LESSON 53: BOND, JAMES BOND

This lesson we are going to explore an issue from the examination - synergy and its related ideas of convergence and tie-ins.

The idea of synergy is simply the idea that when related media products are launched simultaneously they benefit from each other's promotional activity. When Sony Entertainment launched Skyfall it tied the release in with the release of the soundtrack of the film on Sony records and the launch of a computer game on the PS3 PlayStation. This meant that the marketing adverts and posters for each product all reminded consumers of the existence of the other products. Someone buying the CD would be reminded of the film and film goers might be persuaded to buy the soundtrack that was available.

This relationship is often expressed as 2+2=5, the whole being greater than the sum of the individual parts.

More than this, Sony used the film to promote a range of related non-media products - Sony phones, Sony Vaio laptops, Sony TVs - all of which featured in the film. In shops and in adverts, the products all boasted of their tie-in with the film and used images from the film marketing in their own sales promotion.

the clips below show how Sony as a conglomerate can use this power and ownership to cross promote their films and their other products.

Sony also sold product placement rights to other manufacturers such as Coca-Cola, Heineken, Omega watches, Tom Ford clothing, Land Rover and Volkswagen to generate over £45,000,000 in advertising revenue from these businesses having their brands feature prominently in the film. Such deals [tie-ins] are now commonplace in major films, providing additional revenue and props for the film and providing the manufacturers with a global platform that shows their products in use.

Bond films are cultural icons, the news of Adele singing the title track was big news before the songs release. The release of the song was always accompanied by radio stations telling audiences that it was the title song of the new Bond film and the song made this a key par of its advertising by using images from the Sony film and so served to advertise the upcoming film as much as the song.

If we consider a low budget British film released at the same time such as Ill Manors we see a very different production. As a independent film their were no opportunities for synergy other than the release of the Plan B album and very few tie-ins with other manufacturers to help with the finance or promotion of the film.

Such a scenario demonstrates the differing possibilities of small films reaching the bigger markets for their work or audiences being able to find out about them.

For your own case study you might explore how your topic exploits synergy in its marketing or how this is closed to them.