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Intergalactic spending spree The saga of the sinister Darth Vader produced new “Star Wars” -Süchtige
As the second graders Jonah 2011 begins, “Star Wars” -Sammelkarten to share with his classmates, he has a film from the series seen. Four years later, Jonah is one of the millions of children and young people who can not wait until Thursday finally “The awakening of power”, the seventh part of the “Star Wars” saga, hits theaters. Such a plan goes on, the George Lucas concocted almost forty years ago – and the most perfect marketing cycle, the Hollywood has ever created, closes again.
While the first generation of “Star Wars” fans still come late seventies about the movies to toys, books and computer games of the brand, it behaves in the following three decades andersrum as often.
Long before you see the first time the stories of Han, Luke and Leia and now soon Finn, Kylo Ren and Ray, Stormtrooper figures and Lego kits are the first thing children binds to the “Star Wars” universe.
Shirts, Games, Swords – the true power
Liked Steven Spielberg with “Jaws” the principle Blockbuster have invented: his former “New Hollywood” – fellow George Lucas extended it twice with “Star Wars”. Not only did he conceived his epic theater as sent marketable miniseries, he thought from the outset the importance of merchandise with. In the negotiations on his salary for the director of “Star Wars IV: A New Hope” renounced Lucas at half a million dollars instead to retain the rights to license and merchandise. should write
A deal, the history of cinema: the films of the “Star Wars” universe is estimated to have made up for the start of “Episode VII” $ 4.5 billion profit. Revenues from Merchandise and licenses be as high as $ 20 billion. At least. In the Guinness Book of World Records “Star Wars” is therefore carried out as a film series with the successful marketing of the world
T-shirts, books, game characters, space ship sets, computer games, comics and of course Lightsabers -. They are the real power in “Star Wars” -Kosmos.
AP / dpa
George Lucas (r.), Disney CEO Bob Iger with “Star Wars” -Kultfiguren
As Lucas in December 2012 his company Lucasfilm – including the rights to “Star Wars” – sold to Disney, this strategy led his continued seamlessly. Half a year after the acquisition of Lucasfilm gave Disney announced that it had concluded a deal with the computer games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA). Fittingly, came on 17 November 2015, the latest version of the acclaimed “Star Wars” game “Battlefront” out – to the day one month prior to the theatrical release of “The awakening of the power.” However
The release of “Battlefront” is only one element in the unprecedented marketing. Since the premiere of the first trailer of “The awakening of the power of” the end of November 2014, hardly a month that does not come another product around the franchise on the market.
In Video: The movie trailer for “Star Wars – awakening of power”
These include:
- the animated series “Star Wars Rebels”, the intended to fill the narrative gap between Episode III and IV and running on the digital channel Disney XD;
- Books such as “Aftermath”, which tells the history of Episode VII,
- and Toys with new characters, weapons and spacecraft from the new movie – not as usual placed six to eight weeks before the film’s release in the trade, but as much as 15 weeks in advance.
Even now expect industry experts with staggering numbers: The first movie ever could “The awakening of power” more than three billion dollars to import world and thus James Cameron’s “Avatar” as most successful film (2 overtake $ 7 billion). However, revenue from merchandise to nearly double the amount: revenues of around five billion dollars are considered quite realistic in the industry
Lego – one of the main pillars
<. p> Because toy is so critical to the success of the franchise, is part of the cooperation with Lego and the most important pillars in the business model of “Star Wars”. The Danish toy manufacturer since 1999 with this case. Even with the development of the latest film Lego was involved at an early stage. “We are working hand in hand with the filmmakers, from the first drafts,” says Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, chief designer for the “Star Wars” series at Lego. “The first information we got at the beginning of last year.”
Frederiksen is employed for 15 years with “Star Wars”. “For everything we design, we need a release from Disney. For each model and for each new element,” he says. In addition, strict confidentiality rule: “The designs must not leave the house Each of our employees must sign a confidentiality agreement..”
How closely the marketing networks of “Star Wars”, shown by the example of Jonah, the boy with the trading cards. In February 2012, six months after the vortex has erupted around the trading cards in German schoolyards, “Episode 1″ comes as a 3D version again in the cinemas. With the young Anakin Skywalker as the main character, who turns out to have a child as a masterful pilot, it is the film that appeals to the youngest fans. Prompt brings Jonah his father to go with him in the film. Following Jonah allowed to see the other episodes on DVD, and at the end of the year there is the “Millennium Falcon”, the spaceship of Han Solo, for Christmas. Then Jonah lose a little interest in “Star Wars”. From his consciousness it still does not disappear: on his games console, the “Star Wars” -Lego game is preinstalled, and in a Donald Duck comic he discovers a story in which Donald and Mickey Han Solo is Luke Skywalker.
As Jonah was recently in the cinema, the trailer ran over to “The awakening of the power.” Now the boy is planning soon after his twelfth birthday with several friends from school in the new “Star Wars” movie to go.
And the perfect marketing cycle closes again.
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