Consulting for Hollywood (Essay Sample)

Consulting For Hollywood
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Institutional Affiliation

According to several surveys taken on theatrical box offices sales in U.S. about 8.8% of its value has plummeted on a yearly basis (Mulloy 1). This indicates an annual loss of about 1 billion pounds loss. Generation of profit is further convoluted by the limited theatrical window. Due to this disheartening trend it is vital that Sony Pictures maximizes opening weekend box office revenue. Other research studies have found that promotional videos together with movie trailers account for the fastest form of brand content. The audience indulges into sharing activities that peaks within twenty four hours after the video has been launched. This leaves nominal time for theatrical box offices to get things right. This intricate situation is further complicated by the content shock that people experience on a daily basis as a result of the billions of pieces of contents being shared on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Thus, in order for Sony Pictures to break through the clutter and maximize their opening weekend, there are a number of measures that can be taken initiated.
First, opening weekend box office can be maximized through tracking metrics that matter within the box office. Rather than using ‘views’ i.e. page views and video views as a platform to measure the success of the motion picture, marketers of Sony pictures should ground their assessment on the number of sharers stipulated on the social networks. This is because a video sharer has a probability of about 5.5 times to purchase the movie tickets. Here, views are perceived as a vanity metrics since it does not evaluate the deep engagement needed for its audience to take action.
Secondly, a robust content should be launched close to opening weekend. Several surveys indicate that approximately 62% of movie promotional shares occur three days before launching (Mulloy 3). Suppose Sony Pictures is to follow this trend, it should be noted that launching a movie trailer months before the theatrical release is relatively too early to bolster and drive buzz that simultaneously convert to ticket sales. Moreover, Sony Pictures can capitalize on online advertisements to create a buzz on its theatrical box office. It is acknowledged that Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are the periods that indicate heaviest sharing among online users. Thus, Sony Pictures can capitalize the reimbursements of social WOM through launching a robust content the Wednesday before the Friday premiere.
Thirdly, a novel approach can be instigated through experiencing with non-traditional trailers. Rather than providing sneak preview of the theatrical release, Sony Pictures can opt to add stand alone, tantalizing content to the box office e.g. music videos with varying scenes from the movie. Prominent music videos have been known to add bonus in regards to generating more organic views over a considerably long time periods.
Fourthly, Sony Pictures can maximize their opening weekend box office through pre-testing the movie promo for shareability. The firm can use ShareRank for film which identifies the social variables that bolsters content. Similarly, this software makes data driven recommendation on how theatrical release can be optimized. It also formulates a distribution plan which specifies maximization of online buzz as well as delivers brand recall. If Sony Pictures has a number of motion pictures to pick from, ShareRank can be utilized to identify which film most resonates with consumers and has the highest capacity to foster Box Office revenue.
The other step that can be utilized to efficiently augment opening weekend box office is the provocation of immense emotional response to stimulate sharing while improving memorability of its targeted audience. Here, Sony pictures can use the science of sharing to formulate movie promo which grabs the attention of the viewers. While it can opt to use less common psychology triggers, Sony Pictures can also choose to utilize more of the common triggers of amazement, happiness a...