This student blog incorporates both found-articles and original articles based on marketing within the entertainment biz- including gaming, films, TV, radio and publications.
This found-article is an about the self-esteem-style marketing and image campaigns that rival magazine publications Girlfriend and Cleo have recently adopted. This is in wake of the similar and very publicised 2004 "Real Beauty" campaign by skin care/beauty industry giant, Dove.
Girls magazine Girlfriend has launched a campaign around body image in young women.
Launched in the Pacific Magazine’s September issue, the Project You
campaign sees a number of photoshoots featuring non-models without
retouching.
The launch comes just days after Girlfriend’s ACP rival Cleo has been the subject of an anti-photoshop protest.
The campaign is to run for 12 months aims to promote its readers’
commitment to self-esteem and share their stories and pictures with the
magazine.
Sarah Tarca, editor of Girlfriend, said Project You was not in
response to the protest against Cleo, but had been in the works since
April after a reader body image survey.
Tarca said: “This was something we had to address. The idea of body
image was saturated in the market but the core is self esteem.”
Girlfriend magazine does include some photoshopped images of young
women, but indicates which are photoshopped and which aren’t with a
labeling system called ‘Reality Checks’.
“Reality
checks say whether an image has been retouched or not, or it can
demystify the glamour of the industry to include how long the shoot took
to take a particular photo, or make-up used – it’s a media literacy
tool. It makes our readers smart and aware as to what goes into a
shoot,” she said.
On the Cleo anti-photoshopping protest, Tarca said: “Each women’s
magazine stick to its own body policy and doesn’t change the body shape
of girls. But perhaps it is about removing mottled skin from goose
pimples because it’s cold outside.”
Project You features a panel of self-esteem experts to help answer
questions and give advice, as well as celebrities Ruby Rose, Miranda
Tapsell, Sarah De Bono and Johnny Ruffo showing their support.
In light of the horrific July 20th Aurora theatre
shootings during a screening of Dark Knight Rises, social media and news
outlets have been abuzz with responses from both celebrities and non-celebrities.
However, it was the responses from the organisation and workers behind the film
that the media sought after most.
Warner Bros., the studio responsible for the modern Batman
trilogy, along with the cast and crew, promptly mobilized the PR machine to
maintain consumer and media sentiment as they dealt with this crisis as an
interrelated stakeholder.
Although this is a strategic management function, it must be
remembered that the response and reactions are genuine and are no less
heartfelt. The following are PR activities and responses performed by both the
studio, and the film’s cast and crew.
From the Studio
Within the first 24 hours following the shooting, Warner
Bros (WB) issued a statement
regarding the tragedy:
“Warner Bros. is deeply saddened to learn about this
shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved
ones of the victims at this tragic time.”
Reports also
stated that Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., had been up
since 4 am (shooting occurred at 12:39am that night) assembling a PR responsive
campaign.
Warner Bros continued to empathises and mourn for the
victims by meekly cancelling multiple
marketing and PR activities originally organised for the release of the film,
including international premieres in Paris and Japan, interviews with the cast
and crew, and softening marketing tactics.
In addition to cancelling PR and marketing activities, WB
also delayed the release of
opening-weekend box office figures as it deemphasised the commercialisation
of the film and maintained a grieving humbleness in respect for the victim’s
and their families.
And, although unconfirmed, it has been reported
that WB will be making a ‘substantial’ donation
which will be distributed across several charities that will support victims of
the July 20 killing spree.
From the Cast and Crew
The first major response from the cast and crew was delivered
by director Chris Nolan- acting as a spokesperson for everyone involved in the production
of the Dark Knight Rises- through a news
release statement:
“Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of The Dark Knight
Rises, I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy
that has befallen the entire Aurora community. I would not presume to know
anything about the victims of the shooting, but that they were there last night
to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and
the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and
joyful pastime. The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would
violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is
devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our
feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are
with them and their families.”
Among responses from the film’s co-stars Joseph
Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman, the lead actors, Anne Hathoway and Christian
Bale, also released statements regarding to the tragedy. Hathoway’s statement
read:
“My heart aches and breaks for
the lives taken and altered by this unfathomably senseless act. I am at a loss
for words how to express my sorrow. My thoughts and prayers are with the
victims and their families.”
Bale opted for a more condense statement, declaring:
“Words
cannot express the horror that I feel. I cannot begin to truly understand the
pain and grief of the victims and their loved ones, but my heart goes out to
them.”
Famous
composer of the film, Hans Zimmer, wrote
and produced a requiem in memory of the victims, instead of releasing a
statement.
