Marketing Genius
As you've probably heard, filmmaker Michael Moore is involved in negotiations to bring his film Fahrenheit 9/11 to pay-per-view the night before the U.S. presidential election.
If he's successful, American audiences will get to see the film in perhaps its most elemental form: the infomercial.
Consider the following. Moore has a product to sell (a political agenda) in a competitive marketplace (the election). His goal is not only to inform consumers (the voting public) about his product, but to persuade them that his product is superior to the other products that are available (rival political agendas).
His campaign has all the characteristics of a successful advertising campaign. He has a catchy, easily identifiable slogan (the name of the movie), compelling imagery, and a clearly defined message. Not only has he established a comprehensive distribution network for his message, but he has also generated significant word-of-mouth advertising. He has even received substantial publicity in the press--and you can't beat free advertising. And with the pay-per-view release, he'll also have celebrity endorsements.
The success of his marketing campaign is obvious. It is nearly impossible to find someone who doesn't recognize the name of his movie, and practically anyone can tell you what message Moore wants to put across with it. It's hard to imagine a more successful advertisement.
The truly remarkable thing, though, is not the similarity of the F9/11 phenomenon to traditional marketing schemes, but the primary difference. In general, if you have a product to advertise, there is a significant cost in getting the word out. In other words, you have to pay for people to hear your message. In this case, however, Moore has succeeded in getting hundreds of thousands of people to wait in line to pay him to hear the message.
Say what you will about the man's politics, but you have to admit that Moore is a brilliant marketer.
(I guess that all these business classes I've been taking are really starting to pay off....)
If he's successful, American audiences will get to see the film in perhaps its most elemental form: the infomercial.
Consider the following. Moore has a product to sell (a political agenda) in a competitive marketplace (the election). His goal is not only to inform consumers (the voting public) about his product, but to persuade them that his product is superior to the other products that are available (rival political agendas).
His campaign has all the characteristics of a successful advertising campaign. He has a catchy, easily identifiable slogan (the name of the movie), compelling imagery, and a clearly defined message. Not only has he established a comprehensive distribution network for his message, but he has also generated significant word-of-mouth advertising. He has even received substantial publicity in the press--and you can't beat free advertising. And with the pay-per-view release, he'll also have celebrity endorsements.
The success of his marketing campaign is obvious. It is nearly impossible to find someone who doesn't recognize the name of his movie, and practically anyone can tell you what message Moore wants to put across with it. It's hard to imagine a more successful advertisement.
The truly remarkable thing, though, is not the similarity of the F9/11 phenomenon to traditional marketing schemes, but the primary difference. In general, if you have a product to advertise, there is a significant cost in getting the word out. In other words, you have to pay for people to hear your message. In this case, however, Moore has succeeded in getting hundreds of thousands of people to wait in line to pay him to hear the message.
Say what you will about the man's politics, but you have to admit that Moore is a brilliant marketer.
(I guess that all these business classes I've been taking are really starting to pay off....)
posted by Michael at
6:35 PM
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