Marketing Plan

...It retires

Villainy doesn’t quit...

By Raquel DeSantis

1

2

Executive Summary 6Overview 7Target Audiences 9Opportunities 11Obstacles 12The Big Idea 13

Phase 1: Overall Strategy

Target Festivals 17Festival Kit 19Festival Marketing 21 Phase 2: Festival Strategy

Release schedule 31Overall Strategy 32Release Strategy 34Competitive Environment 35Creative Strategy 37Example Creative 39Market Research 43Media Plan 45Publicity 46Internet Marketing 51

Phase 4: Consumer Strategy

Target Distributors 26Screenings & Research 27Phase 3: Business to Business

PHASE 1: OVERALL STRATEGY

3

4

Super heroes have always set the example for our society. Everyone has a favorite. But what about the villains? Where do they go after they get beaten by the super heroes? More importantly, why shouldn’t we like them?

For Old Time’s Sake follows the story of three of the world’s best, and retired, super villains as they do their best to break out of their detention center. If anything, this movie proves that you are never too old to be out of the game.

By balancing the old and new, this marketing plan is designed to celebrate the glory days of super heroes and super villains; for old time’s sake. We hope to spark interest in the film and cause a sense of nostalgia for those who have always loved comic books.

6

Executive Summary

5

Genre: Action/Comedy

Anticipated Rating: PG

Tagline: Villainy doesn’t quit… ... It retires.

Positioning Statement: After years of being babysat by warden after warden, three of the greatest super villains of their time— Plato, Dr. Kelvin and The Raven— formulate a plan to escape the Super Villain Detention Center and Retirement facility despite their failing superpowers and giant super egos.

7

SynopsisRetirement isn’t so bad. At least it hasn’t been for three of the most villainous minds of their age. Dr. Kelvin, Plato, and The Raven have been running the Super Villain Detention Center and Retirement Facility for years! No one could possibly get in their way.

But once a heroic new warden gets hired,what’s a trio of supervillains to do? Escape of course!

After constructing a downright devious plot to escape, the three team up to try and breaout. The operative word there is try.

With misfiring weapons, a distinct lack of henchmen, and a pile of arthritis, it’s a wonder that they can get anywhere.

8

Primary- Men ages 18-30Men have always been a target for comic book companies and the subsequent films that have come out afterwards. This new take

Secondary- Kids age 10-14Though the main characters of this film are older, the humor is very much in line for younger audiences. Having the main characters reminiscent of Mermaid Man and Barnicle Boy in style works entirely in the favor of the film when it comes to targeting children.

Tertiary- Visual Effects Junkies.No comic film would be complete without a dose of visual effects. While audiences may have seen these types of powers before, the visual effects team on this film has applied them in new ways that will be interesting to this particular audience

Target Audiences

9

10

Opportunities Comic Style Super Parody

Fresh Comedy New Look at Supers

It’s no mistaking just how popular comic book films are in the market. Every single one that comes out makes a killing at the box office. Audiences love their super heroes. And they love their supervillains just as much.

This film is very much a parody of the super hero genre. And if anything that is a marketing opportunity. While this film is clearly a parody of the genre, it has the same heart that one would expect from a super hero film from a major comic book name.

Comedy films in the marketplace today follow very direct paths of strictly adult comedy, strictly children’s comedy, or innuendo style comedy that one can put in a children’s film. The comedy in For Old Time’s Sake is fresh and funny for all ages while breaking the molds of comedy films in the market today.

All of the super hero films in the market fall into two subcategories: Backstory or Super Heroes in their prime. For Old Time’s Sake offers a completely new look on super villains and what happens after the heroes win.

11

No large names

ObstaclesNo Adaptation Super Who?

Old Actors

Almost all comic book style films in the market today are an adaptation of an already existing comic book. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Kick Ass, two films that are very similar to this one in style, are both adap-tations of existing comic books and already had an established--albiet small-- fan base.

For Old Time’s Sake contains a brand new and unique set of super villains that do not belong to either of the two biggest comic book companies in the world. Marvel and DC Comics both have massive fan bases that make their films extremely easy to market.

Audiences enjoy seeing people on the screen that they can relate to. Unfortunately, the main characters in this may be seen as unrelatable due to the age difference between the cast and the target audiences.

