Homework: Film marketing research: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
This is an incredibly well-known film, all around the world, and is part of a huge franchise. The budget for the film was $250 million. It made $125 million in the opening weekend, and grossed $946 million worldwide. 


The Deathly Hallows marketing was quite amazing, with many different media platforms used to attract audiences of all different ages.  The campaign consisted of teaser posters, main posters, trailers, TV spots, websites and many interactive games. Most of the platforms of the campaign emphasise the darker, more sophisticated elements to the film, with a lot of dark colours and shadows used. The famous battle is also played up, intensifying the concept of good vs evil. These darker representations attracted an older age group, especially as the characters are now older too, with 25% of the audience in the 18-34 year old demographic (in North America). This is compared to the much lower 10% of people in the same age group for the first film. 


Posters
The first teaser poster for The Deathly Hallows sets the tone for the film: it gives the first insight into the dark, evil side of the books.

The famous Hogwarts is on fire, and the setting is dark, murky and set high up on a cliff, surroudned by water. The taglien is imply the sinister "it all ends here". In the posters, the logo of Harry Potter has been shortened simply to HP7, as the film is so well-known and the settings and cahracters are instantly recognisable, so this just adds to the more sophisticated advertising. All of the posters show the characters to be determined and alert, with the first one saying "nowhere is safe", the second and third saying "the hunt begins". 




Trailers 
The first teaser trailer was aired during the 2010 MTV Awards. The story is still ambiguous, there are shots of conflict and danger, but nto much is given away, so this continues the expectations set up by the mysterious, obscure posters. The main trailer continues this spooky theme, and the vastness of the franchise is exaggerated, with captions such as "The finale of the worldwide phenomenon" and "The motion picture event of a generation".

Website

When you open the website, the trailer for the film plays immediately, creating synergy within the campaign and allowing the audience to watch the trailer if they haven't already. When this finishes, the site is simply a picture of the 3 main characters running eagerly and alertly, with similar representations as the poster and trailer - dark blues and blacks, worried expressions, connotations of danger and fear. Under the 'menu' tab, the site offers many interactive pages, such as "downloads", "soundtrack", "shop" and "Harry Potter: The Quest", as well as informative pages like "about the movie" and "gallery". There is also an "iPhone app", continuing the marketing towards an age group of 18-35 years-old. It is also linked to both Facebook and Twitter, appealing to this young adult demographic, and encouraging viral marketing. 

Other products
There are, of course, the previous books and films (on DVD) and the soundtrack available to download and buy. There is also merchandise such as figurines, posters, toy wands and costumes. There are also collectable items available, such as exclusive models and sculptures. There is even Harry Potter homeware available, like mugs and book ends.
J.K. Rowling released a spin-off book in 2007, named "The Tales of Beedle the Bard", which has been handwritten and illustrated by her herself. Only 7 copies were made, and only one put up for sale, making this extremely sought-after.  


My opinion
I think this marketing campaign was amazing - the number of people it managed to reach and appeal to - it is the highest grossing Harry Potter film of them all. The synergy within the campaign is well thought-out and creates an urgent, mysterious atmosphere, and encourages the audience to see this must-see film.