it.
The consequences were likewise inevitable for
You’re nonexistent, or at least your career is.
other alleged sexual offenders in the industry.
Netflix, for instance, promptly cut all ties with So, some people really do strive for scandals
the actor Kevin Spacey and the comedian and negative publicity to achieve a somewhat
Lous CK as soon as the allegations against notorious reputation. Just think of how many
them emerged. celebs you know that in a way boosted their
career once they publicly displayed unseemly
and immoral or even self-destructive behavior,

only to create a narrative of a positive change
and become a role-model later on.
In this case, the extreme media coverage only

made the case virtually impossible to deflect
and, if I may add, rightfully so.
QU IC
K
FI
q
In today’s episode of Being a Celebrity 101,  
we present you with an updated guide on managing
a crisis in 2020.
Brought to you by yours truly,
the Notes poets.
We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for a commercial break.

Participated in the organization of a failed festival that
is also the subject of a $100 million lawsuit?
No problem! Quick fix it with Notes.

(Pro tip: consider not using “I truly apologize“ and “not my fault“ in the same sentence.)
Notes - a new way of doing damage control. #ad

Your wife and the entire Internet saw paparazzi
photos of you being cozy with a co-star?
Publish a heartfelt Notes apology.

Have a national emergency announcement?
You guessed it - use the Notes app.

Notes - a new way of doing
damage control.
All jokes aside 85
All jokes aside, has it ever caught your virtually anything: reminders, grocery lists,
attention how celebrities love to use the iOS random ideas, and often some very personal
Notes app for issuing a statement or thoughts. In that sense, it almost feels like a
mitigating the damage caused by public journal - a place where one can be
errors? vulnerable.
The art of celebrity apologies is an ever- Creating a note is also usually done on the
evolving one. But, in the past few years, spur of the moment, which is the impression
screenshoting and publishing a note seems to celebrities strive for with their apologies.
be an ongoing trend and a go-to quick fix
They try to make it seem like these notes are
solution for those whose bare soul doesn’t fit
not a result of consulting with their
into the 280 character limit on Twitter.
publicist at great lengths or having them
Notes is a free app that comes preloaded onto release a statement to the press, but rather an
Apple devices. It enables users to jot down intimate realization that is written without much
Source: Glitch
All jokes aside 86
premeditation. Something they want to get off a statement on the situation using the Notes
their chest and share with their fans app is the Search icon in the upper left corner,
directly. suggesting that it might have been just one of
many precomposed drafts and not an off-the-
You can almost imagine them picking up their
cuff response.
phone and struggling to find the words. Then,
an Aha! moment occurs and they pour their There are a few additional elements that are as
hearts out and that makes it all feel so well often used to aid in the feeling of
authentic. But, it doesn’t always work out that spontaneity and being fallibly human.
way.
Instant sense of familiarity since the app is
Remember the whirlwind that was the feud so widely-used,
between Kanye West and Kim Kardashian Lack of graphic aesthetic (as in “I didn’t even
West on one side and Taylor Swift on the try to make it look good“),
other? Grammatical and spelling errors,
Use of phrases such as “had I known what I
What many people noticed when Swift issued
Source: Twitter
All jokes aside 87
know now...“, “I understand what I did was

[enter the adverb of your choice]“, or a PR
favorite, “I will use this as an opportunity to
grow and learn from my mistakes“.
Not to undermine their validity, but it seems

that in terms of their sincerity, the general
attitude towards these kinds of statements
and apologies is often sceptical.
You can’t really tell true emotion behind the

written word, especially when it’s so carefully
crafted and PR heavy. Chances are, it would
simply sound unnatural or like a recitation had
a celebrity tried to say some of these things in
a normal conversation.
But, just as much as these apology Notes can

backfire, the damage can be even greater with
video or being live on air. Maybe that’s what
makes it so easy - saying everything you need
so eloquently, while also avoiding the
potentially quirky or embarrassing situations of
a live broadcast, for instance. At the end of the
day, we’re all human, right?
By Iva Anušić
r
RAZZIES
“The Razzies were first awarded in 1981 Redeemer Award

and have since been handed out every year Worst Director
to many (not-so-lucky) winners. “ Worst Supporting Actor
Worst Supporting Actress
Worst Screenplay
Irma Jakić Worst Screen Combo
Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel
T
he Golden Raspberry Awards (also Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life
known as Razzies or Razzie Awards) and Public Property
are a parody award show honoring the
biggest cinematic under-achievements of the Razzies history and famous nominees
year.
The Razzies were first awarded in 1981 and
have since been handed out every year to
Which categories do they have?
many (not-so-lucky) winners.
The Razzies categories are meant to depict
Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars have been
award categories of some of the most famous
nominated for the award, such as Ben
award shows such as the Oscars or the
Affleck, Dwayne Johnson, Anne
Golden Globes. They have changed
Hathaway, Matthew McConaughey, John
throughout the years. In 2020 the awards
Travolta, Angelina Jolie, Keanu Reeves,
were handed out in the following categories:
Will Smith, Adam Sandler, Bruce Willis and
Worst Picture
more. Some of the biggest hits were also not
Worst Actor
spared so movies like Joker, Mission:
Worst Actress
r RAZZIES 89
Impossible, The Mummy or Fifty Shades

