Asking for promotional techniques for the movie "Hero" directed by Zhang Yimou, refer to Hero's Encyclopedia "For the first time, many domestic films adopted marketing techniques that had never been s

Asking for promotional techniques for the movie "Hero" directed by Zhang Yimou, refer to Hero's Encyclopedia "For the first time, many domestic films adopted marketing techniques that had never been seen before."

Analysis of the marketing model of the movie "Hero"

I like "Hero" because it caters to the needs of the audience, and the popularity of "Hero" is due to its superb market-oriented operation . Analyzing "Heroes" is to give birth to more "Heroes".

It made 100 million at the box office within 7 days of its release. It is "Hero".

Relying on its strong financial support, leading market concepts, and skillful operating techniques, "Hero" was a huge success as soon as it was launched on December 20, 2002. As of January 7, 2003, the box office revenue reached 195 million yuan.

However, box office is only part of the revenue brought in by "Heroes". In fact, before the film was released globally, the producers had already used a systematic approach to not only recoup all their investment, but also make a profit: the distribution rights in Europe and the United States were sold for US$20 million; the distribution rights in South Korea and Japan were The rights were sold for US$2 million and US$7 million respectively; the mainland audio and video rights of VCD and DVD were sold for 17.8 million yuan; the price of the "Hero" pre-roll advertisement was 2 million yuan for 30 seconds. Of course, we cannot ignore the huge revenue generated by the development of post-film products and film derivatives such as books and stamps.

From a financial perspective, "Heroes" is undoubtedly a success. In essence, the fundamental reason for its success is the innovative introduction of marketing concepts into the film industry and integrated mature market operation methods.

Studying the Chinese film market and consumers

Since the introduction of blockbusters in the mid-1990s, domestic cinemas have lost their glory, and box office has declined year by year, even more so in recent years. Twenty years ago, China's movie audience peaked at nearly 30 billion people per year. In the 1990s, it plummeted to 5.6 billion. The reasons why the film market is in such decline are:

1. Ignoring changes in consumer demand.

Any product can only succeed if it caters to the current and future potential needs of consumers. It is also very necessary for film "producers" to understand the changes and trends in the lifestyles, concepts and preferences of mainstream audiences. At present, the audience for entertainment films occupies the mainstream in our country's film market. In this market, the audience is God. However, most directors in China do not take the needs of the audience into consideration and despise the needs of the audience. The only way to end is a dead end.

2. The preferences of Chinese movie audiences have changed.

In the past five years, the strong changes in the viewing taste of movie audiences are reflected in the fact that movies are becoming more and more popular, popular, and purely entertaining. Relaxing comedies and thrilling disaster movies are more favored. "Watching movies is just for entertainment and relaxation." This is the main purpose of the main audience going to the theater after being busy at work.

3. Chinese audiences lack movie experience.

A survey shows that Chinese audiences only go to the theater once every three years. This makes the audience lack a movie-going experience and wonder whether it is worth spending tens of yuan to go to the theater.

4. Ticket prices for imported blockbusters are too high.

For example, the highest ticket price of "Titanic" in China in 1998 was 80 yuan, which was higher than the highest ticket price in the United States. Severe price distortion in a market with relatively low consumption levels is the main reason why the introduction of imported blockbusters has caused the Chinese film market to drop to a freezing point.

5. The proliferation of pirated CDs and smuggled films has seriously eroded the film market.

Because pirated copies are more cost-effective than genuine copies, the movie's box office suffered huge losses.

6. The alternative role of TV and movie channels.

7. There is a lack of truly authoritative film reviews that can guide audience preferences and film creation.

Domestic film critics often analyze movies from a professional perspective and rarely appreciate films from an audience's perspective, thus failing to effectively stimulate the audience's willingness to watch.

8. There are a lot of Chinese films in terms of output, but not many have entered the market. Many films cannot be seen by the audience at all, and some are not distributed at all.

9. Lack of marketing awareness.

In a state-owned studio, for a film with an investment of over one million yuan, it would be good to spend 20,000 to 30,000 yuan to promote it. Due to the lack of marketing awareness and first-class marketing talents, some domestic films are "locked in the unknown".

Faced with the continued weakness of the Chinese film market, many excellent domestic films can only rely on almost the only means to compete for high box office returns during prime time periods such as "Valentine's Day" and "Spring Festival". This shows the helplessness of Chinese films. A spot.

Precise positioning

Zhang Yimou has never been shy about the positioning of "Hero" as a commercial film: "The key to evaluating the success or failure of "Hero" lies in the box office."

