Introduction/Background
The Dark Knight is a 2008-superhero film directed, produced, and co-written by Christopher Nolan. The movie is based on DC Comics Batman character, in which the newly elected district attorney, Harvey Dent, and Batman must combat “The Joker”. In the months leading up to the release of The Dark Knight, an alternate-reality game attracted more than 10 million unique players to real-time Gotham City. More commonly known as “Why So Serious?” the campaign was designed as a 360-degree experience that played out in the 15 months leading up to the release of The Dark Knight (Billington, 2008). With people from over 75 countries becoming henchman to the Joker and obeying his every command, they began to scour the globe in search of more and more clues. From calling phone numbers written in the sky, to hunting down GPS coordinates to find mobile phones baked inside of birthday cakes, “Why So Serious?” was an experience like no other.
Warner Brothers wanted to put the fans of the film into the Dark Knight universe, to make them feel like a part of the experience. The Batman character had made the company unfathomable amounts of money over the years, and Warner Bros. knew that the franchise could do even better. From his first appearance on the big screen in 1989, Batman would go on to become the most successful film of 2008(Staff, 2012).
SWOT
There were many strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats when it came to the campaign. Warner Brothers is one of the most successful production companies in the world. For example, during the year of 2012, the company had a solid financial position with USD 12 billion revenues generated with more than USD 1.2 billion operating income (Cocozza, 2012). They have also had many other successful franchises including Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hangover. Due to the massive following and praise over these films, Warner Bros. is certainly a match to be made. Although they do not have many weaknesses, the company has had its fair share of problems. With an overdependence on the home market in the United States, Warner Bros. has a major weakness in global competition, which can lead to long-term problems.
The opportunities do abound for the company, though. There is an attractive profit maximization opportunity for them as they continue to introduce new installments/sequels to their most successful franchises. Also, with the expansion of digital distribution capabilities, Warner Bros. has been able to become a leader of technological changes in the industry. Now, certainly, there are some threats that the studio must face. Primarily, decline in the sales of DVDs, changing economic conditions, and piracy can get in the way of their efforts. Also, due to the decline in popularity of U.S. television programs, Warner Bros. needs to promote and present the TV world as one to watch and remain in tune with.
Identification of Strategic Plan
The “Why So Serious” campaign was a whirlwind and many factors went in to its ultimate success. In terms of research, Warner Brothers was well aware of the effects of social media and video games on consumers. They also needed to target the correct demographic which, for the Dark Knight franchise, was males in their late teens to early 20’s. With this knowledge, Warner Bros. wanted to put the fans of the film into the universe and become a part of the experience. Strategically, the next step was to contact an ad firm. 42 Media, which creates immersive entertainment that invites audiences to participate in connected experiences, was tasked to create a fictional Gotham City, invite Batman fans to become a part of it, but also extend the reach to the broader movie going public, especially women and non-comic book fans.
They began the campaign in 2007 by creating IBeliveInHarveyDent.com. The site contained a single image of Aaron Eckhart as Dent, which soon became an image seen on flyers, t-shirts and posters all over the globe. This move led many fans to post the image onto their Facebook sites, further inciting interest over this new campaign. In a stroke of genius marketing, Warner Bros. and 42 Media took over Comic Con ’07, one of the biggest gatherings of comic fans in the entire world (Staff, 2012). “Why So Serious” was released and became a puzzle that would enable the Joker to come alive and control his followers. “The goal was to extend the epic themes of the film beyond the screen and into people’s everyday lives,’ said Alex Lieu, Chief Creative Officer of 42 Media. “We gave people a chance to become a Gotham citizen and the response was overwhelming”(Billington, 2008).
Game-players completed tasks such as buying cakes from local bakeries, ripping them apart, and discovering a Joker phone within. This would enable them to stay in contact and to be ready for their next tasks. Real-life protests occurred in over 30 cities throughout the country, after Harvey Dent plead for support. All of these numerous tasks led up to the release of an exclusive trailer for the film but, unfortunately, the Joker had gotten there first and left his mark on the world. The results of this massive campaign were mind-boggling. By people sharing images, screenshots, websites, blogs, pictures, etc., the campaign maxed out every marketing channel known to man. Warner Bros. was going beyond its reach, attracting old men and girly-girls alike, indicating a major success.