Darker found themselves on the undesirable
nomination list.
Famous singers have also received the

nomination for their try at acting - Madonna,
Prince, Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey,
to name a few.
Even though nominees don’t usually show up,

some recipients, like Halle Berry and Sandra
Bullock (who, by the way, won an Oscar and
a Razzie in the same weekend) decided to
embrace the negative criticism and accept the
award at the Golden Raspberry Award
ceremony. Pretty cool move, if you ask us.
Sandra Bullock accepting the Razzie award in 2010,

source: Wikimedia
s
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON  

THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
“Hollywood has been getting away with the What interests me is whether the same rules
status quo for a long time now, and people apply to the entertainment industry? To be
finally have the tools to demand the specific, how does the entertainment industry
overdue change.“ handle social media in general, social media
backlashes and where do streaming services
come in all of this.
Klara Malnar
Sonic the Hedgehog
S
ocial media platforms and the way
I recently came across an interesting opinion
people are using them is such an
piece on AdAge titled “Why Sonic the
interesting phenomenon to research.
Hedgehog (and porn) represents the future of
One of the aspects of social media that always
content”. The premise of the piece is that
interested me is backlashes and PR crises that
consumers are starting to use social media to
are arising every once in a while.
demand content not made for people like
One of the positive sides of social media
them, but for them specifically.
platforms is the power that regular consumers
The piece struck me because until now, we’ve
now have, and the higher accountability
seen actors backing out of roles due to
demanded from brands. Nowadays, brands
backlash, but never have we seen an entire
can not allow themselves to ignore a customer
(already filmed) movie changed because fans
or treat him/her badly. Chances are that the
demanded it to be.
word will spread, and you’ll end up losing
customers and your reputation. Neil Patel In the Sonic the Hedgehog case, after the first
even wrote a blog about 50 ways social media movie trailer came out, people started to
can destroy your business. complain about the new character’s look on
s SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY 91
social media - he had human teeth, different The Iron Throne debacle
eyes, and shoes, and so on.
Remember what happened after the Game of
The trailer came out in April, and in May the Thrones finale aired? All hell broke loose on
movie director, Jeff Fowler tweeted that the social media platforms. Actual petitions were
message is received and that there will be going around demanding a remake of the
changes made in the design. whole Season 8.
After a while, HBO released a

statement saying that there will be

no reshoots, but people are still not
okay with it.
I just checked the petition on

Change.org and to this day, a year
later, people are signing it.
Now, I’m no expert, but I assume

it’s much easier to change
That’s something that was never seen before. animated movies like Sonic the Hedgehog
If we’re to judge from the responses, fans were than to reshoot a whole season of Game of
shocked as well, but appreciative of the Thrones that requires over 3000 crew
gesture. Basically, a giant studio spent members. That’s why it would be truly
hundreds of millions of dollars on a movie, and unbelievable if HBO decided to do the
now they’re spending the extra money to make reshoots.
corrections.
But, if we look at the amount of attention
Stephen Kelly, in his article on BBC, mentions Game of Thrones fans have attracted with their
the term fan entitlement and argues that - efforts to make a difference, it’s kinda
“After all, when you buy a product – when you impossible to mention Season 8 and not to
spend your hard-earned attention, dedication mention the battle of the social media that
and time – why should it not be exactly what happened (pun intended).
you wanted?”
Demanding/celebrating diversity for the role. Since Ghost in the Shell

originated as Japanese manga series, and all
For some, previously mentioned backlashes
the other cast members were Japanese, the
could be described as superficial and fans as
choice of Johanson for the role seemed
entitled. But, what about the examples of
ridiculous. But, this time the director defended
backlash when the goal is to make social
his casting and decided to continue filming
changes and promote diversity?
with Johanson.
For a long time now, Hollywood has a track
Examples of solidarity
record of whitewashing, especially when it
comes to Asian characters. Back in 2017, Tagger Media pointed out two examples that
there were two instances of Caucasian actors prove the impact of social media in 2020
being cast to play Asian characters. Oscars nominations.
In the first case, backlash was aimed at the The first example is Jojo Rabbit and the
movie Hellboy. The problem was that the support of Ava Duvernay. Duvernay is a
character Ed Skrein was supposed to play is director of an Oscar-nominated movie as well,
Asian, and Skrein is British. Fans took to and she encouraged her Twitter followers (over
Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with this 2 million of them) to watch Jojo Rabbit.
casting choice.
The backlash was so strong that Ed Skrein

voluntarily backed out of the role and agreed
with what the fans were writing online. His
action was met with praise and approval.
Ultimately, the role went to the South Korean
actor Daniel Dae Kim.
The other case was casting Scarlett

Johanson in the movie Ghost in the Shell.
As Time reports, this backlash started two
years prior, when the casting was announced.
Again, the petition started circulating,
demanding a Japanese actress to be cast
That’s huge exposure for a movie whose plot that represented $1.8 billion in total marketing
made everyone scratch their heads in the spend.
beginning!
The results showed that digital media drove
The second example is of this year’s Best 46% of movie box office revenue, despite
Picture winner - Korean movie Parasite. making up just 14% of studio marketing
budgets, while TV accounted for 82% of
The authors say that the movie didn’t have the
marketing budgets and was responsible for
A-list celebrities to put on late-night couches,
driving just 42% of media-driven box
but they utilized the power of social media to
office revenue.
create a lot of buzz about the movie, which
ultimately led to victory. Interestingly, the study suggests that shifting
6% of TV spend on digital media would
According to LAist, after the movie won the
boost box office revenue by 7%.
Palme d'Or at Cannes, fans started using
hashtag #Bonghive on social media. On top of that, Facebook proved to be the
most lucrative channel. Every dollar spent on
The buzz, ultimately, had an impact on the
Facebook ads brought nearly $8 in return.This
award ceremonies. Even Bong himself was
data is not surprising if we take into account
impressed by the impact social media had. In
that younger people are spending most of their
an interview he said:
time on social media while spending less and
“Unfortunately, I don’t have Twitter or less of their time watching traditional TV.
Instagram – or any social media – so I’ve just
Also, since the goal is to “sell the movie
been hearing about these things. People
tickets” social media channels are proving to
would show me some of the memes. I’m just
be the right place to do just that.
grateful for the responses, I’ve never gone
through any of that.” Social media campaigns
Social media and movie studios As the article on Investing News points out,
social media campaigns for movies or TV
Marketing Dive shared Neurostar’s study
shows should be an exercise in storytelling in
conducted on more than 70 U.S. movies
itself.
across different marketing channels (TV, online,
display, online video, paid Facebook ads…) Building a hype about the movie long before it
hits the theaters is something that is not new, that studios are taking into account social
but in the last couple of years, it changed quite media following a certain actor or actress
a bit. before they cast them.
Spoiler alert: social media has something to Streaming services

