Cross media - synergy response

Large media conglomerates such as Disney, AOL/TimeWarner and News Corp have huge opportunities for synergy through the diverse range of media that they own and control. This gives them huge financial power as well as the power to market their films in ways that smaller production companies simply cannot compete with.

Film4 is such a company. It is a production company which is small by Hollywood standards, but certainly one of the most successful British film companies. Film4 products are usually gritty films aimed at the 18-35 British audience. It’s opportunities for cross media promotions are small. Under the ‘Film4’ brand are a website and digital television channel. Compare this to Disney, which owns magazines, a range of film production companies including Pixar, theme parks, television and radio networks as well as merchandise stores. They also promote their films through tie-ins with multi-national companies like McDonalds.

Film4 produces on average ten films per year and many of these are co-productions. For example Slumdog Millionaire was also financed by Celador and Pathe. In addition Film4 has to source distribution for its films outside of the UK. They do not have the funds to distribute their films worldwide, calling on Fox to acquire the rights to the film to distribute in the US. Therefore the profits for the film are divided and not all the profits go back into the UK film industry.
Media convergence is an important issue for Film4 and other UK companies because they do not have the same opportunities or finance as Hollywood companies. In terms of production they do not own studios. Hollywood productions are technology led and these types of films always draw in big audiences. Take for example Up (Disney Pixar) which grossed $500m worldwide, attracting audiences due to its innovative 3D look. The film cost $175m to produce compared to Slumdog Millionaire which cost $15m. British audiences are most likely to see Hollywood movies because of their high production values and feel good factor, particularly during a recession. Although Slumdog Millionaire was a hugh hit, grossing $377m worldwide, this is not a true depiction of the overall landscape of Film4 and the British film industry. In addition, this gross profit has to be shared between all the companies that have a stake. This would not be an issue for Disney as they solely produced and distributed Up worldwide and so they keep all profit.
In conclusion on this point, Film4 is not able to produce 3D films or any other technology led films due to low budgets and lack of available technology.

In terms of promotion, Film4 is also losing to its competition in Hollywood. Slumdog Millionaire was a huge hit due to word-of-mouth and winning awards. This movie was a slow burner and did not receive blanket release like The Dark Knight which was released across the UK in 300 cinemas. Film4 has its own website which provides an opportunity for synergy. On the website they promoted the film with content such as trailers and interviews with Danny Boyle. In addition Danny Boyle has often worked with Film4 and brings along his own audience based on the success of previous films such as Trainspotting. The soundtrack for Slumdog Millionaire also became well known, particularly the song ‘Jai Ho’ which also had a music video. This was played on high rotation on music channels and entered the charts. The ‘4’ brand also has a music channel, ‘4 music’, and there were opportunities here for synergy with the music video being played and cast members speaking about their favourite tracks. This type of promotion is good to appeal to younger audiences.

When compared to the way that High School Musical was promoted and the synergies used by Disney, the Film4 example seem quite small. High School Musical was produced as a TV film to be aired on the Disney channel. The merchandise and tie-in promotions lured in the youth audience and the film became a huge success, spawning 2 sequels. The soundtracks were released on Hollywood records (owned by Disney), books were released on the Disney label and promoted in Disney stores around the world. The actors Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens became stars through promoting the film on various channels owned by Disney including the ABC network and E! channel. The opportunities for Disney to promote this film ‘in-house’ seem endless. Although the audience for Disney and Film4 are quite different, the fact that Film4 do not have the same power and portfolio as Disney shows how much of a disadvantage they are at. Film4 has however got its own digital channel which sets it apart from its counterparts like Working Title. This means that following on from successes at the box office such as This is England, they are they able to premier the film on their own channel. This usually happens only one year after the theatrical release – Sky Movies usually has to wait 18 months.