However,
it was Christian Bale’s surprise visit
to victims of the massacre that gained monumental media coverage and
sentiment. Bale visited the Medical Center of
Aurora several days after the disaster,
spending hours with the numerous wounded victims, posing for pictures and
talking with the patients, nurses and officers.
So, in total there
were seven major PR responses from the cast and crew of the Dark Knight
Rises in light of the Aurora theatre shootings, which included:
1.Issued statements
(by Warner Bros. studio)
2.Cancellation
of marketing/ PR activities (premieres, interviews, advertisements)
3.Delayed
release of Box Office figures
4.A philanthropic
donation
5.Issued
personal statements (by Nolan, Hathaway and Bale)
6.Composition
a ballad
7. And, a visit to the victims by Bale
And although these are strategic PR responses, it is necessary to again remember that the shootings were a tragic occurence, and that the recations from the studio, cast and crew are profoundly honest and benevolent.
This found-article is an interview with Creative Manager of THQ's Darksiders II about the marketing involved in the design of the upcoming Darksiders II videogame.
At the recent THQ showcase event in Sydney, MCV sat down to talk with Jeremy Greiner, Creative Manager on Darksiders II.
Darksiders wouldn’t have stood out so much this time during
the last generation. Competition would’ve been much stronger. Is
Darksiders borne of a reaction to that trend away from this style of
game?
I think if you look at gaming in general right now, it’s all going super photo-real. All the games out there. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re a shooter or an action/adventure, an RPG, it’s all like that.
Darksiders II is kind of a breath of fresh air. I think that in the
next console cycle, we’re going to go back towards videogames and less
towards a new representation of reality.
So once the novelty of approximating reality wears off, we’ll see a more stylised feel in games again?
More artistic, more stylised, yeah. I think that’s the only thing that can
happen. Everything is really photo-real right now, especially in
certain genres. In the next hardware cycle, especially with the new
opportunities they’ll present (thinking here about how the landscape in
general is becoming more digital), it all runs into us seeing some new
things.
Can you tell me a little bit about the process of coming up with the iconic imagery used to promote Darksiders II?
Last summer, you would’ve seen a certain look out there and a
different logo, which was very much in that comic niche realm. We
decided to take it in a different direction in 2012, so in January we
came out with the new logo and new key art.
What we wanted to do was introduce to consumers who weren’t familiar with the franchise,
our main character: Death. We wanted to put some mystery behind him, so
the first shot was very close cropped, and tight in, just showing the
one eye. We didn’t want the image to say that Death was the saviour of
mankind or anything like that, because that just fights your
preconceptions of what that character is.
So we wanted him to be mysterious and kind of intimidating. Not
necessarily evil, but definitely a guy who, if you’re walking down a
back alley, you’re staying away from.
And as we went across the campaign from January up until now, we
started pulling out the camera, so you started seeing more of Death in
poses, more movement, more images which played into his personality and
the actual game mechanics (like the wall running shot). We had all these
pieces of key art that represented who the main character is in the
game, but had to have mass appeal to people outside of the comic space.
Elizabeth Koukeris recently told MCV
the title was tracking to be the number two title in THQ Australia’s
history. What do you attribute the increase over the original to?
I think it’s a really good game, and when you market a game, if you’re starting from that point, it’s a lot easier to market it.
In the end, that translates over to consumers, their pre-sale
awareness and their willingness to go and put money down on something
before it’s on the market.
Also, you can look at the success of RPG games this year. They’ve done really well generally. Darksiders II has a huge wealth
of content and a lot of those RPG elements baked into the game, a lot
of those skill trees, NPC interactions and vast open worlds.
So I think it’s right in the wheelhouse for a lot of people this year.
Often times games which blend multiple genres neglect to
satisfy any market rather than appeal to all markets. How does
Darksiders II look to combat this?
I think it’s two things – it’s an action/adventure game, and I think
that as our genre becomes more set-piece oriented it almost tends
towards the shooter space. This is almost a throwback to the
action/adventure of old, it’s trying to put the adventure back into
action/adventure. You’re doing puzzle solving, it’s got a strong focus
on story, and at the same time has all those RPG elements in there. A
lot of that is what we wanted in the first game to begin with.
But when you’re building an entirely new engine from scratch for a
brand new IP, there’s really only so much you can get in there. A lot
ends up on the cutting room floor.
Although its not unuasual that I have been absent-posting, I have a reason this time! Amongst all my holiday-enjoying, hard-working and career-focussing, I scored myself a marketing internship. Although it's not within the entertainment industry it has still been rewarding in terms of a resume references and experience. In the midst of a big year of games, movies, radio and books, I wish to be more proactive blogging. And with my (hopeful) growing attendence at conferences and ethusiasm to enter the entertainment industry, I believe that this can be a successful year.