do with it.
A battle between movie studios and streaming
Now, marketers are not building hype for the services has been going on for a couple of
movie so to speak, they are building hype for years now… Streaming services disrupted
the movie trailer first. This strategy can often the everyday life and finances of movie
be seen in promotions of blockbuster studios in Hollywood.
movies.
Nowadays, people are leaning more towards
Basically it goes something like this: staying at home and watching Netflix, than
getting dressed and going out to the cinema.
First, they’re reminding us that the teaser of a
That’s why it’s been a challenge convincing
movie trailer is going to air. There are
people to watch movies (besides blockbusters)
reminders, hashtags, social media posts...The
in the cinema. Since movie studios rely on
teaser usually doesn’t last more than 5
getting their money from the movie
seconds, and it’s building up the interest for
tickets, it became a problem.
the trailer, and eventually for the movie itself.
The argument that nothing can replace

Then we watch the teaser of a trailer. We’re
watching a movie in the cinema is simply not
hooked. We want more.
good enough anymore. Habits and
Then eventually, the whole trailer and different
preferences change all the time, and if
variations of it come out, and it’s widely shared
something was appealing to audiences 10
and discussed on social media until the movie
years ago, chances are it may not appeal to
comes out.
audiences now.
In a world where we’re constantly bombarded

Another problem for movie studios is that
with new information every few seconds, this
movies produced by Netflix started getting
strategy provides a couple of waves in which
nominated for awards (and winning) in the last
movie marketers can capture our attention and
couple of years.
sell us the movie. What’s interesting is the fact
When it comes to social media, many are proved to be powerful tools for initiating
applauding Netflix’s social media strategies change. As seen in some examples in the text,
that are focused on creating value while it does not mean that every social media
spending less on advertising. movement will eventually succeed, but it
generates a standard of what’s acceptable and
Netflix had its own trial and errors on the way,
what’s not for the future.
but using authentic communication in
opposition to formal communication used by That especially comes to light when people are
others, proved to be the winning strategy. demanding diversity. Hollywood has been
Also, they understood who their target getting away with the status quo for a long
audience is and what they like. And the time now, and people finally have the tools to
answer is memes. demand the overdue change.
What I’m interested to see is will the situation

with Sonic the Hedgehog happen again. To be
precise, will the studios start changing their
movies just to please the audience. Is that
even a good strategy?
The one thing that’s sure is that the

entertainment industry will have to pay even
more attention and more resources toward
social media platforms in order to attract their
target audiences. As seen from the Netflix
They promote their content by creating fun and example, creativity and authenticity can
relatable memes, and it seems that fans are produce a great response from social media
appreciating it. User-generated content is users that show in the rise of subscriptions as
strong in the Netflix community since fans well. The sooner movie marketers turn more of
themselves started creating memes. their focus on creating innovative and

productive social media campaigns, the better
In conclusion
for them. To paraphrase Thanos: “Social media
Social media platforms impacted the is inevitable!”
entertainment industry in many ways. They
t
THE COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: 

HOW STREAMING SERVICES CAN BENEFIT FROM IT
“As the number of streaming platforms that was already explained under the letter K,
keeps rising, the market starts to become but this chapter will venture to explain how
saturated, and it’s more important than media monitoring can be used to analyze the
ever to stand out from the competition.“ competition and find out where you fit on the
proverbial food chain of the streaming services.
Klara Gavran In our ebook Media Analytics For Marketers,

we’ve talked about four key areas of analyzing
K
competition using a media monitoring tool:
eeping up with the streaming services
has already tackled the issue that’s • identifying competitors,
become the growing number of
• keeping up with the latest competitor news,
• benchmarking online reputation with that of
streaming platforms.
competitors,
It’s no secret that streaming has become • and identifying areas for improvement.
widely popular worldwide and that more and
By identifying competitors, it’s mostly meant
more people are flocking to these platforms to
to keep track of any new streaming
keep up with their favorite TV and reality
services that might show up or those you
shows.
might not be yet aware of. To do this, you
It’s also no secret that the competition has just have to set up your query in the best way
become fierce since the streaming was first possible. For instance, you may want to track
pioneered by Netflix. Nowadays, there’s a streaming services or platforms in the context
streaming platform for every new show, it of “the best streaming services”, “new
seems. We won’t go into much detail of the streaming platforms”, “streaming platforms to
why’s and how’s of the streaming world, as look out for in 2020”, etc.
t THE COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: HOW STREAMING SERVICES CAN BENEFIT FROM IT 97
This is how your query setup can look like:
That way, you’ll make sure to keep track of all brand holds in comparison to its
new (and old) streaming services you might competitors. It’ll give you an insight into how
have missed. your online reputation and presence compares
to that of your competitors. If your share is
Another way to do this is by tracking these
smaller than that of your competitors, you can
keywords, but also filtering them by specific
start identifying areas for improvement.
sources, such as trustworthy websites that
cover your subject of choice. Essentially, by looking into your competition’s
online strategy, you can find areas that are
To keep up with the latest competitor
lacking and may require improvements, such
news, you’d want to track each main
as your social media or content strategy.
competitor individually. Specifically, you’d want
to track their owned media. So, their social As the number of streaming platforms keeps
media profiles and websites. This way, you’d rising, the market starts to become saturated,
have all the new information on your and it’s more important than ever to stand out
competition in one place, straight from the from the competition. Regularly analyzing your
competitors themselves. competitors, their moves and their tactics, the
way they promote themselves and their shows
The best way to get insight into the share of
- makes it easier to compare your own
exposure between you and your competitors is
strategies against theirs. It can also result in
through a competitive analysis report (like the
finding out what your competitive
one Mediatoolkit offers). For instance, an
advantage is and using it as a unique
important metric is the share of voice which
selling point meant to attract new users.
is essentially a measure of reach and
representative of the market percentage a
Create brand
reports in
24/7 mention minutes
monitoring for
100+ million online
sources
Analyze mentions
and find brand
influencers
Receive real-time
mention alerts
Try it out for a free 14-day trial!
SIGN UP FOR FREE