The lack of large names in the cast or crew prevent this film from having any other sort of brand name recognition. Without any large Hollywood names to bank on, this film will have to be marketed by relying on the playability of the film

12

The Big idea

13

It’s never over14

PHASE 2: Fesitval Strategy15

16

The LA Comedy fest is the largest comedy festival in the United States. Past participants of this festival have gone on to win oscars, obtain distribution deals, join Saturday Night Live, and much more. This festival would offer a world of oppor-tunity for the filmmakers.

Target Festivals

South by Southwest is known for its quirky programming in all aspects of the festival. Due to the large spread of media represented at the festival, it would be an amazing place to feature this film. Films that have been featured at SXSW in the past match up with the same audiences that we aim to target with this film.

17

Comic Con International Film Fest is the be all end all festival for films inspired by comic books. Comic Con has been hailed for years as the gateway into the comic book industry. This highly publicized event also draws in a heafty number of players from the film industry as well. With attendance at Comic Con topping out at over 130,000 attendees every year, this is certainly the place to see and be seen in the world of Comic Book films. Establishment at this convention early on may provide the building blocks for a brand down the line.

18

Festival Kit

19

Festival Kit

Key Art

DVD Case

Folder

Business cards

20

Cast Bios

Robin started this acting journey many years ago when he was in his late teens. He was asked to be a crew member in the old play “Mr Roberts” and loved it. Soon, home became the theater and Robin stayed there for a long time, he won his SAG card in 1981, went on to do national commercials, more theater and many local TV productions in the San Francisco area. Yet film had allud-ed him. He was away from the craft for about ten years. This time around he is setting his sights on LA and has never looked back.

After a successful career in radio, in-cluding stops in Buffalo, NY, San Jose and Cincinnati, he arrived in Southern California and would appear on network TV (“Firefly”, “Into The Night” among others), write for network TV (“WKRP in Cincinnati”), direct and star in a pi-lot for The ‘B’ Movie Channel (“Kinkert & Flatstead Pick The Flicks”), appear in film (“the Longest Shadow” and, most recently, “A Boy and His Dad”), do live stage (“Mysteries En Brochette”), voice work and commercials...interrupted only by his attempt to pay his bills.

After a successful career in radio, in-cluding stops in Buffalo, NY, San Jose and Cincinnati, he arrived in Southern California and would appear on network TV (“Firefly”, “Into The Night” among others), write for network TV (“WKRP in Cincinnati”), direct and star in a pi-lot for The ‘B’ Movie Channel (“Kinkert & Flatstead Pick The Flicks”), appear in film (“the Longest Shadow” and, most recently, “A Boy and His Dad”), do live stage (“Mysteries En Brochette”), voice work and commercials...interrupted only by his attempt to pay his bills.

Casey PiotrowskiAs

Dr. Kelvin

Robin Calvert As

The Raven

Yance WellsAs

Plato

Bios

Crew Bios

As one of the creators of the story, has worked non-stop in order to make this comedic film become a reality. His interest in visual effects all started back when he discovered a little program called Adobe After Effects.Currently, he is a freelancer for a Los Angeles based company that does 3D projection mapping for high-end clients.

Also one of the creators of the story, he’s been working tirelessly with the team to help make this film the best it can be. Originally from Massachusetts, he moved to California to pursue his career in Visual Effects. Throughout his time at Chapman, he has worked on numerous film production and digital arts theses helping creating exciting and convincing effects. Currently he is an intern at a VFX studio in Culver City.

Sarah Levin spent her childhood wishing she could fly, so writing superhero stories seemed like the next logical step. As the screenwriter of For Old Time’s Sake, she has enjoyed the opportunity to put herself in the mind of a super villain, and is working on her evil laugh.

Tommy grew up reading comics and going to Comic-Con in his home town of San Diego. A standup comedian and martial artist, Tommy has done everything from writing and directing to stunt coordinating Chapman films.

Daniel Corona

Matthew Robillard

Sarah Levin

Tommy Garber

Festival MarketingDuring the festival, ground teams dressed as detention center guards will be handing out wanted posters of our three main characters, featuring mugshots. While those fliers are being handed out, the actors from the film will be wandering around the festival, dodging the guards. Prizes will be given out to

#FOTS #BadGuyBreakOut

21

Festival Marketingit is common at all festivals, trade shows, and conventions to recieve an attendee bag that includes a program guide and often times materials from sponsors. While we do not have the funds to sponsor these items, there is an opportunity to make our mark by including a For Old Time’s Sake comic book in the grab bags given out to all of the attendees.

