The Marketing Strategies of Hollywood（在线收听）

The Marketing Strategies of Hollywood

Consuello: Be prepared for a Hollywood holiday ¹⁾blitz! The season is getting its ²⁾kick-off with one of the most ³⁾anticipated films this weekend. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the ⁴⁾sequel to the wildly successful Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which sold 971 million dollars worth of tickets world-wide. But this year's holiday offerings are ⁵⁾wrapped in more marketing tie-ins than ever, designed to pack you into theatres as well as into stores. Are they worth the price of admission? Joining us is the Wall Street Journal's Hollywood ⁶⁾columnist, Tom King. Tom, good to see you. 

King: Good to see you, Consuella. 

Consuello: Now look, I learned from your column that the New James Bond movie, Die Another Day, will have some 24 different tie-ins. What is going on here? 

King: Yikes! Look out, Consuella and all you other movie-goers out there! MGM, I think, is setting some kind of record here by ⁷⁾lining up so many marketing companies to help it promote its movies. Not only are they hooking up with Finlandia Vodka and Aspen-Martin cars, but they've also made promotional tie-in arrangements with Samsonite Luggage, and Circuit City. 

Consuello: Why are they doing this, Tom?

King: Well, the studios look to these marketers to help them market their movies. In a very competitive holiday movie season, the studios have to spend an awful lot of money on television advertising to open their pictures. And to ⁸⁾break through the ⁹⁾clutter, they turn to these other marketers and have them write out some cheques and spend some of their money to help them promote their films. 

Consuello: Right. Now MGM's new Bond movie is one extreme. But you reported that Miramax's Pinocchio, starring Roberto Bennini of Life is Beautiful fame, is taking a different tack only three promotional partners. Why is it limiting their partners?

King: Well, if you listen to Miramax, they say that they think that if you line up 24 different promotional partners, that it will ¹⁰⁾backfire -- that movie-goers sense that as a real marketing ¹¹⁾avalanche and that it's a turn-off to them. So Miramax said they turned only to McDonald's, FAO Schwartz, and Langer's Juice, so it's a much more conservative campaign there.

Consuello: Sounds like a balancing act between Hollywood and the marketers. Tom King, thanks for joining us. 

King: Thank you.

好莱坞的新招

康休洛：准备好，好莱坞的假期闪电战开始了！本季有一部万众期待的电影要在周末开演--《哈利波特与密室》，它是《哈利波特与魔法石》的续集，后者大获成功，全球票房高达9.71亿美元。但是今年假期放映的影片比往年有更多的搭配销售，务求吸引大家既进电影院又进商店。高昂的票价是否物有所值呢？且听《华尔街杂志》的电影专栏作家汤姆·金的高论。汤姆，你好。

金：你好，康休洛。

康休洛：我从你的专栏中读到，新“007”电影《择日而亡》的搭销伙伴竟高达24家。到底是怎么回事？

金：嗳！注意了，康休洛和影迷们！米高梅又刷新记录了，它找到更多商家来帮忙宣传新片。这回它的搭销伙伴不仅Finlandia Vodka和Aspen-Martin汽车，还有Samsonite Luggage和Circuit City。

康休洛：他们为什么这么做呢，汤姆？

金：因为电影公司想让这些商家帮宣传电影。在竞争激烈的节假日播映期，首映前电影公司不得不花费巨额在电视上做宣传。为了解决困难，他们转向让别的商家出钱，利用其中部分金额来做电影宣传的费用。

康休洛：是的。米高梅的“007”新片就是个典型例子。可你还说米拉麦克斯公司的《匹诺曹》，由演过《美丽人生》的罗伯特·贝尼尼来主演，却只用了三家公司来宣传。他们为什么会限制搭销规模呢？

金：这个，不知你听过米拉麦克斯的说法没有，他们说如果一口气起用24个不同商家来做宣传，会起相反的作用--影迷们一旦察觉到宣传之势排山倒海，就会心生排斥。所以米拉麦克斯说他们只找了麦当劳、FAO Schwartz和Langer's Juice，保守地进行竞争。

康休洛：听起来像是电影公司和商家之间寻求的平衡。汤姆·金，非常感谢你的评论。

金：谢谢。

注释：

1) blitz [blits] n. 闪电战

2) kick-off [5kik-Cf] n. 开始

3) anticipated [An5tisipeitid] a.期望的

4) sequel [5si:kwEl] n. 续集，续编

5) wrap [rAp] v. 包装的

6) columnist [5kClEmnist] n. 专栏作家

7) line up 排列，安排

8) break through 打破，突破

9) clutter [5klQtE] n. 混乱

10) backfire [bAk5faiE(r)] n. 相反作用

11) avalanche [5AvE7lB:nF] n. 雪崩，崩落