Marketing strategies often involve selling ideas or dreams, with an increasing emphasis on transparency in the modern era. A notable aspect of this is the use of trailers in movie marketing, a tool that has been used for decades to build awareness and hype for upcoming films. An interesting example is provided by the marketing strategy for Wonka, an anticipated release in 2024.
The movie earned an impressive projection of 40 million for its opening weekend, and featured Timothe Chalamet in the lead role, also known for his role in Mean Girls. Besides being an esteemed actor, Chalamet has added musician to his resume with the song “You’ve Never Had Chocolate Like This”. Despite the film´s high profile, early trailers of Wonka omitted the fact it is a musical movie. Excluding any hint of songs in the trailers was a strategy shared by other movies like Mean Girls and The Color Purple.
More strikingly, these trailers even hid the fact that these films were adapted from stage musical versions. Nevertheless, their eventual releases were successful; for instance, in its second weekend, Mean Girls brought its domestic total to 50 million, even though many viewers didn’t realize it was a musical.
The question of whether a trailer should accurately summarize a movie arises from such tactics. The decision to dodge key aspects of a film, such as its musical genre, could blur genre lines in an evolving cinema landscape. Given the current fragility of the post-pandemic cinema market, not being completely truthful in trailers could possibly dissuade potential audience members. On the other hand, masking the musical elements of a film could be a strategic move to rope in a wider audience who don’t typically gravitate towards musical cinema.
Notwithstanding, trends of misleading trailers and promotional material are not new in the world of cinema. For instance, the 2011 comedy blockbuster Bridesmaids used a similar marketing strategy by drawing comparisons to its predecessor, The Hangover, though the actual film delivered a different form of comedy.
There’s a potential link between deceptive marketing, the word-of-mouth impact, and first-week hype in the cinema world. While some might view this as a deceptive practice, others might see it as clever marketing. But it does raise concerns about the transparency of movie marketing campaigns.
As we move into 2024, an essential reminder for all CMOs is to reflect on the honesty of their marketing strategies. There are four key considerations: 1. The current marketing strategy’s potential to alienate new audiences, 2. Attracting new customers with creative or surprising approaches, 3. The effect of how the product is positioned on customer loyalty, and 4. The impact of marketing on partners or distributors’ ability to sell the product.
Source: Movie Marketing: Music Lessons From Mean Girls, Wonka And More .
