Integrated Entertainment Marketing: Creating Blockbusters and Niche Products by Combining Product, Communication, Distribution, and Pricing Decisions

Abstract

In this chapter, we illustrate that there is value hidden in the way the different elements of the entertainment marketing mix are coordinated. We introduce the blockbuster concept and the niche concept as two integrated entertainment-marketing strategies. The logic of the blockbuster concept is to “pre-sell” new offerings by creating strong pre-release buzz, essentially separating the success of an entertainment product from the quality of its execution (and the risk that is associated with the production of such quality). The niche concept has a post-release focus, building on high quality for a specialized audience and the triggering of informed cascades via word of mouth and other stakeholders. We provide empirical evidence that the blockbuster concept is the dominant one in entertainment, and that it is often taken to extreme levels. We note that the dominance of the blockbuster concept carries industry-wide risk, potentially driving consumers away from traditional forms of entertainment to new ones such as social media, and thus implies the danger of massive, very expensive failures.