Film Marketing: The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie (2014) is a 'tent-pole' film production by media conglomerates Warner Bros. This means that its success was of major importance to the studio in terms of funding other projects. The film was a major motion picture which is expected to generate major income for a studio, which can be redistributed and used to support and find other releases. The film is also an example of how a global studio, like Warner Bros, releases a film in a specific national territory, the UK.

The marketing campaign for The Lego Movie was significantly important to Warner Bros because the film needed to generate a substantial profit. What are the key components of a marketing campaign of this kind?

Film Posters

Trailer

Looking at this marketing campaign, consider:

1. Who is the target audience? Who is the film designed to appeal to and how do you know?
2. How does Warner Bros target audiences through marketing?
3. What assumptions do companies make about their target audiences?
4. If there are different target audiences for the same film, how do you think the audiences interpret the same film very differently?

Task: Watch the film and complete the handout. You should be able to come back to these questions at the end.