Commercial Application of Trend - Research Paper Example

Abstract The study provides useful insights about the manner in which social networking sites is being used to promote movies. The prime reason for measuring the manner in which social networking sites will help to promote movies is due to the high cost which goes in promoting movies has become a topic of concern. This has raised concerns and requires development of process and ways through which it can be achieved in the most cost effective manner. The use of social media sites for promoting movies is based on the notion that it is less expensive and saves time at the same time helps to convert the audience into prospective customers. To find out the effectiveness of social networking sites and determining a relationship between theater audience and social media marketing a research is carried out which will help the movie industry to deal with the issue of rising cost associated with promotion of movies. To find out effectiveness an online survey is conducted which will help to collect information pertaining to the present social media habits and the frequency with which people see movies in theater. Respondents ranked their perception with regard to the promotional campaign on different social media networking sites. In addition to it questionnaire were also sent to 10 participants in the age group of 19 to 25 years of age to find out the manner in different fuctions gets activated like easy navigation, interaction through the use of social media helps to maximize the opportunity and experience. Results in the same direction highlights that, the number of people visiting theater would increase drastically through as more networking sites are increasing and would also help to reduce the money which was spent on other promotional activity. This will thereby help to deal with the complex issue which the movie industry is facing with rising cost of promotion and lower theater attendance. The research also highlighted that the movie goers reacted positively to official websites in comparison to social networking sites which would imply that it will help to convert some of the non regular visitor to theaters to become permanent visitors and will thereby help to improve productivity for the movie provider at lower cost. This makes it important that the movie makers aim at improving their penetration through social networking sites which will help to maximize efficiency. Table of Contents Introduction 3 Literature Review 4 Research Method & Procedure 6 Result 7 Conclusion 10 References 13 Appendix 14 Introduction Marketing is an important aspect for movies as it helps to attract audience towards the movie and with the high expenditure which has already been incurred in directing a movie it is imperative that strategies are developed through which more and more people can be attracted to the theaters. With a decrease in the sale of DVD’s movie makers have to develop strategies which will be aimed at attracting people towards theater. With the already decline being witnessed in the number of audience visiting theaters the importance of developing strategies which will help to reduce cost is an aspect which is being relied on (The Numbers, 2012). This has made the production house to refocus on areas through which attendance and profits can be achieved and will help to ensure the long term success of the movie maker. This research thereby aims at looking at the manner in which the decline in the sale of movie tickets can be transformed through increased sale of tickets in theaters and will also look at reducing the cost of promotion so that profits increases and more and more people can be attracted to the theater. Social networking sites is one which is widely used by teens and young adult moviegoers which will act as a mechanism through which the sale of movie tickets will increase and will help to reduce the overall cost for promotion as ensure positive impact of social media marketing (Millennials, 2010). The popularity of social media networking sites provides different tools like You Tube, Facebook, Twitter and others through which social media will provide an opportunity to create awareness about the different movies and will help to increase the number of attendance visiting theater (Carvell, 2009). This will provide a two way dimension for the viewers as it will be different from the traditional medium and will provide an opportunity through which word of mouth helps to spread information about the movies through social media and can create both a positive or negative impact based on the actual movie which is shown (Business, 2011). The process of creating a successful marketing campaign has to be above the use of different tools like You Tube, Facebook, and Twitter and develop a process where information is passed to the final audience and needs to develop a mechanism which aims at supporting and revolutionizing the manner in which movie is viewed and helps to attract maximum audience in the most positive manner (Elloitt, 2011). Literature Review Unlike other industries, movie industry has been struggling as well, revenue declining about 2.6 percent in 2011 from 2010 i.e. from $10.47 billion in 2010 to $10.20 billion in 2011, however this may seem a small fall in the revenue, the number of tickets sold had a sharp fall of about 18 percent when compared with 2002 which is seriously an area of concern. It is to be noted this fall in number of tickets is argued by two different sets of people in two different ways. While one set justifies that this fall is not so serious when just looking at the figures as the world economy has been lagging which has affected consumer spending which had an indirect impact on the movie industry as well. While the opposing side argues that the sharp decline is a serious area of concern and in no means should be ignored. (Dergarabedian, 2011) It is to be noted that film industry always had a fear of piracy which is one the most serious issue and its effect on the movie revenue is beyond any problem in the movie industry. Many researchers argue that declining trend in the attendance is considerably affected by a larger and higher number of movies released. If case people who watch movies don’t watch the movie during the first few weeks, it is more likely that a new movie is ready to be put up the theaters which again decrease the revenue of movie industry has with reduction in people attenting theaters, continuous rise in prices and higher competition, movie industry needs to seriously develop ways to attract and retain customers (Berglund & Brayton, 2012). With internet becoming more and more popular, marketers are constantly looking to identify the most popular social media websites as correct selection of the same is of prime importance since it involves huge funds and time on promoting movies on this