Collateral
For the Dark Knight campaign, Warner Brother and 42 Media used numerous social media sites and real-life gatherings to grab the attention of consumers. The campaign used a technique called cross media convergence in order to distribute the product. This result of joining more than one media together to form a new product meant that more than one person benefits form the campaign. The campaign distribution was designed to ensure that it reached the largest number of audience member as possible. Warner Bros also used a range of cross promotions such as social networking sites, screensaver for phones and advertisements. Once the campaign was fully under way, fans started to see other promotions for the films such as film magazines and front covers.
Current Information
Due to the mega success of the 2007-8 campaign, Warner Brother used a similar marketing strategy with The Dark Knight Rises. The company announced the trailer on its website, but told fans that, in order to see it, they had to help the Gotham City Police Department find Batman through graffiti. This artwork was scattered all over the world and, for every piece found and tagged on social media, a frame of the trailer would be unlocked. (Cocozza, 2012). This was such a clever marketing skill and the massive craze of fans led to completion of the task within hours.
Analysis & Evaluation
The Dark Knight case study was one of the most interesting things we have ever researched. It was unbelievable to discover how a company can, using simple marketing tools, engage audiences from all over the world and incite a real-life video game. By expanding Gotham City out into the real world, Warner Bros. built excitement and anticipation for The Dark Knight. There are many lessons that can be learned from the success of this marketing campaign. For one, social media is the most powerful tool to communicate and spread awareness of any topic. With over 1.73 billion users all over the world, there is no denying that the Internet is a powerhouse for communication (Radde, 2008). Also, we learned that ad agencies are critical for any campaign to gain exposure in various mediums. 42 Media, for example, turned out to be Warner Brother’s saving grace and it is very possible that the franchise would have been much less successful without them.
Corporations such as Disney and Pixar face many of the same issues that Warner Bros. dealt and still deals with on a daily basis. Due to their massive size and presence as media powerhouses, the companies must use specific strategies in order to appeal to a growing generation. For example, Disney has created multiple websites in order to persuade young viewers to learn more about Olaf and Elsa from Frozen. Pixar used similar online strategies to get Earth to Echo a bit more exposure (Chang, 2013). Ultimately, the three studios needed to attract a media-centered audience and have done a fantastic job of keeping people interested and excited for their upcoming ventures. There is no denying that media and the 21st century is a match to be met and we cannot wait to see what the future holds.
References
Billington, Alex. “Why The Dark Knight’s Viral Marketing Is Absolutely Brilliant.” N.p., 28 Mar. 2008. Web. 23 July 2014. <http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/why-the-dark-knights-viral-marketing-is-absolutely-brilliant/>.
Chang, J. (2013, December 2). Why Disney’s Marketing Campaign Doesn’t Do ‘Frozen’ Justice. Retrieved July 23, 2014, from http://variety.com/2013/film/columns/why-disneys-marketing-campaign-doesnt-do-frozen-justice-1200908996/
Cocozza, K. (2012, February 6). Time Warner Inc. Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2012 Results. Retrieved July 23, 2014, from http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130206005362/en/Time-Warner-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-Full-Year-2012-Results#.U9Bfu6Xk5G4
Radde, J. (2008, July 16). Marketing The Dark Knight: A Viral Revolution. Retrieved July 23, 2014, from http://filmschoolrejects.com/news/marketing-the-dark-knight-a-viral-revolution.php
Staff, Week. “The Dark Knight Rises’ Awesomely Complex Viral Marketing Campaign.” N.p., 1 May 2012. Web. 23 July 2014. <http://theweek.com/article/index/227422/the-dark-knight-rises-awesomely-complex-viral-marketing-campaign>.
“WHY SO SERIOUS?” N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2014. <http://www.42entertainment.com/work/whysoserious>.
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