September 12th, 2011, 11:33 AM
I don't think he's just focusing on the science fiction and fantasy movies; it just seems that his list of projects favors them for now. Still, it's good to see that a major studio is paying attention to the need to market genre films. I wish Disney would step it up.
Here is an excerpt from an interview in AdAge with Josh Goldstine:
[indent]Ad Age: You're joining Universal after two decades in creative advertising at Sony Pictures. What lessons from your old job are you able to apply to this role?
Mr. Goldstine: I used to put copy all over our trailers, but the language of these things has changed. Having spent a year delving deeper into the broader marketing department, I learned that movie marketing today really combines sociology, creativity and really communicating with your culture. All good marketing is a blend between the science and the art.
...
Ad Age: Movie marketing usually starts years in advance of a film's release, often at the point of green light. How far out are you looking at Universal's releases?
Mr. Goldstine: I'm working on "Snow White & The Huntsman" for next summer right now. We're just talking about plans to reinvent the myth of Snow White. It's both incredibly classic and really dynamic and new. For me it's a big opportunity to work on a franchise movie and have a unified point-of-view that connects everything. And I'm also reading scripts for summer 2013. We're finalizing plans for "The Lorax" in February 2012, with Chris Meladandri [founder of Illumination Entertainment, Universal's animation studio].
Ad Age: Also next summer is "Battleship," which is on track to become one of Universal's most expensive movies ever. The first trailer was just released -- what else can we expect?
Mr. Goldstine: "Battleship" is a big, exciting film for Universal, the kind of tentpole film that I've loved working on in the past. I've gotten to see a lot of what is in the works for the film, and I'm looking forward to becoming even more involved in the campaign. But it's not as expensive as you might think. It's about 33% less than [Disney's] "John Carter of Mars." [It's] a lot less than other movies I've worked on at Sony.[/indent]
Read the full article here.
While I recognize that a lot of genre films are coming out of the Hollywood production machine these days, not all of them are doing the job they should be in terms of creating viewer expectation. Studios need to reach out to their audiences and engage much better. Universal actually helped pioneer online engagement in the 1990s, although they made a few mistakes along the way,
Here is an excerpt from an interview in AdAge with Josh Goldstine:
[indent]Ad Age: You're joining Universal after two decades in creative advertising at Sony Pictures. What lessons from your old job are you able to apply to this role?
Mr. Goldstine: I used to put copy all over our trailers, but the language of these things has changed. Having spent a year delving deeper into the broader marketing department, I learned that movie marketing today really combines sociology, creativity and really communicating with your culture. All good marketing is a blend between the science and the art.
...
Ad Age: Movie marketing usually starts years in advance of a film's release, often at the point of green light. How far out are you looking at Universal's releases?
Mr. Goldstine: I'm working on "Snow White & The Huntsman" for next summer right now. We're just talking about plans to reinvent the myth of Snow White. It's both incredibly classic and really dynamic and new. For me it's a big opportunity to work on a franchise movie and have a unified point-of-view that connects everything. And I'm also reading scripts for summer 2013. We're finalizing plans for "The Lorax" in February 2012, with Chris Meladandri [founder of Illumination Entertainment, Universal's animation studio].
Ad Age: Also next summer is "Battleship," which is on track to become one of Universal's most expensive movies ever. The first trailer was just released -- what else can we expect?
Mr. Goldstine: "Battleship" is a big, exciting film for Universal, the kind of tentpole film that I've loved working on in the past. I've gotten to see a lot of what is in the works for the film, and I'm looking forward to becoming even more involved in the campaign. But it's not as expensive as you might think. It's about 33% less than [Disney's] "John Carter of Mars." [It's] a lot less than other movies I've worked on at Sony.[/indent]
Read the full article here.
While I recognize that a lot of genre films are coming out of the Hollywood production machine these days, not all of them are doing the job they should be in terms of creating viewer expectation. Studios need to reach out to their audiences and engage much better. Universal actually helped pioneer online engagement in the 1990s, although they made a few mistakes along the way,