u
USER-GENERATED CONTENT: NETFLIX
“The way Netflix engages with their 1. Promoting authenticity

followers is a great example of how to Consumers find UGC to be almost 10 times
establish great relationships with your more effective than influencer marketing. Also,
consumers that is beneficial in the long- they’re finding UGC to be 2.4 times more
run.” authentic than the one produced by brands.
As Hootsuite notes, that offers brands an
important credibility boost, since most people
Klara Malnar say less than half of brands create authentic
I
content.
n recent years many brands started using
content made by their customers in their 2. Creating trust
marketing activities. In other words - user- Consumers want to know what they’re going
generated content. It can be in the form of to get before they think of getting it. Hootsuite
photos, videos, text, you name it. writes that it’s all about creating trust and that
92 percent of consumers trust
Before we analyze how Netflix is using UGC to
recommendations from people they know, and
their advantage, let’s first see why would a
70 percent trust online consumer opinions.
brand turn to UGC instead of creating their
own content. 3. Driving purchasing decisions
Hootsuite says that 90 percent of consumers
Why UGC?
say UGC has a high impact on their
A social media management platform purchasing decisions. That’s a no brainer than!
Hootsuite listed three reasons why it’s good for
brands to use UGC.
u USER-GENERATED CONTENT: NETFLIX 100
How does Netflix do it? Bird Box
Netflix has been one of the brands that are One such example is when they started
excelling in user-generated content. If you promoting Bird Box, a movie about people
scroll through Netflix’s Twitter page, for walking around blindfolded so they don’t
example, you’ll see that they retweet a bunch accidentally look at the monster and commit
of user-generated content. I would dare to say suicide as a result. Okaaay… Anyway, Sandra
80% percent of their posts is UGC. Bullock is in it.
According to The Ringer, before the release of

the movie images of blindfolded Sandra
Bullock started circulating on social media,
and that’s how the fans first found out about
the movie. Those images were soon turned
into memes by fans and flooded the internet.
Soon, different Bird Box challenges
appeared (basically, people doing random stuff
blindfolded) and also spread like wildfire on
social media. Even Good Morning America
wasn’t immune to Bird Box challenge.

Netflix utilizes social media to spread the word

about their upcoming movies and TV shows
but also teases followers about new projects
to spark their curiosity.
How does Netflix do it? Netflix even bragged about the viewership
numbers which they usually keep in secret:
Basically, Netflix brought the matches and the
world light the fire.
As Leila Michele writes in her article: “...Netflix

has done something that’s actually pretty
incredible: Remained hidden in plain sight as
they created one of the most effective social
media marketing campaigns of all time, all the
while using its fans on social media to spread
the message – for completely free.”
She also mentions that there’s a chance Netflix

created a number of bot accounts or paid real
accounts to spread the first memes on social
media. Netflix is denying that, so we can only
speculate. But, the point was to create a
sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) that
would motivate people to watch the movie.
Tiger King
A similar thing happened this year with the

Tiger King documentary, as well. Memes
circulating, hashtags trending… Basically, Tiger
King is ubiquitous.
Entertainment For Us writes that all of these

posts going around on social media create the
feeling that this is a show “everybody is talking
about” and if you haven’t seen it, you’re
missing out. Again, FOMO is strong with this
one!
In conclusion Remember those three reasons on why

brands should use UGC from the beginning
These examples are not the only ones when it
of the chapter?
comes to Netflix’s good usage of user-
generated content. Netflix checks all of them. Marketers, take
notes!
If we would analyze Netflix in deep, we could
make a whole another ebook on that topic.
Netflix’s social media strategy is great because

