When trying to understand how a film industry markets it is important to look at a different set of films, genres and budgets and their marketing techniques individually. As a team we’ve looked at Deadpool, Hunger Games, Cloverfield and Blair Witch but now I want to focus on a long running franchise, comparing how they marketed 40 years ago in comparison to now, today, even this very second.
The Star Wars Franchise
The Star Wars franchise is undoubtedly huge and I would go so far as suggesting it is one of the biggest film franchises we have to date. But many would argue the franchise has only become so popular because of its marketing techniques, branding and outreach to its audiences. Others would argue that the idea alone has been the cause for its upmost success. Within this overview section I am going to look at the impact Star Wars has had on the marketing industry of films.
Ames and Soat explain how ‘Star Wars had changed film marketing forever’ and give their reasons behind this looking at how the franchise created a ‘movie merchandising juggernaut’ which ‘inspired product integration between brands and Hollywood at an unprecedented scale’. Ames and Soat further explain this by looking at Hollywood blockbusters and film marketing in general, looking at how they locate a center between brand and entertainment that ‘will strike a chord in pop culture’. This is an important take on how to look at the marketing techniques used by the franchise. Is it possible to pinpoint Star Wars as being the frontal change of film marketing in the film industry as a whole? This question I will ask following the continuation of my blog.
Beginning in 1977, Star Wars started branching its marketing over a number of different platforms, including: games, magazines, comics, books, merchandise and advertising…to name a few. I will go over these in more detail in the upcoming blog, looking at specific campaigns for specific films and trilogies.
Star Wars also have a dedicated day, ‘Force Friday’ and a well-known brand and logo associated with the franchise over all.
In the next few blog posts I am going to look at a number of factors referring to Star Wars and the marketing tactics that have been used for each film. This includes a look at the history, past and present, tips and tricks and trans media storytelling.
…so hold tight for the next post.
May the force be with you.
Star Wars Marketing 