Monday, July 26, 2010

The Marketting of "Tron Legacy"

The NY Times has a rather informative article on the hard-sell marketing of "Tron Legacy" by Disney. I didn't realize how long we've been fed with the "Tron Legacy" stuff until I read this:

By the time the movie arrives in theaters on Dec. 17, Walt Disney Studios will have spent three and a half years priming the audience pump. The most recent push came last week at Comic-Con International, the annual pop culture convention here. For the third year in a row, Disney teased fans with exclusive “Tron: Legacy” footage. No other movie has guest-starred here so often.


The teasers for this movie certainly has been going on for a while, and I know that in my case, I am certainly anxious to see the movie. So maybe the marketing worked, but I would have seen in in any case. But of course, while Disney certainly targeted the core audience for "Tron", they also needed to target beyond that group that is crucial to turn this movie into a blockbuster.

With the core audience on board — the online game now has about 4.5 million active users — Disney is turning its attention to the people who make the difference between a hit and a blockbuster: mothers, children and nontechnophiles.

The monorail at Walt Disney World got a “Tron: Legacy” makeover. The Disney XD cable channel will present an animated mini-series in the fall (followed by a regular series, to be announced). Most important, Mr. Bailey and his studio colleagues are working to hammer home the message that “Tron: Legacy” is more than a chase through a virtual world.

“It’s very focused on a father-son story,” Mr. Bailey said. Jeff Bridges reprises his role from “Tron” as a talented video game programmer; Garrett Hedlund plays his son.


Let's see later this year if it worked.

Zz.

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