The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) every year awards one lucky film the Oscar for “Best Picture.” The “Academy” is comprised of approximately 6000 members who are professionals in the film industry. There are two rounds of Oscar voting with the first being the nominations and the second being the winners of the categories. The members are divided into 16 branches (i.e. actors, directors, executives, cinematographers etc…) and during the first round of voting they vote within designated categories for nominations, then a few weeks later, all members vote for the winners in all categories which are announced in a televised ceremony. The process appears to be a straight-forward contest based on merit right? Well, sort of, that’s where Academy Award marketing campaigns come into play.
I’M JUST SO HAPPY TO BE NOMINATED!!!
The key marketing objective of a movie studio Oscar campaign is to build consensus with Academy members and with consumers so that their movie is the undeniable winner of the category. This is accomplished through timing release, consultants, advertising, PR and other award shows.
Timing is critical to the Oscar marketing campaign. When to release the movie closest to award season so that members and consumers remember the title during the academy season is key. Which is why many movies that are considered contenders are released completely or partially during the holiday season. For example, Zero Dark Thirty was released in major markets such as L.A. and N.Y. in December to qualify for the Oscars and then released to the rest of country in January. Although December and the holiday season was not ideal for consumers to want to see Zero Dark Thirty due to the subject matter, in order to qualify for the Oscars it needed to release at least partially in 2012.
Each studio hires a consultant who is an expert on the Academy membership behavior as an organization. This group is a small and exclusive pool of consultants and everyone knows everyone. They are experts in when to send out DVDs of the movies, ads to buy, scenes to show for other award shows, what appearances the actors should do, which branches can influence specific certain categories and how they will vote based on other award shows. For example, these consultants know how to look at what wins at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards and how that will affect the voting for the Oscar for Best Picture because they know that SAG is the largest guild, so if a movie wins a SAG award, then those voting choices will probably be replicated by that guild with their Academy votes. According to Nakashima of the Associated Press (2013) gifts are a big part of the campaign for Oscar; “Giant coffee table books, iPod Shuffles, signed letters from directors, even “Lincoln” turkey roasting pans” were distributed to key voters earlier in the season. The Academy goes to great lengths to maintain the integrity of the Oscars and has strict rules for how the studios can market to AMPAS members especially in regards to gifts and campaigning. Penalties for studios can include reprimands and fines. Academy members I’ve spoken to are extremely vigilant in their voting, but since many members do work for movie studios, it’s assumed that they will vote for their studio’s nominations. Good thing voting is confidential.
AND THE WINNER IS…
Everyone! Everyone associated with a nomination or a winner that is, which is why anyone remotely attached to a nomination or a win is a stakeholder. For movie studios, it means additional box office ticket and DVD sales, because consumers view an Oscar nomination or a win as validation that the movie is worth seeing (Nelson, Donihue, Waldman & Wheaton, 2001). Of the nominations for the 2013 Oscars, 6 of the 9 Best picture contenders have raked in $100 million plus domestically which tops 2012 when all 9 nominated films in total received $111 millions in box office. (Nakashima, 2013) In addition to cold, hard profits, the benefits for the filmmakers is not only bragging rights, but leverage to negotiate on their next productions. Directors get access to the best scripts and talent for their next project and for actors it ups their credibility and cultural presence. Although for actors, there is the dreaded “Oscar Curse” where winning doesn’t necessarily translate into an upward trajectory. Although the criteria is subjective, Marisa Tomei, Cuba Gooding Jr., Miro Sorvino and Adrian Brody have had less than stellar opportunities post Oscar win (Bukszpan, 2013), Can you think of a recent film or tv show that you saw Academy Award winning best actor Jean Dujardin? By the way, he was last year’s winner for Best Actor.
I interviewed a prominent Academy member and studio executive about marketing campaigns and how it affects their voting decision about specifically Best Picture. “Marketing doesn’t consciously affect my vote. In my mind, when I make my vote for the Oscar for Best Picture, I use the Academy criteria which is “ Which of the nominations represent the best achievement in film making?” I asked does consumer and industry consensus play a part? “I think it does to some people, but not to me, I focus on the best achievement criteria.”
THE AFTER PARTY
So the question to ask yourself if you went to see this year’s Best Picture Argo, did you see because it won Best Picture? Or did you see it because of marketing? The answer might possibly be? Both.
M. Douponce
Full disclosure: I work for a movie studio but I am not a member of AMPAS.
Our Best Picture nominee Zero Dark Thirty lost.
References
Bukszpan, D. (2013, February 21). 13 Actors hit with the Oscar curse. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/41720860/13_Actors_Hit_With_The_Oscar_Curse
Nakashima, R. (2013, February 23). Oscar campaign: Behind the scenes of what raises the big movies’ chances. Associated Press. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/23/oscar-campaign-behind-the-scenes-movies_n_2750065.html?utm_hp_ref=entertainment
Nelson, R.A., Donihue, M.R., Waldman, D.M. & Wheaton, C. (2001). What’s an Oscar worth? Economic Inquiry, 39 (1), 1-16.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.oscars.org
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