"Hero" attempts to use a brand-new narrative technique and imaginative expression method to occupy a classic area in people's minds that belongs to the highest realm of martial arts movies, so that when people talk about martial arts, they will naturally mention "Hero". This kind of positioning naturally derives from the film’s magnificent momentum, beautiful images, flowing colors, romantic music and strong lineup; it naturally derives from high investment and a series of breathtaking marketing actions; it naturally derives from The ticket price for domestic films is as high as 40 yuan per person; this naturally gave rise to the image of domestic blockbusters that are comparable to "Titanic" in people's minds.

Accurate image positioning has locked the target audience of "Hero" at a large number of ordinary audiences, rather than film festival judges; it is destined that "Hero" will become a classic martial arts film in people's minds; at the same time It is also destined that "Hero" will eventually succeed.

Powerful movie brand appeal

The so-called brand refers to the name, term, symbol, design or product used to identify the company's products in order to differentiate them from those of competitors. A combination of these 4. As a popular consumer product, movies must build and operate their own brands in the market as the public increasingly relies on brand consumption. The brand management strategy of "Hero" has undoubtedly become a classic in the Chinese film industry.

Zhang Yimou alone has enough box office appeal. What's more, the salary of about US$8 million has invited big-name superstars Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Chen Daoming, Zhang Ziyi, and Donnie Yen to join the film, plus Du Kefeng's photography, Tan Dun's music, Cheng Xiaodong's martial arts, Wada Emi's costumes, character design, and Pal Mann's violin and the nearly 17 minutes of US$10 million in stunts produced by the "Matrix" stunt team for the entire film. Every element of the crew injects strong vitality into the "Heroes" brand.

The value of a brand is not assessed by the company itself, but exists in the minds of consumers and in the interaction between the brand and consumers.

1. Communication.

The communication between "Hero" and the audience is completed through large-scale publicity and promotion before the screening. Whether it is in terms of media investment, large-scale public relations activities, or vivid point-of-sale displays, the main appeal of "Heroes" lies in the strength of its team lineup. It attempts to use the brand appeal of the director and stars to convince the audience that "Hero" can indeed bring them the sensory enjoyment they have been seeking and expecting in martial arts movies with its sophisticated production comparable to Hollywood. The pleasure gained will far exceed their material expenditure.

The "Hero" documentary "Origin", which was released on November 28, 2002, pushed the communication between "Hero" and the audience to the extreme. This documentary, which uses documentary techniques and was filmed over 3 years and more than 1,000 days and nights from Beijing to Dunhuang, from Jiuzhaigou to Hengdian, depicts the story of "Hero" from a concept in Zhang Yimou's mind to finally becoming a movie. Every valuable detail of a mature film production. The large-scale dissemination of this documentary through multiple channels gives the audience the opportunity to have close contact with the creation of "Hero" and many stars for the first time, thus strongly arousing the curiosity and expectation of a wider group of people towards "Hero".

2. Experience.

The author of "Emotional Marketing" said that "experience is a collection of key points for companies and customers to communicate sensory stimulation, information and emotions." Movies are different from tangible products. The value they provide to consumers lies in a an experience.

The mighty Qin army galloped with the sound of cymbals and drums, the duel between heroes held their breath next to the white-haired and decayed guqin, the burning hatred was accompanied by the low evil spirit of the ghost drum, and the sound of the sound came from the vast desert. It is the sad longing of the violin; the red maple forest, the green landscape, the blue study room, and the yellow desert; the characters in "Hero" are diluted into a heroic symbol, and the heroic charm is splashed wantonly in the changes in clothing colors. , the beauty of Maggie Cheung in the fluttering red dress, the resoluteness of Jet Li in the smart black suit, the loneliness of Tony Leung in the fluttering white suit; the fight in the chess pavilion, the sky full of yellow leaves, and the sword competition in Jiuzhaigou, all of which are told in Zhang Yimou's unique narrative Technique, coming towards the audience. This is indeed a "visual feast" that "flows in color".

3. Lenovo.

Consumers’ association with the brand is an important component of the connotation of brand power. With its sophisticated production, "Hero" has successfully become synonymous with the highest level of martial arts films in the public mind. At this stage, the influence of the "Hero" brand has surpassed that of Zhang Yimou and the celebrity brand. Audiences began to be more enthusiastic about discussing the characters, plots, colors, music, pictures, and costumes of the film. They no longer evaluated the quality of the film through factors such as the director and actors, but relatively independently evaluated based on their own "experience" .