it’s authentic, personal and fun if I do say so
myself. The way that they engage with their
followers is a great example of how to
establish great relationships with your
consumers that is beneficial in the long-run.
v
VIEWER’S CHOICE
“None of the attempts at introducing the later having to make decisions between death
interactive elements through history and life. Depending on the viewer’s choice, the
proved to be a groundbreaking success.“ story adjusts accordingly, resulting in one of
the five main endings. On average, the episode
lasts about 90 minutes, but depending on the
choices, it can last as short as 40 minutes.
Klara Gavran
It was the most recent attempt to venture into
N
interactive film, but certainly not the first.
etflix’s Black Mirror pulled the
audience in with its descent into the The first venture into interaction was a 60s
dark place of high-tech, near-future movie Kinoautomat by Radúz Činčera,
twisted scenarios, but it went a step further screened at the Expo 67 World’s Fair in
when it introduced Black Mirror: Montreal. The film’s action was stopped nine
Bandersnatch. It was the first venture into the times, presenting the viewer with a set of
interactive film for the streaming giant. options. However, unlike in the Bandersnatch,
this movie always had the same ending which
The episode follows the life of a young
was meant to illustrate the illusion of
programmer Stefan Butler, as he begins to
democracy.
work on developing a video game and is set in
the 80s. What really stands out, though, is that Fast forward to the 80s, and the interactive
the course of the movie falls into the elements were used even in books. While not
hands of the viewer. The viewer is presented the first such example, a book series “Choose
with a series of options to move the story Your Own Adventure” certainly was the most
further: from choosing what cereal the popular. It was written in second-person and
protagonist will eat and a song he’ll listen to the reader assumed the place of a protagonist
v VIEWER’S CHOICE 104
faced with making a decision every once in a appetite for finding out what happens next.”
while. Based on the decision a reader would
Either way, it was an interesting and
make, the book would instruct the reader to
innovative new direction for both Netflix
go to a certain page in the book. And just like
and Black Mirror to go.
Bandersnatch, the books had multiple
endings, depending on the choices you’ve Netflix due to the need for standing out and
made in the interim. creating original, creative content amongst the

fierce competition, and for Black Mirror it just
After the Kinoautomat, filmmakers haven’t made sense plot-wise. It is a macabre, high-
really ventured into the interactive content tech world that studies the daunting effects of
before the 90s. There was a short film “I’m technology on privacy and people in general.
Your Man”, which required cinemas to have To be introducing an episode where a viewer
joysticks so the viewers could participate and gets to decide the fate of the protagonist just
the movie “Mr. Payback” which didn’t achieve fits.
big success.
In fact, none of these attempts at introducing

the interactive elements through history proved
to be a groundbreaking success.
Was Bandersnatch different?
The reviews, as for anything, are split. The

Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 72%, citing
that even though it “marks an innovative
step forward for interactive content, its meta-
narrative can't quite sustain interest over
multiple viewings”. The Guardian reviewer,
though, said that “a new genre is now here.
And it will get better, and more sophisticated
and doubtless acquire emotional heft as well
as simply stimulating excitement and an
Source: Pinterest (Tobie T)

w
WHAT ABOUT FILM FESTIVALS?
“Film festivals are indeed one of the vital most important films of the last forty years to
signs of a thriving cinema.” - David Sterritt audiences around the world.
Also, we must not forget festivals such as the

Tribeca Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival
Klara Malnar
and South by Southwest Film Festival who, as
MPA states, recently have given a new
According to the Motion Picture Association
generation of filmmakers an opportunity to
(MPA), film festivals came a long way from
exhibit their work.
their humble beginnings in Venice, Italy in
1932 to over 3000 festivals being held around How do film festivals work?
the world every year nowadays.
If you’re not closely following what’s going on
Fun fact alert! in the movie industry, you can probably name
The very first film shown at the Venice Film one or two film festivals. The grandiose
Festival was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and it venues, beautiful gowns, red carpets, and
was screened at 9:15 p.m. on 6 August 1932. flashing lights may seem to be the most
important part. To be true, it definitely is the
Shortly after Venice, many other festivals, most covered aspect.
such as the Cannes Film Festival, emerged.
MPA cites that over the years, festivals like
Sundance, TIFF, the Morelia International
Film Festival, the Tokyo International Film
Festival, and the Berlin International Film
Festival have helped usher some of the
Source: WWD
w WHAT ABOUT FILM FESTIVALS? 106
But, in this part, we want to dig deep and see As Rewire mentions, aside from the biggest
why film festivals are important and how festivals, the rest of them are mostly relying on
they’re helping filmmakers, big and small, to the combination of ticket sales, membership
present their work and get recognition. fees, and corporate sponsorship just to foot
the bill for the festivities, with many even
To do that, we first must see how film festivals
operating as nonprofit organizations.
come together.
Why are film festivals important?
Rewire wrote an interesting article about film
festivals, where, in part, how do film festivals There are many reasons why film festivals are
work. important. The answers may differ a bit,
depending on who you ask.
Also, they offered a great definition of what film
festivals actually are: Many will agree on two things: sharing and
connecting.
“They truly represent a nexus for the whole of
the film industry, bringing together members of Motion Picture Association describes the
the media, the creative talent behind and in importance of film festivals in these words:
front of the camera and business executives
“Film festivals highlight the worldwide passion
looking for the next project to take on.”
of cinema and showcase the value of the film,
Rewire states that more often than not, both creatively and economically. More than
competition among filmmakers will be high. anything, film festivals deliver a new, unique
The bigger the festival, the harder it is to get way to experience the movies, always driven
your movie to be in the festival’s lineup. Even by the power of a good story.”
though there are a lot of festivals that focus on
specific genres or lengths, demand to be
included is high, especially among young
filmmakers. But, once you succeed it’s worth
the effort. For some, it may be a career-
changing experience, plus it’s an opportunity
to attract potential investors or finance and
distribution deals.
The founder of Raindance Film Festival Tourism and local economy - Successful
(1993) and the British Independent Film film festivals do not only bring an artistic,
Awards (1998) Elliot Grove listed 10 reasons cultural, and commercial aspect to the city,
why film festivals are important: they also provide jobs to the community and
higher earnings.
Expose independent cinema to new
audiences - showing movies that are resistant De facto theatrical release - Theatrical
to the commercial pressures of the standard releases of independent films are extremely
mainstream fare. Precisely, expressing new difficult. With festival screenings (who run in
ideas through independent films made by movie theatres) this can be seen as a
independent voices. precursor to film’s home video and/or online
distribution release.
Test screenings - film festivals are a great
place for filmmakers to get the audience’s Community engagement - Festivals create a
reactions, and maybe using that information to sense of community among a wide range of
re-edit a movie before its commercial release. people who came together to celebrate stories
told by filmmakers.
Marketing exercise - film festivals have three
ways of assisting filmmakers in their film’s Celebrate diversity - Grove says that the
marketing: through awards, reviews and best way to get rid of prejudices is to take the
interviews, and selling the film. audience to different worlds these films portray
and show how life really is.
Learning - many festivals have panel
discussions and masterclasses in which It’s important to point out that film festivals are
attendees can learn about what goes on not only great for the filmmakers, but for the
behind the scenes in the film industry. audiences as well!
Networking - It’s not what you know, but As per Rewire, film festivals provide audiences
whom! with movies that are vastly different from the
ones playing in the mainstream theatres. On
A platform for new talent - Traditionally,
top of that, festivals often host the world
festivals have been the place where
premieres of promising new films months
professionals and filmmakers alike go to spot
before they officially hit theatres.
new talent. 
 
