Question for Section B

Media Homework

Cross-media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences. Im going to be talking about film. Cross-media convergence is when a certain piece of media is used over a variety of forms. For example, a phone is used as multiple things. Its used as a camera, music player/radio, calendar, note pad, messenger, phone calls, and phone dictionary. Within the film industry, production companies recognise their target audience by converged technology. For example, a production company making a coming of age film would target their audience by X-Boxes, mobiles and tablets, since these are devices mostly used by teenagers/young adults. Films can now be viewed on smartphones, MP4 players, portable games (PSP) and laptops. In some cases, synergy and cross-media convergence have come together. The Dark Knight has used both cross-media convergence and synergy to make their film a success. They used internet, phone calls, TV ads, bill boards, posters and many more to make their audience aware of their film. Warner Bros and Mountain Dew partnered up to do a cross-promotion that included a special paint scheme. They made special logos to put on the cars to help promote The Dark Knight. This is an example of cross-media convergence ad synergy coming together to promote a film.Synergy (in film) is when more than one Production Company gets together and makes one film. Synergy works when different production companies promote each other. Synergy and cross-media convergence are very similar. The difference is that cross media convergence involves media products and synergy involves non-media products such as merchandising. For example, the makers of Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and many others, got together and made The Avengers. We knew that The Avengers Assemble is going to be made because at the end of The Incredible Hulk, Tony Star said we need to get together. The Incredible Hulk was made in 1008 and The Avengers Assemble came out in 2012. So the production companies decided to come together and make The Avengers Assemble since 2008. In the Avengers Assemble has synergy in many forms. The film is based on pre-existing property and has increased the value of its characters as they all appeared as a spin-off of TV animated series and old and new comic series. Tie-ins were created with McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robbins and fizzy drinks such as Pepsi and Coke. However, each of the characters in The Avengers Assemble has their own films which have been used to market the avengers. Each of these individual films has had tie-ins, product placement, merchandise, computer games and spin-offs. The marketing of products and services are successful because there are so many ways to market a film. An example would be merchandise companies. They create products specifically for the film. For example, when The Avengers Assemble came out, merchandise companies made action figures, lunch bags/boxes, pencil cases, stationary and many more things to help market the film. Another way of marketing is Product placement companies. These companies pay for their product to be featured in a film, for example, the main hero in a film walking around with a bottle of Coke in his hands. Coca Cola would pay the production company for their product/brand to be shown within their film, usually by the main characters. The other way round of production placement companies would be promotional partnerships. This is where a film or its characters will feature on existing products. An example of this would be Iron Man featuring on a Lynx body spray bottle. Promotional partnerships are also called tie-ins. Tie-ins wouldnt be part of synergy because products are made as part of merchandising to promote a film. Having a character promote a product or product promote a film isnt part of merchandising. Another example would be spin-offs. Spin-off is when a product (in any media form) is created on the bases of the original. A good example of this would be Spiderman. Spiderman was a cartoon show that first appeared on TV in the 1960s. It then became a movie in 2002, and went viral across many media platforms such as Cinema, TV, online streaming and DVDs. An example of failure marketing strategies would be The Incredible Hulk. It was an un-successful film but gained popularity due to The Avengers Assemble. The Incredible Hulk has an estimated budget of $15,000,000 but made $3,253,723. The production companies behind it were Universal Pictures and Marvel. They had everything: merchandising, trailers, and many more and they had a promotional partnership with The Avengers Assemble.There are many key promotional strategies to use in film. For example, like Dark Knight, take the promotion to the audience. Use social networking, phone calls, posters, and many others and get your audience really involved. Trailers are also essential in this promotional business.In summary, I would say cross-media convergence and synergy play a big role in the promotion and marketing of a film. They make the audience fully aware of the film and its characters and both work to make the film successful.