"Hero" has withstood the test of the audience with its excellence. The success of "Hero" in terms of quality makes the "Hero" brand and the director's and star brands complement each other in the market. On the one hand, it effectively enhances the image of the director and stars; on the other hand, it is also conducive to the further extension of the "Hero" brand. .

Integrated marketing communications

The success of "Hero" is no accident. In addition to its outstanding quality, its integrated communication and promotion in operation are indispensable.

1. Early strategy.

(1) Keep it secret. Since the filming of the film began, it has been carried out under extreme secrecy. The appearance of its main characters has been kept secret, which aroused great curiosity in the news media. Therefore, when the stills of "Hero" were exposed, they immediately aroused the first wave of attention from the media, the public and many businesses.

(2) Impact on Oscar. After the post-production was completed, the "Hero" crew began to frequently proactively contact the media. Therefore, whether it can successfully win the Oscar has become a hot topic of public discussion and the biggest suspense, which further arouses public expectations for this film.

(3) Release "Origin" ahead of schedule. "If I can't steal "Hero", I'll steal the documentary "Origin"." As everyone knows, he has fallen into the "trap" of "Hero" again. "Origin" is not only a documentary of "Hero", but also a promotional film for "Hero". Through it, it has set off a new round of expectations of the audience for "Hero". Taking advantage of people's curiosity about the film and bringing "Origin" to the market first can be described as an innovative move to build momentum. Before the launch of "Origin", "Hero" comics, novels, and stamps were released one after another, forming a wave of momentum.

(4) The publicity effect of piracy. While people are talking about the "overt and covert struggle" between "Hero" and piracy, "Hero" has made headlines in the entertainment pages of newspapers and websites. We all know that admission to the Shenzhen preview screening of "Hero" requires an ID card. We all know that pirates in Shenzhen threaten to get pirated copies of "Hero" within 7 days. We all know that the anti-piracy work of "Hero" will be carried out to the end, so we all expect to know Whether the "thief" is one foot taller, the "hero" is one foot taller than the "devil".

"Hero" became the focus of public opinion in its thrilling battle against piracy.

2. Medium-term strategy.

(1) Charter flight premiere signing ceremony. On November 22, 2002, the producer and distributor of "Hero" held a grand signing ceremony for the charter flight premiere at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Highlights and filming highlights of "Hero" were played live. A first for a charter premiere in Chinese film history, "Hero" continues to successfully attract attention.

(2) Mainland audio and video copyrights are auctioned at sky-high prices. On November 29, 2002, the mainland audio and video copyrights of the VCD and DVD of "Hero" were auctioned for a sky-high price of 17.8 million yuan, setting a record for the highest domestic audio and video product copyright transaction. This further confirmed the value of "Hero" and directly and effectively stimulated consumers' desire to take a look.

(3) Media advertising placement.

As the release date approaches, "Hero" has made more and more moves in the media, and most audiences across the country have been exposed to the film's three-dimensional bombing propaganda offensive: in addition to traditional methods such as light boxes, street sign advertisements, and poster displays in theaters, "Hero" "Hero" was shown to the world in the form of pure commercial advertisements on TV. It was first launched on the Central Television's 1st, 3rd and 8th sets, followed by more than 150 local TV stations across the country as well as VCD, DVD and Internet channels. bombing; at the same time, "Hero" was also bundled with Dopod mobile phone advertisements and appeared in many media. The ads included the title and release date of "Heroes." For a time, advertisements for "Hero" were overwhelming and everywhere. The effective integration of the above media maximized the coverage of the target audience and contributed to the release of "Heroes".

(4) Premiere in the Great Hall of the People. After whetting the appetite of the audience and the media, "Hero" finally held its premiere at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on December 14, 2002. "Hero" chose to hold its premiere in the solemn Great Hall of the People. On the one hand, it is to further focus the media's attention and push the publicity offensive to a climax; on the other hand, it is also intended to highlight the extraordinary quality of "Hero".

Although the reviews and reports of "Hero" by many media after the premiere were not as good as expected, the many controversies and frequent interviews by Zhang Yimou and other crew members in the media have made people more and more convinced: "Heroes" is indeed worth watching. This gradually paved the way for the climax of "Hero".