Sometimes, festival audiences may see films Top tier festivals (Sundance, Cannes,
that never really receive a proper theatrical run, Toronto, etc)
due to various reasons. Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on
the ground. Kroll suggests that you keep in
Also, fans may have the opportunity to attend
mind the statistics when aiming for the big
special screenings with filmmakers and
guns. Meaning, Sundance alone receives over
actors, often followed with Q&A sessions
ten thousand short film submissions, but only
and discussions.
screens about 150 of them.
How to decide which film festival to
If you think that your movie is strong enough to
apply?
compete, Kroll suggests you apply but don’t
You’ve finished your movie, and now you want get discouraged if you get rejected because it
people to see it. Obviously. You are aware that doesn’t necessarily reflect the quality of your
film festivals are a great way to get exposure, work. If you get in, you might see your career
but there are so many of them! How do you launch!
find the right ones to apply? How do you make
If you have a feature film, you need to keep in
sure you’re not wasting your time and money?
mind the “premiere status”. Meaning, many
Filmmaker Noam Kroll wrote some tips that
large festivals want to have world premiere for
can help you decide!
their feature films, so if you apply to Cannes
Kroll says that the first step in developing a and a small regional festival, and small festival
festival strategy is to identify different types screens it first, there’s a good chance Cannes
of festivals in which your movie could fit may disqualify you.
in. This can save you a lot of money because
Verdict: Kroll says that you might not want to
festival submissions can range from $20 to
rule out big festivals, but also suggest to not
$100, and if you start applying to every festival
put all your eggs in one basket.
out there you’ll be wasting your money
unnecessarily. Mid-range festivals (Slamdance, Palm
Springs, South by Southwest, etc.)
To make things simpler, Kroll divided festivals
Kroll describes these festivals as “large enough
into different categories and explained how
that they get lots of media exposure and
each works.
celebrity appearances, but smaller than the and most importantly to not get discouraged if
top tier festivals (meaning your film may have you don’t get accepted to a festival, no matter
a better shot of actually getting in).“ big or small.
Plus, he adds that your film may get much “Parasite” - from film festivals to Oscar
more attention because it won’t get win
overshadowed by huge films. This year’s Oscars brought a lot of surprises
Verdict: Mid-rage festivals, says Kroll, are the but the biggest and historical one was Bong
sweet spot for up and coming filmmakers. Joon Ho’s Parasite going home with the
Oscar for Best Picture. Buzz about Parasite
Niche festivals (genre festivals, themed
started in May of 2019 after the movie won the
festivals, small regional festivals, etc.)
Palme d’Or at Cannes and received an eight-
Kroll says that these festivals are a good minute standing ovation.
option because of their higher acceptance rate

and the possibility of connecting you with the
audience that is more likely to respond well to
your film. Plus, they are usually relatively
inexpensive to submit to.
Verdict: Before you apply, do a bit of research

about the festival to see whether it’s good or
not so you don’t end up wasting your time.
Source: Vanity Fair
Kroll highlights that it’s important to diversify