websites. Youngsters are more pruned towards social networking sites compared to people who are older than 30 (Lenhart, 2010). As per the data collected from Experian Simmons National Consumer Study, after Google, Facebook and You tube are the most visited sites. Facebook has today become the largest global networking site. It is seen that 39% of 18-24 years old visited Facebook frequently in the last week. This is about 4 times the people of 45-64 years visiting the site and nearly eight times above 65 years age group visiting the site (Shannon, 2006). It is to be noted that earlier marketers used one way promotion campaigning techniques via print, television and radio media. However in today’s world web has became an important tool by marketers to promote two way promotion campaigns. Social media marketing consumes a lot of time, focus and skills however it is much cost effective than the traditional method of ad campaigning. (Bard, 2011) Social media is an effective tool to create brand awareness and is much cheaper compared to other old methods (Business, 2011). Experts agree that social media has been used successfully to promote movies in the recent past and surveys highlights that the same is a successful promotion tool in todays’ world of competition. Research Method & Procedure The research aims at studying the manner in which different issue of which social media marketing technique is helpful in creating awareness about movies to the younger demographics and how it could be improved considerably in order to achieve a successful promotion campaign using social media as a tool of promotion campaigning. Since social media requires internet connectivity the research was conducted using web technology by developing an online survey which consisted of 13 questions in a sequence and logical manner. The questions were so designed to gain complete knowledge regarding the frequency with which social media is used, the people visiting theater and the impact it has on people. A total of 44 respondents took part and completed the survey to make analysis and finally make conclusions. The survey was so designed to create space for open-ended responses and questions were developed to know why the respondents replied in that manner. Thus, creating a larger data base to develop more minute questions if the same was require to conduct a more intense study in the near future (Rowles, 2012). In addition to the survey consited of 10 people in the age 19-25 years who were asked to look at two websites one is the official one and the other being a social networking site. The participants were asked to spent time on both the web pages and then give their responses on the following topics which were navigation, content, layout and interactivity (White & Jeff, 2012). Finally they were asked to respond of their preferential site of the two with reasons for the same. The respondents were further asked that which site was more influential for them to attend the movie being promoted in the two selected web pages. There responses were qualitative in nature based on which further research was carried out. The different responses were also noted down to understand the behavior of each person. It is to be noted that surveys which had incomplete answers or had vague responses were ruled out to provide justifiable and correct results from the research conducted in a fruitful manner (Wheaton, 2011). The data so collected was analyzed different graphs and charts so that better understanding of the different factors can be understood. Results were compared between different age groups in an unbiased manner without any favouritism. Result Results or findings form the most important element in any survey or research conducted. The qualitative data generated as a result of the research so conducted as mentioned above can definitely be used to inform and improve the effectiveness of the marketing campaigns used by experts to attract a larger movie theater attendance and boost up the sales of tickets of movies. The first source of data was received from the online survey comprising of 13 questions and were so designed which helped to understand the underlying relationship between the two. A total of 44 responses were collected. Of the respondents 34 were female and 10 were male respondents who fell in two age group category of 19-25 and above 45. There were 17 and 19 responses in this group respectively. Of the total 44 respondents, 40 answered they have a Facebook account, Twitter was a less popular social networking site which is line with the National figures. Younger were more pruned to watch movies in theaters. Among age group of 19-25, over 82 percent reported watching a movie in theater 6-12 times in a year. The breakdown of their responses can be seen the graphs below. Responses for over the age of 45 for the same are as under. It is seen from the above analysis that majority go five or fewer times a year while many goes 6-12 times a year. Very few reported going 2-3 times a year and never going to theater in a year. The survey than highlighted the issue about where did the respondents collect information about the movie releases and ratings. Majority replied from official movie studio websites. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter only could combine for 17 percent of the total responses. The next question focused the manner in which sale of tickets is influenced by social networking sites. Questions based on Facebook were asked to the different participants. Of the responses 23 percent showed that they liked one movie. In 19-25 years this percentage rose to 48 percent. Overall, respondents never “Liked” a movies official page on Facebook. The next result was in favor of Social media advertising as 36 percent of participants responded that they are more likely to go to theaters due to group influence as more and more people go to watch movie when the other friends does so. Thus, showing that Social media could actually boost up the sale of movie tickets and generate profits for movie industry in an indirect manner. In order to study the impact of social media for moviegoers minutely, respondents were asked that if a friend makes a negative comment on the movie ratings does it create a negative impact on the respondents and 56 percent agreed to the statement. The questionnaire also included an optional short answer question. The question demanded, “How social media influences ones decision to see a movie in the theater?” Maximum respondents replied that it doesn’t influence their decision making however there were respondents who replied that it is through movies official web pages in social networking sites that they collect information about the movie and the decide accordingly to go to theater to watch a movie or not. In addition to the online survey a questionnaire was send to a set of 10 youngsters in