(5) The Tide Rises? Premiere press conferences in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. As the nationwide release date approaches, the promotional campaign for "Hero" has reached a fever pitch. "Hero" divided the national market into four major areas: Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Guangzhou, and sent dedicated personnel to visit the areas in person. It spent huge sums of money to charter flights to Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong to attend the premiere press conferences, setting off another round of news frenzy; Then, the BMW motorcade picked up the plane, Zhang Yimou and entertainment reporters started to quarrel, offered a reward of 4 million yuan to catch pirated copies of "Hero", Tung Chee-hwa met with him, and the pre-sale box office reached 3 million yuan... In December 2002, the entertainment industry was immersed in the excitement of "Hero" 》In anticipation and cheers.

(6) Point of sale layout. When "Heroes" was finally released across the country, in order to create a live theater atmosphere, most of the major theaters used large-scale outdoor spray paintings, POP hanging flags, human-shaped signboards and many other terminal promotional supplies. Some theaters even put up lanterns and colorful decorations. publicity.

3. Later strategy: box office and piracy.

Even if "Heroes" stops promoting, its dazzling box office will keep it at the center of public attention. The 7-day box office exceeded 100 million yuan, and the 20-day box office exceeded 200 million yuan. People have begun to tirelessly compare "Hero" with "Titanic", which set China's box office record. The inertia of the mid-term strategy and the huge box office have become "Hero" The biggest publicity point.

In addition, the release of the film has suddenly made it more difficult to prevent piracy. The fight against piracy and anti-piracy of "Heroes" will continue to remain in the media's sight.

In the publicity strategy of "Heroes", the early event marketing and the mid-term series of public relations activities, advertising, and on-site promotion methods can be said to be carefully planned and completed in one go; the effective integration of multiple channels maximizes the Covering the target group, step by step, the expectations and enthusiasm of the audience and the media are pushed to a climax.

Channel Victory

1. Integrate production and distribution.

The producer of "Heroes" is the publisher. New Picture Company not only assisted Zhang Yimou in completing the production of the film, but also worked with China Film Group Corporation to distribute the film. This makes the entire process of "Heroes" from production to packaging planning to market introduction an organic whole, laying the foundation for successful market operations from an organizational perspective.

The power of the "Hero" brand and publicity puts the film's producer and distributor in a strong position in the film's distribution channels and has the command to execute its distribution strategy.

2. Flat mode strategy in distribution.

The graphic mode strategy refers to a film premiering in a certain theater or a small number of key theaters in a major target market to establish a good reputation. Once the reputation is established, the film will be expanded in one go or in stages. range and enter countless theaters to achieve the goal of blooming everywhere and making money.

The producer and distributor of "Heroes" made full use of its control over distribution channels and carefully selected the Great Hall of the People as the venue for the premiere. Six days later, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai were launched. Focus on spreading to the whole country.

This kind of spreading is not indiscriminate. The producer and distributor of "Hero" screened each theater chain based on past box office performance and the level of hardware facilities to ensure that the film's screening quality is not compromised by the audience.

3. Selection of schedule.

For movies, schedule is the key to successful box office success. The target audience of "Heroes" is young and middle-aged people aged 18 to 35. These young and middle-aged people are open and easy to accept foreign culture. Their attention to Western festivals such as "Christmas" and "Valentine's Day" is enough to be consistent with traditional Chinese festivals. Compete with each other. Therefore, "Hero" set the nationwide release date on December 20, 2002 to seize the "Christmas" schedule and attract people who have been infected by the holiday atmosphere to the greatest extent. Weekends, midnight, Christmas, and "Heroes" are all temptations that are really hard to resist for young and middle-aged people in their prime.

The schedule of "Heroes" not only catches up with "Christmas", but also includes "New Year's Day". The potential audience of "Hero" is people aged 12 to 18 and 35 to 50 who are interested in martial arts and movies. During this "Christmas" and "New Year" period, many potential viewers walked into the theater driven by box office and word-of-mouth.

Except for bumping into "Infernal Affairs" in Hong Kong, "Hero" has hardly been attacked by other films of the same type in China.

4. Three-dimensional channel distribution strategy.

In addition to traditional screen screening, emerging film distribution also includes VCD, DVD, TV, video, Internet and other channels. The mature movie broadcasting system in the West tells us that movies should first be broadcast in theaters, then enter the home video market, then pay TV and cable TV, and only one year later can they start to be broadcast on public television stations. Following this mature broadcast system, "Hero" deliberately controlled the release time of its VCD and DVD, and decided to enter the home market one month after the film was released? Probably February 5, 2003, so as to ensure the box office It will not be impacted and ensure the continuity of "Hero"'s contact with the audience.