As IndieWire notes, winners of Palme d’Or
your submissions, and as for himself, his next
have made it to the Best Picture race before
strategy for a feature film submission will be:
but never with such prominence across so
• Submit 30% to major festivals many categories. Besides Best Picture win,
• Submit 50% to mid-range festivals the movie also won Oscars for Best Director,
• Submit 20% to niche festivals Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign
Language Film, and was nominated for Best
The last tips that Kroll suggests are to maybe
Production Design and Best Film Editing.
invest in the festival consultants because they
may be saving you money in the long term,
Before the Oscars ceremony, a lot of media the overseas festivals paid off, even though
outlets such as The Washington Post and some weren’t too happy with the notion of
Deadline published articles that wondered festivals being a marketing launchpad for
whether it was possible for Parasite to “make Hollywood products.
Best Picture history?”
But, this sort of outcome, argues IndieWire,
In a Deadline interview, Bong described how helps elevate festivals and allows the rest of
the audience reacted to his movies: their programming to stand a shot at discovery
amid the hype.
“We first screened the film at Cannes, and the
audience was comprised of people from many The future of film festivals
countries. (...) People were clapping in the
Film critic, author, and scholar David Sterritt
middle and laughing out loud. It was quite a
thinks that film festivals will retain their
different, very heated response that we saw,
popularity and will likely change their selection
and that’s when it first felt that something was
different. It wasn’t quite what I’d anticipated. standards and exhibition formats as
Regardless of whether or not it would win technological developments in cinema alter the
awards, I was very happy to see it receive nature of cinema itself. Also, Sterritt points out
such an enthusiastic response. And then we that the program director will have to decide
kept screening it. In Sydney, and Munich, and whether to focus primarily on the best
Toronto. And the reactions were all quite cinematic art or turn to more commercially
similar. That enthusiasm that we saw.” oriented directions.
But, Parasite wasn’t the only movie in this The shrinking number of art-film theaters,
year’s Oscar nominations that attracted Sterritt says, is increasing the importance of
audiences' attention on the film festival circuit. film festivals. He highlights the festival's ability
As per IndieWire, among the nine nominees for to give exposure to new and unconventional
Best Picture, seven premiered with prominent works that otherwise might be overlooked and
slots at film festivals; several of them won spotlighting overlooked and forgotten movies
prizes there, including “Jojo Rabbit” and from the past that would otherwise remain
“Joker”. unknown.
Speaking of “Joker”, IndieWire writes that Sterritt finishes his predictions by saying - “Film
Warner Bros.’s decision to launch the move on festivals are indeed one of the vital signs of a
thriving cinema”
x
X FACTOR
“What does it take to become famous? Is it Amy Winehouse’s friend sent her demo tape to
talent? Is it luck? Is it both or something a record label owner which got her a deal,
else?” Lennon and McCartney met by accident and
decided to form a band together, Kanye West
Irma Jakić started out as a producer and was denied any

serious rapping chance until one day he
There are various theories and explanations on
decided to force Jay-Z to listen to him rapping.
how to become famous. For decades
Tim Staffel formed a band called Smile, and his
teenagers worldwide have been looking up to
college friend Farrokh Bulsara didn’t like the
their idols on TVs (nowadays more on their
name of the band nor his own name so the
smartphones) hoping to one day become just
band was later named Queen and Farrokh
like them. But what does it take to become
became Freddie. Photographer David Conover
famous? Is it talent? Is it luck? Is it both or
stopped by the Van Nuys factory to snap
something else? The one thing that everyone
some pictures of the female workers, and he
will probably agree on is that it takes the X
found himself captivated by one worker’s
factor - the one thing that makes you stand out
bright smile and ebullient energy. With his help,
in the crowd in any way. The other thing is the
the worker later pursued modelling and acting
courage to stand out.
career and changed her name to Marilyn
Throughout history, there’ve been numerous Monroe.
stories about movie stars, singers and dancers
All of these famous stories have the also
who became famous overnight. Some by
famous “and the rest is history” sentence at
accident, some by being determined to
the end. But, in the era of the Internet and
become famous and looking for every chance
social media, everything is changing.
they could get.
x X FACTOR 112
From the way we communicate, eat and learn One day in 2008, Scooter Braun was scrolling
to the ways people are becoming famous. through YouTube. He accidentally clicked on a
Many people are using social media to show video of a 12-year-old boy singing and
themselves not only to their friends but to the decided to find out more about him, later
turning Justin Bieber into one of the biggest
whole wide world. Some are becoming
teenage phenomena in the history of music.
Instagram influencers, some are filming funny
Tik-Tok stories, and some are becoming
famous YouTubers. And some used the power
of social media to catapult their singing talent
to the world scene.
Big music names like Justin Bieber, The

Weeknd, Ed Sheeran, Lana del Rey, and
Shawn Mendes used the power of social
media, especially YouTube, Facebook and
Twitter to show their work to the world, and
possibly to the music producers. And it
worked! After putting their homemade singing
videos, covers of famous songs or their own
recorded songs and music videos online, they
caught the attention of the audience and later
of the industry. They signed big record deals
and became some of the biggest music stars
with numerous Grammy nominations and #1
hits worldwide that way forever changing the
music industry, the perception of social media
and the becoming-famous stories.
So, instead of the classical “XY accidentally ran

into a music producer on the street/in a bar”
stories, in the ever-growing world of social
media those stories are becoming to sound
more and more like this one:
y
YHBT (YOU HAVE BEEN TROLLED) CULTURE
“For brands that engage in troll marketing, just want to provoke some kind of reaction.
this means walking a fine line between That’s sort of a part of the trolling appeal,
being witty and being cringe-worthy. “ marketing-wise - the fact that you often can’t
help yourself from giving it attention.
Iva Anušić
The other part lies in the ever-growing
popularity of the meme culture we’re all so
M
arketing can be hard. With so many engulfed in. Troll marketing thus easily
brands, products, and services translates to memes that younger generations
competing for the attention of love, especially the millennials that are most
consumers, it is often difficult to stand out. often a target audience for this sort of
That’s why some marketers turn to more advertising.
tongue-in-cheek strategies to ensure their
You have been trolled
message cuts through the noise more
effectively. For brands that engage in troll marketing, this
means walking a fine line between being witty
Enter troll marketing.
and being cringe-worthy.
The Urban Dictionary defines trolling as “the
But, when done right, it can be an incredibly
art of deliberately, cleverly, and secretly pissing
effective way of generating a buzz around a
people off, usually via the internet, using
brand and potentially lead to virality - and the
dialogue.“ You surely know of internet trolls
entertainment industry sure knows its way
whose comments consistently make you
around it.
question human intelligence. They might not
even believe their own statements, but they Take Netflix for example.
y YHBT (YOU HAVE BEEN TROLLED) CULTURE 114
In December of 2017, in the wake of the