the age group of 19-25. The respondents were given two links relating to the same movie. The first was the official link and the other was for the social site. Participants were asked to spend time on both the link and collect information accordingly. They were than asked to fill out essay responses explaning their responses on the features and layout of each site. Respondents were asked about their likings and dislikes and the manner in which different factors have an influence in their decision making process. All respondents liked the navigation on the official website of movie as it was much easier and straight forward in navigating the site and provided clear and precise information about the movie. Similar responses were received for the Facebook official web page of the movie. The ease of navigation was largely dependent on the ease of the respondent towards using Facebook. Respondents replied that the official web page of movie indeed provided them higher knowledge and information about the movie content wise. Participants were thus not thrilled with the content in Facebook page. Participants were than asked about the layout of the sites and not surprisingly the official web sites won the battle as it provided higher contents in terms of information and were ease to use (Wasserman, 2011). Reaction on the layout of Facebook was a mixed response with some liking the layout and some not. In terms of interactivity it was again the official website which emerged out as winners as it provided better graphics, music, video trailers etc. On the other hand interactivity on Facebook page was less enticing to the participants. The final and the most important question of this questionnaire was which website was more likely to influence them to go to theaters to watch the movie. Surprisingly, all ten respondents voted for official movie website as their preference as it was filled with higher content, information, knowledge and easy navigation as their responses for choosing the official website as their preference. Conclusion As already has been discussed in the literature review that to measure the success of a specific marketing strategy is a difficult task to deal with. A movie’s success depends on various factors apart from the promotion strategy. It is important that the movie meets the expectations of the audience in order to taste success. However, promotional technique does play an important role and in no means can be ignored. Youngsters are more pruned to internet in today’s world and marketers are constantly trying to influence and reach this segment of the audience to boost up ticket sales. A number of conclusions can be reached from the survey conducted the most significant of those were a 100 percent response rate from participants responding that official websites are likely to positively influence the decision of moviegoers to watch movies in theaters. It is considerably true that 10 samples are clearly not enough to be statistically valid but responses being quite similar provide a true base of the research conducted. The survey also confirmed widespread use of social media site like Facebook which the marketers can definitely use to promote their movies in order to attract a larger audience and boost up the sale of tickets and generate higher profits. Responses like influenced by the friends view of the movie on Facebook is also a sign for marketers to use social media as a promoting tool however, it should be noted that it may create a negative impact if the responses are negative on the Facebook and competitors may use the social networking sites to negatively impact the potential customers towards the movie and hamper the sale of tickets. Thus we see that social networking does have an impact on the moviegoers and can be used as an effective tool to influence customers towards a movie. The research did revealed possible trends and opinions for how social media marketing influences movie theater attendance. However, to have a more clear opinion on the same it is advisable to conduct the survey with a larger sample base and then develop conclusion for the same. References Business, (2011). Business of Social Media: How to Plunder the Treasure Trove. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 51(2), 127-132 Bard, M. (2011). Is Social Media Marketing More Cost-effective Than Traditional Channels? Retrieved on May 23, 2103 from http://smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2011/03/30/is-social-media-marketing-morecost- effective-than-traditional-channels/ Berglund, C. & Brayton, J. (2012). Movie Attendance Way Down for 2011 | NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved on May 23, 2013 from http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Movie-Attendance-Way-Down-for-2011-136407628.html Carvell, T. (2009). How The Blair Witch Project Built Up So Much Buzz. Retrieved on May 23, 2013 from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/08/16/264276/index.htm Dergarabedian, P. (2011). The Box Office Year in Review – 2011. Hollywood.com. Retrieved on May 23, 2013 from http://www.hollywood.com/news/The_Box_Office_Year_in_Review_2011/12394979 Elliott, S. (2011). Building a Buzz in Social Media Ahead of Traditional Marketing. New York Times Lenhart, A. (2010). Social Media and Young Adults | Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved on May 23, 2013 from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Social-Media-and-Young-Adults.aspx Millennials (2010). Millennials in the U.S.: Trends and Opportunities Surrounding Gen-Y Adults. Packaged Facts . 104/105, 171 Rowles, D. (2012). “The 20 Biggest Second Week Drops in Box Office History. Retrieved on May 23, 2013 from http://www.pajiba.com/box_office_round-ups/the-20-biggest-second-week-drops-in-box-officehistory.php Shannon. T. (2006). Open Rates Declined in 2005, Click-through Rates Remained Steady – Online Fundraising, Advocacy, and Social Media. Retrieved on May 23, 2013 from http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2006/6/13/open-rates-declined-in-2005-click-through-ratesremained- ste.html The Numbers. (2012). The Numbers - Movie Market Summary 1995 to 2012. Retrieved on May 23, 2013 from http://www.thenumbers.com/market Wasserman, T. (2011). Google: Click-Through Rates Fell in 2010. Retrieved on May 23, 2013 from http://mashable.com/2011/08/19/google-click-through-rates-fell-in-2010-study/ Wheaton, K. (2011). Why We Need Less Talking, More Actual Marketing. AdAge. Retrieved on May 23, 2013 from http://adage.com/article/ken-wheaton/talking-actual-marketing/230678/. White, M, and Jeff K. (2012). ‘The Devil Inside’ Leads Box-Office Sales in Opening Weekend. BusinessWeek. Retrieved on May 23, 2013 from http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-09/-thedevil-inside-leads-box-office-sales-in-opening-weekend.html Appendix Survey results Read More