22

23

PHASE 3: Business to Bussiness

24

25

Target Distributors & StrategyWe have selected three distributors we would like to target for this film: Sony, Universal Pictures, and Lionsgate. All three of these distributors have a history of working with comic book like films or producing adap-tations of comics that do not come from either DC or Marvel. Because of their strong ties to Marvel and DC we have decided against reaching out to either Disney or WB respectively as it would cause direct competition with them.

Lionsgate is our first pick when it comes to distribution. They were the primary distributor on Kick Ass and have been known to distribute quirkier films. Their brand matches For Old Time’s Sake in the truest essence of the film. Lionsgate would be a perfect match for this film.

Sony has a history of distributing comic book films. They did two renditions of Spiderman and also owned the rights to the Fantastic 4 se-ries. Sony also proved that they have the ability to distribute less mainstream characters. Earlier in the year they did a phenominal job of distributing Deadpool.

Universal is one of the largest and most recognizable distributors in the industry. They too have experience marketing both well known Superheroes and not so well known ones. They were the distributors of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which was a large influence on the creators of this film, and Kick Ass internationally.

26

We will be hosting screenings in the cities that we initially release in: Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. These screenings will provide research opportunities to test how to market the film better to our target audiences.

Screenings & Research

27

28

29

Phase 4: Consumer Strategy

30

May

June

July

August

September- Launch Social media - Teaser trailer in front of Captain America

- Soft Release- Trailer in front of Suicide Squad- Outdoor marketing

- Research screenings- Youtube campaign- Teaser trailer

- Comic Con Marketing- Press tour- Television marketing

- Film Opens September 16th

Release Schedule

31

Overall strategy Trying to reach consumers of the comic book market is both a blessing and a curse. On the bright side, there are plenty of target consumers in the mar-ket. As nerd culture becomes more and more main stream however, it’s harder to get through all of the other big names to reach the consumers.

September 16th was chosen as the release date for this film due to the lack of competition in the market at the time. September is a slower time for films, but that offers us the opportunity to break in strong. A limited plat-form release was also selected to use as research. By releasing the film first in larger cities we can take a look at how those cities react to the film and spread out from there.

The Marketing for consumers is designed to look very comic book like. Since this movie is campy, there’s no shame in trying to hide from it.

32

Release date: September 16, 2016

Pattern: Platform

33

Due to this film’s new take on the comic book movie we have decided it would be best for this film to have an September 16, 2016 release date. There are no comic book movies coming out in the month of September and this film has the opportunity to ride along on the super hero train from the summer before the release of Marvel’s last film of the year: Doctor Strange, which is coming out in November. This release date also gives the film the opportunity to break up the lack of films released in the fall prior to the holiday season. Other films that are coming out that day include Bridget Jones Baby, Snowden, Nerve, and When the Bough Breaks. none of these films are in direct competition with For Old Time’s Sake as there is no direct crossover with our target audiences. We have also decided to release this film on a Platform release. Unlike other superhero films, this one is not based of off any existing characters. We will start screenings in larger cities- Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago- before moving on to other cities.

Release Strategy

34

Comic book style films will always have competition in the market. Due to the fact that this genre is becoming more and more mainstream, it’s hard to look anywhere without seeing some form of marketing for the next super hero showdown. Both DC and Marvel have announced movies up through the year 2020, securing that their fan base will be informed and have something to look forward to every year. 2016 has been an increadibly competitive market for super hero films. And while that may be a drawback, it does allow for our film to have a little bit of that spotlight. This film is a comedic take on the super hero film and yet is capable of filling the void in the market that Deadpool and Suicide Squad cannot reach due to the adult nature of their content.

Competitive environment

35

36

Creative Strategy

Tagline: Villainy doesn’t quit… ... It retires.

The Big Idea: It’s Never Over

“It’s Never Over” can be considered a message of hope or despair. Either way, there is no message that speaks more truly to the core of a super hero or a super villain.

The creative strategy we are putting in place balances that dichotomy of classic comic book style combined with a more professional, almost governmental style. It combines the styles of our main characters-a bit silly and quite camp-and their foe-who is all about rules.

37

Poster

Billboards

Print Ads

TV Spot

The print ads are designed to be one page full ads in magazines. We have two variations of our print ads. The first is use of the key art for the film. The second works as character art, using each of the main character’s mug shots as a sort of wanted poster. This is meant to generate intrigue over who our characters are and what they plan to do.

