Celebrity Marketing

Overview

• Talent agencies negotiate salaries and other perks for celebrities.

• These agencies find and secure the best possible roles, money, and other benefits for actors.

Factors Affecting Salaries

• Popularity of Celebrity

• Position in Career

• Whether or not the actress/actor has just made a blockbuster film

• Overall Public Perception– Ex. Serious films/Art Films generate lower

salaries

External Factors Which Determine Demand

• State of the Nation– Ex. 9/11, Spiderman

• Time of Year/Season– Ex. Independence Day premiered 7/4

• Economy– Ex. Disposable Income

External Factors Determine Demand cont’d

• Public Opinion – ACNielson Study– “Positive reviews – almost half of all movie

viewers were influenced to see a film by a positive review.”

– “While only 29% said a negative review persuaded them to skip a movie.”

– “Only 1/3 decided on a film based on its positive box office results.”

Determining Public Demand

• Marketing Research uses– Surveys

• www.gozing.com • ACNielson Study – survey of 10,000 households

– Opinion polls• http://www.the-movie-times.com/thrsdir/question.html

– Test Screening• Ex. Ghost

• Secondary Research– Previous films, actors, directors, etc.

Results of Marketing Research

• MR determined Titanic and Forrest Gump would be huge hits

• Biggest impact on the budget is quality determined by director and producer– Cast/talent, equipment, editing, location

Movie Budget Statistics

• http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/records/budgets.html

Gross Earnings (millions)

• Top 5 Male Actors1. Harrison Ford - $118.6 (25 films)

2. Tom Hanks - $109.4 (25 films)

3. Mel Gibson - $104.3 (30 films)

4. Robin Williams - $102.9 (27 films)

5. Tom Cruise - $100.4 (20 films)

Gross Earning (millions) cont’d

• Top 5 Female Actors1. Julia Roberts - $86.9 (21 films)

2. Carrie Fisher - $79.2 (17 films)

3. Whoopi Goldberg - $62.5 (25 films)

4. Drew Barrymore - $60.3 (23 films)

5. Sally Field - $56.3 (24 films)

Questions?

Why is marketing research significant in the process of determining a celebrity’s salary?

Give an example of a movie that was expected to be a hit but resulted in a flop. So you think that marketing research was conducted properly or at all?

The producer of Titanic is thinking about producing Titanic II, but wonders what the audience response would be to the sequel. Define the management decision problem.

Define the marketing research problem corresponding to the management decision problem you have identified.

Based on your problem definition, identify two research questions and develop two hypotheses for each question.