5. Strictly guard against piracy.

(1) In-theater supervision. During the screening of "Hero" in Shenzhen, the production and distributor strictly supervised every detail. To this end, they even controlled the number of screenings and the number of ticket sales to ensure sufficient prevention power and effectively prevent piracy.

< p>(2) Protect copy. In order to strictly prevent piracy, the copies of "Hero" were transported in copy boxes that had not been seen in 20 years, and the keys were personally kept by the managers of each theater. The production and distributor also issued a public statement stating that if a copy of "Hero" is lost in a cinema, a penalty of 10 times the amount claimed for the copy will be imposed. In addition, in order to completely block piracy from within, no copies will be developed until the last moment. Each theater that has screened "Hero" on that day must hand over the copy and have it signed by the theater manager.

(3) Rely on administrative power. In order to combat piracy, "Hero" has also successfully joined forces with external forces. The Ministry of Culture and the Anti-Pornography Office established an anti-piracy task force for a movie for the first time; Guangdong Weijia and Feishi invested 4 million yuan as a fund to combat piracy, and established an anti-counterfeiting team and a team of lawyers.

Although the copy was stolen in Xi'an later, on the whole, the anti-piracy work of "Hero" was very successful, effectively ensuring the film's high box office returns.

Brand extension? Development of post-film products and derivative products

The film industry chain can be roughly divided into 5 stages: the first is the planning and production stage; the second is the publicity and distribution stage; The third is the theater screening stage; the fourth is the development stage of post-movie products; and the fifth is the development stage of film derivative products. Among them, post-film products and film derivative products are the products of the film's own brand extension.

In the United States and other Western countries, film industry marketing uses "movies" as the locomotive to lead the comprehensive development of related products and industries. This model is called the universe system model of film marketing (Figure 1). This model compares movies to the sun and other related products and industries to the planets orbiting it.

In the United States, it is common for a film to lose money in a narrow sense (meaning that the box office is lower than the investment), but to make a profit in a broad sense (meaning that the comprehensive income is greater than the investment). In our country, most of the focus on movies is still focused on the box office, but the two important stages of post-movie products and movie derivatives have been ignored, and the combined development of the mass culture consumer market has not yet been carried out. "Hero" has actively and successfully explored this aspect.

Universe System Model of Movie Marketing

1. Overseas distribution.

Before the film was released, the producer of "Hero" had sold its distribution rights in Europe, America, South Korea, and Japan, and successfully recovered all investment.

2. Sticker advertising.

Patch ads from dozens of large companies such as Procter & Gamble, Toyota, and China Mobile have brought more than 20 million yuan in revenue to "Hero."

3. Comics.

A comic written and drawn by Hong Kong comic master Ma Wing-cheng of "Hero" was released at the same time as the film.

4. The novel of the same name.

In order to have an interactive impact with the movie, the novel of the same name adapted from "Hero" was launched in early December 2002. The first printing of the book is 50,000 copies, priced at 20 yuan.

5. Sculpture group of four people.

Before the film was released, Hong Kong had already started selling the four-person sculpture set of "Hero". The 50 sets of "Heroes" four-person sculptures (Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Jet Li and Zhang Ziyi) made by the relevant Hong Kong film company cannot be bought with money. They need to be exchanged with 4 ticket exchange tickets, and the ticket exchange tickets are included with the tickets. Gift.

6. Stamps.

In order to cooperate with the promotion of the film "Hero", 3,000 sets of "Hero" stamps were issued in limited quantities. Soon, the limited release was changed to open availability in order to sustain the popularity of "Heroes" beyond the screening.

7. Audio and video copyright.

The mainland audio and video copyright auction of "Hero" VCD and DVD was sold at a sky-high price of 17.8 million yuan.

8. Games.

A software company in Shanghai has obtained the exclusive authorization from the "Hero" crew to move the characters, props and storyline of "Hero" into the online game "Legend of Oblivion" for the first time.

9. Bundled advertising.

The bundled advertising between Dopod and "Hero" greatly reduced its publicity expenses and achieved a win-win situation.

10. Sequel.

The investors of "Hero" have reached an agreement with Zhang Yimou. After "Hero" is successfully released and released, they will spend huge sums of money again to shoot the sequel of "Hero" in 2003.

Looking back at the process of "Hero" planning the Chinese film market, we can realize that the success of "Hero" has far more far-reaching significance than financial profits. For the Chinese film industry, the "hero model" it has created will be used as a reference by many film institutions and will become a turning point in truly realizing the commercialization of Chinese films; its successful development of post-film products and derivative products will herald China's The arrival of the "post-movie era".