Studios Rethinking Newspaper Advertising
Filed under: Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Politics
Why? Well, it's simple, really: "The only people who read newspapers are
older and elitist." While the statement (made by "a Hollywood source")
initially offended the crap out of me (youngish, totally
woman-of-the-people newspaper reader over here), I actually think it
might be true. Think about it: studios are paying about $100,000/ad
to run full-color, full-page advertisements in the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. And for what? The Dukes of Hazzard and Duece freaking Bigalow. While I resist the "older and elitist" labels, the fact is that the source has a point: no one reading The New York Times is going to be moved by an ad for The Wedding Crashers.
That's not to say those people won't go see the movies we're talking about, but they're
much more likely to be motivated by a positive review in the paper than
by a big color photo of Vince Vaughn (oddly attractive though he may be).With studios looking to cut spending during these lean times, the real victims of this realization are the newspapers. If The New York Times places only 50% of the ads they usually sell for their "Fall Movies" section, that's a massive, massive hole. Where are they going to find that million dollars? Of course, that's not for the studios to figure out-- they're pocketing the cash. Don't look now, but it looks like this might actually be a very smart move.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-19-2005 @ 9:27AM
Angie said...
While newspaper readers tend to skew older than other media consumers, I would suggest to the movie studios that they eschew the huge expenditures in big markets and spread the money around a bit - like rewarding papers who are making an effort to reach the younger reader. It's the all-or-nothing approach that's killing them. Well, that and making a bunch of stinker movies. OK, and then there's the $12 tickets and $10 popcorn at the theaters...
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