also adds to the overall Netflix branding and
holiday movies binge-watching season, the
customer experience.
streaming giant hilariously tweeted the
following message to its followers: Also, their current Twitter bio is “hey all you
cool cats and kittens“. Amazing.
Reward > risk
Spotify is another brand that gets troll

marketing right. Every December, they sum up
the listening habits of their 250 million listeners
In case you’re wondering, A Christmas
to showcase the year-end trends and biggest
Prince is one of those cheesy movies you pick
moments in their award-winning campaign
when in the mood for some lighthearted
called ‘Wrapped’.
entertainment.
Using the data Spotify collects on its users,
Obviously, there are some people who just
they also spice things up by putting up
can’t seem to get enough of it, and it was a
billboards at some of the world’s most frequent
good enough reason for the company to
locations and poke fun at their customers’
express their concerns. Funnily enough, the
musical guilty pleasures.
movie is made and distributed by Netflix itself.
This campaign was also positively received by
Granted, not everyone was thrilled to be
both the customers and the media, and it
trolled, but the general consensus is that this
definitely succeeded in the goal of bringing
was a great move by Netflix.
Spotify’s customers together by connecting
Not only did it get a ton of press, but in them over a common (hilarious) habit.
comparison to the engagement their other
Trolling your customers might be tricky since a
tweets get on a regular basis (the number of
brand is basically roasting the very same
likes, comments, and retweet ranges from
people they expect to purchase their products
1-10K), this one was a major hit.
or services.
The tweet amassed a 100K retweets and a But, as the evidence suggests, as long as the
whopping 400K+ likes. Aside from having trolling is done in a playful manner, it can
great reach, the troll-style social media humour endear your audience to your brand even
y YHBT (YOU HAVE BEEN TROLLED) CULTURE 115
even more. It just goes to show how wise use

of marketing can deliver rewards that truly
outweigh the risks.
Source: Verve
z
ZOMBIES
Z
FIRST ZOMBIE MOVIE

White Zombie (Victor
Halperin, 1932)
FIRST ZOMBIE BOOK

Zombies appeared in
literature as far back as
1697.
BEST ZOMBIE BOOK

World War Z: An Oral History
of the Zombie War (Max
Brooks, 2006)
117
Z
BEST ZOMBIE MOVIE

Dawn of the Dead
(George A. Romero,
1979)
FIRST ZOMBIE VIDEO GAME

Zombie Zombie (ZX
Spectrum, 1984)
MOST FAMOUS (ZOMBIE)

MUSIC VIDEO
Thriller (Michael Jackson,
1983), also the most famous
music video ever.
Sources: Rotten Tomatoes, Good Reads 118

a-z
Editor-in-chief Matĳa Martek
Executive Producer Klara Malnar
Creative Director Klara Gavran
Creative Assistant Klara Malnar
Creative Assistant Iva Anušić
Staff Writer Klara Malnar
Staff Writer Iva Anušić
Staff Writer Klara Gavran
Staff Writer Irma Jakić
Editorial Office
Vukasovićeva 1, Zagreb
Croatia
Visit us at Mediatoolkit to
find out more about our
media monitoring tool and
visit our blog for more fun
content!

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a-z

a ANALYZE, ANALYZE, ANALYZE

c CINEMAS, ARE THEY DYING?

d DID YOU KNOW?

e ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING IN 2019

by Irma Jakić P31

i I WANT TO THANK THE ACADEMY…AND MY

k KEEPING UP WITH THE STREAMING SERVICES

l LEANING INTO SOCIAL LISTENING

n NOT YOUR AVERAGE MARKETING CAMPAIGN

by Klara Gavran P62

o OFF-CAMERA: ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY BY

p PR NIGHTMARE, BUT LONG OVERDUE

s SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON THE

by Klara Gavran P96

w WHAT ABOUT FILM FESTIVALS?

y YHBT (YOU HAVE BEEN TROLLED) CULTURE

ANALYZE, ANALYZE, ANALYZE

press are talking about. Recognize year in advance.

C ollection and interpretation of data are Before the campaign: create a

crucial in any marketing activity - from unique campaign tag

importance of tracking promotional activities. unique to your campaign ensures all

Source: Oﬃcial Avengers Instagram Account

engage in conversations yourself. your investment.

Don’t be a passive observer Few of the most important metrics are as

your campaign had, as well as the total Sentiment analysis

After all, results don’t come from focusing on

Analyze, analyze, analyze

Marketing campaign analysis is an all-

Fast, aﬀordable and simple for everyone to use.

SIGN UP FOR FREE

How does a movie become a

“Why do Avengers need tons of money spent Finding a budget

Stephen Follows analyzed 29 Hollywood encompassed everyone, no matter the age,

The best blockbusters ever, source: Shortlist

To promote the first Deadpool movie, the

driven box office revenue. the next trailers.

media listening tools to understand when them in a timely manner.

account followers and people talking about

Gauge reaction to the first trailer

Social media - these days, social media is

Teasers and posters - sometimes those two

Rinse and repeat for the DVD release

Verdict writes that once a film is out and the

And that’s that! Creative thinking, relying on the

CINEMAS, ARE THEY DYING?

Klara Malnar Here are the main takeaways:

Source: Europa Cinemas

The 800-pound gorilla loses some weight

not kill cinema. It’ll change the cinema, but it

500 hours of video

The most pirated film of all time is Avatar.

The first celebrity to be pictured on the

5,902 book titles

On average, people spend 18 hours

89% of people listen to music

The movie Titanic

Bollywood produces twice as many

The highest grossing animated film of

The Oscar trophy

There’s a Starbucks cup in every

Source: Marketing Week