The film industry employs new technology and marketing strategies to promote films. Traditional above-the-line advertising is supplemented with social media, websites, apps, and viral campaigns. Case studies show how The Blair Witch Project, Toy Story 3, and The Dark Knight used the internet, websites, and social media to raise awareness and engage audiences. The Dark Knight in particular employed viral marketing through fake websites and an IMAX prologue to generate buzz around the film.

1. New methods of marketing
AIMS
To be able toExplain how the film
industry employs new technology to
assist in marketing films
20/11/12

2. Marketing through the ages
1930s
Films are marketed
using trailers, press and
posters
1960s
Films are marketed
using synergy such as
tie-in products as well
2000s
Advertisers use social
media and internet
advertising to raise
awareness of their
products

3. Traditional marketing
• Above the line (the company makes
commission)
• Mass media
• Large groups of people
• Companies like Pearl and Dean (cinema
advertising) or JC Decaux (billboards)
• Agencies create marketing products and sell
them to advertising companies

4. ‘Modern’ marketing
• Social media
• Websites
• YouTube
• Smartphone apps
• Synergy – merchandise/endorsements etc.

5. Case Study 1 – The Blair Witch Project
• http://blairwitch.com/
• An early example of the power of the internet
• $500k budget
• $248 MILLION worldwide

6. Case Study 2 – Toy Story 3
• http://mashable.com/2011/02/18/toy-story-
3-social-media/
• Aimed at adults and children using a range of
smart marketing strategies

7. Case Study 3 – The Dark Knight
• http://gothamcablenews.com/
• Combines hoax websites with traditional
marketing
• Expensive; in a media-literate online universe
provides the means to spread information
quickly

8. The good side of marketing
• Harry Potter
• Win for everyone – writer; stars; Britain;
Warner Brothers…
• Synergy and tie-ins
• Merchandise

9. When marketing goes wrong
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-
hampshire-17350103
• Purchasing the rights to something often leads
to companies protecting their investment
aggressively, which ironically is more
destructive than creative.

10. How do companies use new
technology?
Explain in your own words how the film industry
uses new technology to market its products.

11. The Dark Knight
(Christopher Nolan, 2008, US)

12. The Dark knight is a film that exists as part of the Batman Universe. The
Character of Batman was created by Bob Kane in 1939 for DC Comics and
has become on of the most successful franchise properties of all time. The
character has existed in a number of different mediums and had many
different incarnations ranging from a handsome superhero in comics, to a
camp billionaire played by Adam West on 1960s TV.
In 1989, director Tim Burton introduced Batman as a dark, troubled
character to much acclaim. A successful sequel followed in 1992 and
continued with this theme. By 1997, after Burton left the franchise, Joel
Schumacher had created a further two sequels, however these were poorly
received by both critics and audiences who claimed they were too camp
and reminiscent of the Adam West era of Batman.
There were no more Batman films until 2005 when British director,
Christopher Nolan, re-launched the film franchise by re-writing Batman’s
origin story and creating, much like Burton, a dark world of violence for the
character to exist within. He would title this, Batman Begins. The film would
be lauded by critics and audiences alike, grossing $374Million Worldwide
and three years later, delivering a sequel….

13. The Dark Knight
(Christopher Nolan, 2008, US)
Batman and Officer James Gordon join
forces with Gotham's new District
Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a
psychotic bank robber known as The
Joker, whilst other forces plot against
them, and Joker's crimes grow more and
more deadly.

14. On July 31st 2006 Warner Brother pictures announced that the sequel to the
hugely successful, Batman Begins had gone into production. They gave only one
other piece of information – The title of the film.
The film was given a budget of $185million dollars and would again be produced
by the creative team behind Batman Begins:
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, David S Goyer
Producers: Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Charles Roven.
The Dark Knight
(Christopher Nolan, 2008, US)
How the film was devised, financed and
produced

