The changing face and behaviour of the film consumer

• Odeon.co.uk
• Are youngsters going to the cinema?

One of the main themes to arise from the roundtable was how the shift in consumer behaviour has prompted a change in approach from studio marketing departments.

56% of consumers surveyed for the IAB/ Thinkbox ‘TV and online; Better Together’ research said that their main motivation for going online was to be entertained. People have changed the way they live and engage with brands and the challenge is how marketing adapts to deal with this. Scott Gallacher, director of online and partnerships at BSkyB believes that we still have companies working under the capitalist model and questions whether for film marketers in the current landscape this is sustainable. “If you are selling cars, then you can continue to do that, but if you are doing what we do you need to change your business model.”

People looking to market their films have been forced to develop a new skill set to match the new consumer behaviour. The good news for those adapting their strategies to include the internet is that the statistics show the web is now influencing consumer film choices almost as much as traditional media. The Motion Picture Association of America’s recent annual state-of-the-union roundup revealed that 73% of people do research on the internet before going to the movies, while about 75% of movie goers rely on TV and radio. Although these figures apply to the US, the change in the consumer film decision making process is equally apparent in the UK.

Odeon.co.uk

Odeon, an established and trusted UK brand has revamped their online offering in recognition of consumer demand. They are no longer simply the final destination for cinema goers once they have made their choice of film. They are now part of the decision making process. The Odeon website was relaunched in 2006 to take into consideration the change in consumer behaviour and the growing influence of the internet in peoples’ lives.

Consumers have become more active in finding out about film and Odeon marketing manager Richard Storton believes that they have had to adapt accordingly. “People were limited as to what information they could find on a given film” he said. “Now they want to watch trailers, see ratings and read reviews, but real reviews from real Odeon customers. Odeon.co.uk now provides access to all different content about the film and is now more like a community of film.”

Where previously going to the cinema was a largely spontaneous event where people would arrange to meet and make their film choice once there, now decisions are often made based on what they see online. By offering exclusive content connected to films, such as directors and actors introducing their trailers, Odeon.co.uk is now an entertainment resource as well as an information and ecommerce site. Odeon have clearly satisfied a consumer need; following the site relaunch in 2006, Nielsen rated it as one of the top 10 UK brands in terms of growth.

Storton has noticed a distinct change in consumer behaviour in the last 18 months to two years. As we touched upon in the previous chapter, the internet has enabled the PR machines to start rolling much earlier, because of which people are looking to guarantee their seats for the big films sometimes as far as eight weeks in advance of the release date.

Are youngsters going to the cinema?

Although not traditionally a key target market for the entertainment sector, the main users of the Odeon website are 35-49 year old women, looking to secure seats for family excursions to the cinema. A concern was raised at the roundtable that cinema audiences were getting older as young people are looking to other sources to consume their content. Effective deployment of internet marketing strategies, however, allow younger audiences to be targeted.

There has been a rapid adoption of online by important entertainment markets. The ChildWise Monitor report 2007-2008 reveals that 97% of 11-16 year olds go online. It is this generation of internet users that Josh Spear, founder of media think tank, Undercurrent, describes as the ‘born digital generation’ - those born since the inception of internet technology. This demographic, so important to the film industry, are light users of traditional media and for them the internet is
fundamental.

This tech-savvy generation is often guilty of seeking out and illegally downloading films online, a problem that is such a major concern across the film industry. The BVA estimates that copyright theft cost the video, film and television industries some £459 million in 2006. After all, it is difficult to convince a 13 year old to pay £9 to go to the cinema when they can find the product online for free.

Nonetheless there are ways for marketers to successfully reach the ‘born digital’ generation. Josh Spear believes that at the most basic level advertisers have to operate within the rules of their ‘universe’ and play by the same rules as the audience. He believes there is a “new paradigm” which determines what advertising should be and that marketers need to turn their traditional approach “180 degrees”. For the born digital generation, “things that seek out are bad, things that we seek are good”. In the next chapter we will consider some of the ways marketers are tackling this challenge.


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