Films nominated for an Oscar can often seem something of a mystery to film-goers living outside the US, as they have often not seen them.
The delay between US release and the rest of the world is often to the frustration of movie buffs keen to see the latest films before Oscar nominations are revealed.
But it is the tactics adopted during the fierce competition of film festival season that determine when and where a movie will make its mark.
Under Academy Award rules, films fighting for Oscar nomination must have played on screens in Los Angeles for at least seven days in a row before the end of the previous year.This rule prompts many studios to wait until the last week of December to release their movies and ensure they are fresh in the minds of Oscar voters when they fill out their ballots.
As a result, many Oscar films that are released in the US in December do not find their way to UK cinemas until February or March.
But getting the timing right to ensure an Oscar nomination is vitally important to actors, film studios and distributors.
Movies that need a distributor (a company that picks up the rights to release a film in the cinema) count on award ceremonies to provide a high-profile platform.
Having a DVD come out during Oscar season can be doubly rewarding. Parties and events tied to the DVDs generate momentum that not only leads to video sales and revenue but also keeps the films fresh in the minds of Academy Award voters.
The DVD release is scheduled for "right in the middle of what they hoped would be an awards season filled with nominations and victories for film fans of greatest work.
"If you can get a DVD in the voters' hands just in time for the Oscars, you've got a chance," says Nancy Utley, head of marketing for Focus Features.
That has proved true in the recent past.
When it comes to campaigning, the idea is to keep your film in the public consciousness. Activity surrounding DVD launches and releases do that well. That's why you've seen a lot of activity around DVDs during this awards season.
In short:
The delay between US release and the rest of the world is often to the frustration of movie buffs keen to see the latest films before Oscar nominations are revealed.
But it is the tactics adopted during the fierce competition of film festival season that determine when and where a movie will make its mark.
Under Academy Award rules, films fighting for Oscar nomination must have played on screens in Los Angeles for at least seven days in a row before the end of the previous year.This rule prompts many studios to wait until the last week of December to release their movies and ensure they are fresh in the minds of Oscar voters when they fill out their ballots.
As a result, many Oscar films that are released in the US in December do not find their way to UK cinemas until February or March.
But getting the timing right to ensure an Oscar nomination is vitally important to actors, film studios and distributors.
Movies that need a distributor (a company that picks up the rights to release a film in the cinema) count on award ceremonies to provide a high-profile platform.
Having a DVD come out during Oscar season can be doubly rewarding. Parties and events tied to the DVDs generate momentum that not only leads to video sales and revenue but also keeps the films fresh in the minds of Academy Award voters.
The DVD release is scheduled for "right in the middle of what they hoped would be an awards season filled with nominations and victories for film fans of greatest work.
"If you can get a DVD in the voters' hands just in time for the Oscars, you've got a chance," says Nancy Utley, head of marketing for Focus Features.
That has proved true in the recent past.
When it comes to campaigning, the idea is to keep your film in the public consciousness. Activity surrounding DVD launches and releases do that well. That's why you've seen a lot of activity around DVDs during this awards season.
In short:
- DVD has become an important tool in the Oscar campaign and films without them will be at a disadvantage.
- It's also hard to persuade them to watch films they have seen before.
- A winning actor is often taken more seriously and can be offered more challenging roles as a result.
- The amount of free publicity the winners get is immeasurable.
- The timing really is critical. People are only human and the films the members of the Academy are seeing at the moment are the films that are going to be in their minds. Timing matters!!!
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Hello Tushar,
ReplyDeleteTiming DVD could be a real bonus, but there are faster ways of running campaigns, which do make money at the same time.
If they could collaborate with iTunes and release it to more number of users they would have opened a new marketing channel itself. It would have been a newer, cheaper, faster and more protected form of film distribution than DVD! In fact it would have been so handy that people travelling in bus or train could have watched the Oscar nominated movie.
Advertisements play an equally important role- say Dhoni was advertising more frequently after winning the T20 and making loads of money.
Radio channels, News Media, Youtube, Weblogs, Webcasts, etc. are some of the other 'Viral Marketing' tools which can go announcing Oscar movies and then media can run the entire show..In fact I came across this headline- "The man behind the man: Obama and the aide who makes his campaign tick"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/29/reggie-love-barack-obama
What's strinkingly important is that Reggie Love was able to raise a mammoth amount of fund when he adopted the right channels to do things. Definitely technology helped to exploit all the channels, but it was not possible 4 years back.
In nut shell- You need things to be done at the right time, but it is equally important to get the story correct with RIGHT STRATEGIES, which the Oscar marketing team just missed..
Thanks for the great input...the advertisers do a great job in marketing the movie but here the emphasis was on how these people time the release, of the movies, DVDs etc ,to perfection. :)
ReplyDeleteRegards,
-Tushar
I was so glad that I was able to watch Slumdog Millionaire before the Oscars. It is very rare that I like the movies that win but that one is definitely a keeper.
ReplyDelete