Here is a potential case study on a Warner Bros tent pole film: Film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) Budget: $250 million Box Office: $1.342 billion (profit) This was the final film in the hugely successful Harry Potter franchise, so Warner Bros knew it had a built-in audience that would drive box office success. Marketing methods included massive trailers before other tent pole films, a viral marketing campaign using the film's themes, partnerships with theme parks and video games, and interviews/promotions from the beloved cast. The marketing heavily targeted the book's original young adult audience that had grown up with the films, appealing to

1. Read through your feedback from Mr
Coppard
• Complete the SSAP with your own response
and glue into your books
• Make sure your final film titles are exported
correctly and then save them onto Mr
Coppards memory stick. He will upload them
to youtube for you so that you can add them
to your blog later today.

2. Connect
CHALLENGE: What is a ‘tent pole’ film?
The first person to research and find out the
correct answer wins!
Sometimes film institutions know that a film is going to be a
major success, there might be a big buzz created about the film
before it’s even released. Especially if it has been a successful
book, comic, computer game or TV series beforehand.
Why do you think that film institutions think that these will
make a successful film?

3. Discover
Tent Poles
Film institutions often invest a larger portion of
Write ato a tent pole of a–tent pole know
money in
definition film a film they film.
will be successful such as a big summer action
block buster or adaptation of a popularthat
List examples of any films book.
This often guaranteesmight largetent which
you think them a be profit
they can then use to invest into other, more
poles, particularly in association
risky film projects.
with Warner Bros

4. Develop
Warner Bros and Tent poles
J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkein, and Arthur Conan Doyle are, oddly, holding together the hopes and
dreams of executives at Warner Bros. Variety put together a list of the tentpole projects
Warner Bros. has in development.
Tentpole movies are films that studios believe will make several hundred million dollars
worldwide, assuming they don’t suck. Spider-Man, Lord of the Rings, and Transformers are
examples of tentpole film franchises. These types of movies are crucial, since they fund a
variety of lower scale projects for studios. A large portion of movies don’t turn a profit at the
box office, which is why Warner Bros. executives deem it necessary to have a stable slate of big
money makers.
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - release 7/25/09
• Sherlock Holmes - 12/25/09
• Clash of the Titans - 3/26/10
• Sex and the City 2 - 4/28/10
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 - 11/19/10
• The Green Lantern - 6/17/11
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 - 7/15/11
• Happy Feet 2 - 11/18/11
• The Hobbit, Part 1 - 12/**/11
• The Hobbit, Part 2 - 12/**/12

5. Discover
Quadrant marketing
Movie studio executives and marketers consistently look at the
audience makeup of their films in four quadrants:
To be a success at the box Males younger than 25 Females younger than 25
office, films must appeal
to as many of the
quadrants as possible.
An indie film might only
appeal to one of the
quadrants. Males older than 25 Females older than 25
The more quadrants it
appeals to, the bigger the
audience and the more
likely it is to make a profit
in sales

6. Develop
Marketing indie films
The indie folk need to be more nimble than the major studios because they typically
do not have the same access to mobile, radio and TV. The Conspirator, a movie about
Lincoln’s assassination directed by Robert Redford, opened to mixed (i.e poor) reviews
at early first film festivals. Lacking good word-of-mouth, the team needed to go direct
to their “old male” quadrant of fans, focusing on the Midwest, Civil War groups and
history buffs. Robert Redford promoted his film by appearing on the Charlie Rose
show (affordable TV) and by doing interviews with AARP (affordable print). Because of
his efforts, the film managed to earn a satisfactory $3.5 million on opening weekend.
Audiences types
• When it comes to segmenting audiences, marketers use the following definitions:
• General public – A blockbuster must appeal to all four quadrants: young, old, male
and female, which drives the marketing costs up to and over $100 million.
• Multi-core – A movie like Soul Surfer appeals to several different
audiences, including Christian, mother/daughter and extreme sports fans.
• Single-core – A Christian movie like Fireproof (marketed by the same company
as Soul Surfer) sells well in a tight but large enough community.

7. Develop
Things to consider for your case study:
Who is the film marketed at? (Consider the
quadrants. Consider methods of marketing
used.)

8. Develop
Can you write a definition of quadrant
marketing in your book?
Can you list the four quadrant groups?
Can you think of a film that appeals to each
quadrant?

9. Celebrate
The quadrant call out!
Each of you represents Males younger than 25 Females younger than 25
a different quadrant.
Each quadrant has a
‘buzzer’ sound.
You will now see a Males older than 25 Females older than 25
series of film posters.
If you think it appeals
to your quadrant, call
out your buzzer sound!
A film might have one
buzzer sound or even
all four!

16. Develop Case study
Research whether Warner Bros or Warp Films have
released any tent pole films.
• What was their budget?
• Did they make a profit or loss upon release?
• Can the success or failure be attributed to
anything?
• What methods did they use to market the film?
• Do their marketing methods appeal to a specific
quadrant?