Sarah Jessica Parker copies Mariah Carey: big hair

I just saw the cover of the "extended version" dvd of the Sex and the City movie (which uses a photo like the one above) and was like, um, that's Mariah hair from the very first Divas Live concert on VH1. Am I right?

Photo Sources: MovieMarketingMadness.com, MariahDaily.com

Hannah Montanta: brand extension heaven

I am fascinated by the re-use, re-packaging, brand extension, whatever you call if, of content, identity, property (whatever you call that as well). I saw this poster at the entrance gates to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and flipped out. The tv show became a concert became a movie!? Hannah Montanah: brand extension heaven! I was googlin' around to find some stats on her cd sales and found a great article on Portfolio.com with more stats than I cold shake a blonde wig at! So, the idea for this post came from me and my excitement about this concept, and the stats are all from Portfolio Magazine's website. (And I have to make mention of this new mag... and here I thought online was the only way to go... here they are, printing a magazine... on paper!)

1. So first there was the tv show: "her eponymous show debuted in 2006 as the No. 1 cable show for kids age 6-14." And it just so happens that in the tv show the main character, Hannah/Miley is a singer.

2. So next logically follows a cd...then another: "more than 8 million copies sold worldwide."

3. Ya got a singer who's known, ya got a cd (two even), so what naturally follows? "a sold-out national tour that has been expanded to 70 dates (and has already generated more than $24 million"

4. In between all this, she has
--"four bestselling DVDs (more than 2.5 million copies sold)
--a series of young adult novels (3.7 million copies and counting)
--video games (1.7 million sold)"

5. And while the concert is going on, why not..film it? They did, and released a movie. But not just any type of movie:
--it was shown in "specially-equipped Digital 3-D theatres"
--on only 683 screens
--tickets were $15

The film, "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, became the No. 1 movie at the box office Super Bowl Weekend 2008, earning $31.1 million in three days...(It's the) highest per-screen average ever—$42,000 per screen trounced the record of $35,000 set by Spider-Man 3 last year. Originally limited to a one-week engagement, the film has now been extended indefinitely..."

View this great interactive thingy about her earnings on Portfolio.com.

(Source: Portfolio.com)

Three dollar LEGAL dvds in China

Arstechnica has a simple but fascinating article about Paramount selling $3 dvds I want to pick a few bits out of and comment on.

1. "It comes down to our ability as marketers to convince the Chinese consumer it's worth spending the money."

-Fox's international home-entertainment manager Keith Feldman defending his company's $3 dvd price point in China, which is double the illegal street price. (November, 2006)

Is this true? It's the marketer's ability that will determine what consumers will spend and whether they will buy illegal dvds or not? Aren't there other forces at work?

(A) the level of punishment for the crime

(B) consumers' opinion on the subject

(C) the price of the legal dvd

(D) the other ways to get the content that is on the dvd

2. New movie titles will go on sale some two months after their theater debut in the US, and for only $3.

Three points:

(A) Who determined the price of their dvds? Not their marketers, not their CEO, but the criminals and the consumers who buy from them: eople having nothing to do with their company.

(B) They hope consumers in China will pay double the street price for a dvd because it's a legal version of the dvd. This may prove successful, but ultimately, they've devalued their product in the eye of the consumer. They're saying "Our product is actually worth double what you can get it on the street for, which isn't very much."

(C) Luxury handbags are copied and sold dirt cheap by criminals and bought by consumers, much like dvds. Yet, why don't luxury brands cut their prices down to meet those found on the street? They instead battle the criminals directly:

“Fabio Silva, intellectual property counsel for Burberry in the United States said Burberry has an in-house team working with local law enforcement throughout the world, including Canal Street, to interrupt counterfeiting operations. Burberry works with other brands, such as luxury goods conglomerate LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), Gucci and Dior to initiate enforcement. Raids usually result in the arrest of manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, many of whom go to prison and pay fines and damages. “Burberry always pushes for the maximum penalty against trademark thieves,” Silva said.'" (Source)

(D) The article admits the media companies won't make a lot by doing this (obviously).

So why do it?

I don't know.