Our billboards will come in three varieties, using all three of our main villain mug shots. These are designed to look like wanted posters. We hope to place these in high traffic areas along freeways and close to college campuses.

This is the official poster for the film and is meant for use in movie theaters and for key promotional use closer to the film’s air date. The design was made to reflect the warden’s desk and show that this movie is a lighter one.

A teaser, feature trailer, 30 second television spot will be created to help promote the film both virally and on television.

38

Poster

39

Billboards

40

Print ads

41

TV Spot

42

Market Research

43

Because this film has a unique position in the super hero genre, research will be absolutley necessary. Some of the research we are interested in doing includes prescreenings, testing of trailers, testing of concepts, and testing of marketing products. We want to make sure that this film is seen and not burried under the big names coming out this year.

44

Media Plan

6/4 6/11 6/18 6/25 7/2 7/9 7/16 7/23 7/30 8/6 8/13 8/20 8/27 9/3 9/10 9/17 9/17

Digital

Social Media

In Theater (trailer)

In Theater (Teaser)

Television (Trailer)

Television (30 sec.)

Outdoor

Print (magazines)

Print (newspaper)

For Old Time’s Sake plans on utilizing a variety of different media. Due to the competitive nature of the super hero film and the lack of a major brand behind us, we have to market strategically to get through to the consumer. Just how our film combines old and new, we will be doing a wide variety of placements throughout digital media and print media.

MediaPlan

45

Publicity is absolutely necessary for this film. In order to bring awareness to it’s characters and the film itsself. Because our target audi-ence is mostly in online spaces these days, we will be skewing more towards online marketing.

PublicitySample pitch

46

Trade publications

Specialized Web

Consumer Magazines The main readers of consumer magazines typically aren’t a part of our target audience. This being said, some consumer magazines such as Entertain-ment Weekly would be a good fit. Further research when making a media list is necessary.

To create the buzz that we need, we need to be able to make an impression in trade publications as well. While this may be considered business to business, some of the readers of these trade pub-lications are our consumers. If we hope to not only make For Old Time’s Sake a viable film, but also a brand, we will need trade partners on our side.

One of our main target audiences are VFX junkies. Publications like Cinefex will reach out to them directly and help us make an impact in that market.

47

Sponsored Listicles

Interviews

It will be important for us to get the voices of our creators and our actors heard. Beacuse For Old Time’s Sake is quite a different concept than what we usually see in comic book media, we want the people behind it getting the attention they deserve

Buzzfeed has the opportunity to have sponsored articles on their website. Due to their spread of topics we have the opportunity to place several differ-ent articles including “How to make: THE SPECIAL” on Buzzfeed Food, or a listicle of the Best Supervillains of all Time.

48

We hope to partner with several different companies that match the quirk of our film. We’d also like to partner with companies that have the potential to make placements within the film.

Our film has the opportunity to partner with several food product companies. Our number one partner that we would like to work with is Jello Pudding products. Pudding is used quite often in the film as a prop and a plot vehicle so it’s a natural match. We would be placing ads on Jello Pudding products during this time.

The second promotional partner that we would be doing is sponsoring elevator door decals and escalator decals at Comic Con. Comic Con is the ultimate convention for comic book and film industry and sponsoring anything at the convention would be a good marketing jump for us.

The final type of promotional partnership we would like to persue is with Google. Google is a large partner, but Google’s main idea is to promote the sharing of knowledge is exactly what our film needs. Our characters have been in lock down for years, it would be a great promotional opportunity to look on Google to see what they missed.

Promotions and Promotional Partners

49

50

A Facebook page will be established as soon as possible. This page will be the hub of all other social media activity as our other accounts will be linked directly to it. By utilizing Facebook’s promotional systems we will be able to push our page and our content.

Youtube will be one of our primary social media platforms. in adition to our trailers and teasers being on this channel we will also be doing viral bits about some of the other Supervillains in the detention center. This platform will be used to expand the universe of the film.

51

Twitter will be utilized to interact with other brands, including our promotional partners, as well as to answer questions about the film. We will also have three sub twitters taking on the personas of our characters to interact with fans of the film and build up a fan base before the film is released.

Instagram will be the audience’s window into the film. We plan on publishing pictures from the film as well as little comic strips on the site to promote the film and continue the vibe of a comic apperance.

52

Marketing plan Raquel DeSantis Entertainment MarketingSpring 2016