15. The Dark Knight
(Christopher Nolan, 2008, US)
The story for The Dark Knight was loosely established at the end of Batman
Begins with the introduction of the character, THE JOKER.
Christopher Nolan and his frequent collaborators, David S. Goyer (with whom
he wrote Batman Begins) and brother, Jonathan Nolan went about writing
The Dark Knight in the Winter of 2005. By October 2006 pre-production
location scouting was already in place for a March 2007 start date for
principle photography. The entire shoot would last 16 weeks and take place
in China, UK, Chicago and California (USA).
How the film was devised, financed and
produced
Christopher Nolan

16. The Dark Knight
(Christopher Nolan, 2008, US)
How the film was devised, financed and
produced?
The film was financed by LEGENDARY PICTURES and WARNER BROTHERS, that later of
whom owns the exclusive rights to the Batman Character. Warner Brothers has
produced every Batman film since Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989 and had at this point
earned over $2billion from the film franchise (Boxofficemojo.com).
Legendary pictures was established by Thomas Tull in 2004. The company was
responsible for co-financing Batman Begins with Warner Bro’s in 2005 and by the
end of that year had signed a seven year deal with Warner Bro’s to co-produce
and co-finance over 40 pictures. (www.legendary.com/)
In addition to The Dark Knight, Legendary pictures has
produced Superman Returns (2006), 300 (2007), Watchmen
(2009), The Hangover (2009), Where the Wild Things are (2009),
Clash of the Titans (2010), Inception (2010), The Town (2010)
and The Hangover part 2 (2011), amongst many others….
Which studio(s) were involved? Who are these studios?

17. Marketing
The Dark
Knight

18. Christopher Nolan Interview
The Dark Knight Merchandising
The Dark Knight
Premiere
I am Legend IMAX
prologue Meet the Cast
First Review
HBO First LookFilm Trailer

19. Marketing The Dark Knight
• A pre-sold film (DC comics, graphic novels, cartoons,
television series, franchise (it is the sixth film), computer
games…)
• Bankable stars (Heath Ledger’s performance and untimely
death)
• Trailers (Teaser, theatrical, TV spots)
• Merchandising (Toys – Mattel)
• Reviews (Variety ‘Showbiz’ magazine)
• The premieres
• Shooting with IMAX cameras
• The internet (YouTube, official and unofficial websites, fan
sites, viral marketing)

20. BOX OFFICE
The Dark knight was released on July 16th 2008
in the US & Canada on 4,366 screens. It
premiered in the UK just one week later on July
24th on 502 screens.
There were over 3000 midnight screenings of
the film in both countries and all IMAX
screenings were sold out for the opening
weekend.
US Opening weekend Gross: $158,411,483
UK Opening weekend Gross: £11,191,824

21. BOX OFFICE
As of March 1st 2009, The Dark Knight has
grossed $533,316,061 in the US and
£48,685,166 in the UK.
It’s total worldwide gross has been estimated at:
$1,001,921,825
(Dec 2010)
It was the highest grossing film of 2008
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/

22. Audience
The Dark Knight was released in July around the
world. This is the Summer blockbuster market and
is the most important time of the year for film
studios. During this time younger audiences are not
in school and have more time and money to go to
the cinema. Batman appeals to this demographic
(age of people) because he is already established as
a comic book character and as an action superhero.
Due to his long history he is also well known to
older generations and therefore has a large
audience.

23. DVD/Blu Ray
The Dark knight was released by Warner Bros.
on DVD, Blu Ray and digital formats on
December 9th 2008.
In the UK the film sold 513,000 units in one day
and it holds the record for the most DVDs sold
globally in one day – 3 million.
(http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/11/business/fi-darkknight11)
In March 2011, The Dark Knight became the first film
available for rental on a social media website when
Warner Bros. teamed with Facebook.

24. The Dark Knight Rises
Filming began on the sequel to The Dark Knight
on May 6th 2011. With an estimated budget of
$250million the film was released on July 20th
2012. It’s current WW. BO gross is:
It featured all of the principle producers
and actors from The Dark Knight and, in
keeping with the release techniques from
that film, had a teaser trailer, poster, viral
campaign and had an IMAX-only
prologue in front of Mission Impossible 4:
Ghost Protocol
$1,080,813,336