Hollywood Director 1992

[Chapter 60: The Promotion Plan]

"Let's keep this meeting going!"

Link took a sip of tea and continued discussing the promotional campaign for Paranormal Activity with Daniel DeVito, Michael Leeson, and their new head of distribution, Jon Gordon.

First and foremost, the marketing team had to ensure that everything was in place before the film's official release.

One approach involved resurfacing the "Connecticut Haunting" story that had been making waves over the past couple of months. They also aimed to pull together decades of spooky happenings that occurred across the United States, refresh the material with new insights, and serve it up as an irresistible feast of supernatural tales, hoping to entice as many people as possible to experience the film.

The goal was to capture the public's fascination with the unknown and induce a sense of fear throughout society. Once the audience was well aware of the "haunted happenings," the documentary Paranormal Activity would make its grand entrance.

This film promised to satisfy a significant curiosity people held about the supernatural. The more interest there was in the paranormal, the better the box office performance would be.

"Link, it's the summer blockbuster season, and other films are ramping up their promotional efforts too. If we want to elevate these ghost stories into social hotspots, it's likely going to cost a lot," Jon Gordon pointed out.

Jon was of German descent, with slicked-back blonde hair and a prominent nose. He spoke crisply, with a serious demeanor and rarely cracked a smile.

"Don't worry about cost. Whatever you need for the promotional impact, the company will cover it. I want results," Link replied.

"Got it. I can make that happen." Jon nodded in agreement.

"As for my second point, I have another proposal regarding our promotional strategy."

This involved a plan to film audience reactions. After the film premiered, several theaters would have cameramen capturing the shocked expressions of viewers. They would later buy the rights to use these reactions, cutting them into previews for television promotion to generate curiosity among potential audiences.

"Daniel, I'm assigning this task to you."

"No problem," Daniel DeVito responded, adjusting his glasses as he spoke.

The remaining logistics, including communicating with the MPAA for film rating and coordinating with critics and film festivals, would primarily fall to Michael Leeson and his team.

"Any other questions?" Link asked, looking at his colleagues.

"Link, I understand your plan, but it will come with a high budget, and it's hard to assess Paranormal Activity's market potential. It could do exceptionally well or it could flop. If we overspend on marketing and the box office doesn't meet expectations, it could have a huge impact on the company," Daniel cautioned.

The other two nodded in agreement.

Link's strategies hinged on the assumption that the film would perform well; he was willing to invest substantial time and money, expecting to see a return after the movie premiered.

However, Hollywood released over 240 films a year, with more than 60% of them ending up in the red. It wasn't just production costs they would lose on; marketing budgets could disappear as well, often leaving film companies bankrupt, like United Artists Pictures, New Century Pictures. Many studios went under because of a single poor investment.

Guess Pictures was a newly established film company that lacked both funds and distribution channels. Going overboard on this film could severely harm their future prospects if it didn't succeed.

"I see your point," Link acknowledged Daniel's concerns.

His willingness to spend on marketing was buoyed by the anticipation of box office subsidies, giving him a sense of confidence that the money wouldn't go to waste. Daniel and the others, unaware of the insider knowledge, expressed their worries from a reasonable perspective.

"Let's prepare a budget for promotion, starting around $2 million. If the box office numbers look good after the release, we can increase the promotional budget; if things don't pan out, we'll shrink our expenses," he explained.

"$2 million? Seems excessive. This is a low-budget experimental film, and based on similar horror films from the last couple of years, the best we can hope for at the box office is a little over $8 million. Getting back $2 million in upfront costs will be tough," Jon Gordon replied with a frown.

"Exactly," Michael added. "The success of Buried was largely a fluke. We should be cautious promoting Paranormal Activity; let's not set our sights too high. We should be prepared for losses."

Link shook his head. While their concerns were valid, they were seeing it through the lens of experienced Hollywood veterans.

The push for Paranormal Activity's success hinged on effective marketing.

The original Paranormal Activity had three major factors behind its success.

First, the film itself was of solid quality.

Before hitting theaters, the film was a blockbuster on the DVD market, selling 230,000 copies within three weeks and staying in the top three for two consecutive weeks. It also won an honorary awarad, equivalent to the Best Picture award at the Scream Film Festival.

Second, the original director, Oren Peli, was of Jewish descent and caught the attention of renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who even assisted in tweaking the film's ending, garnering substantial media support during promotions.

Third, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks did an excellent job marketing, dedicating around $10 million to promotional efforts.

With strong quality and distribution strategies, Paranormal Activity grossed $102 million in North America and earned $197 million worldwide. Director Oren Peli ended up pocketing over $20 million thanks to its success.

Now, Guess Pictures was tasked with distributing Paranormal Activity without the additional support of outside allies. They needed to rely on their own resources, spending to secure promotional materials.

Too little investment would surely lead to disappointing results.

Link considered scaling back a bit on spending, thinking that the box office subsidies meant they would at least break even upon release.

But there was still the critical issue of how long it takes to recover those box office earnings.

Some films did well and recouped costs within three to four months of release, while others lagged for years before making a profit, such as The Shawshank Redemption that only reached profit stage decades later.

Global box office recovery could be a sluggish process due to marketing and other issues.

Link had shot this film to raise substantial cash and to invest further into future projects. Waiting over a decade to retrieve several million in box office revenue wouldn't mean much to him.

"Let's keep the initial promotional budget at $2 million. The focus now should be on how to create a powerful impact with minimal spending. Worrying about potential losses before the film even hits screens is counterproductive -- what I need from you all is an optimistic and proactive attitude towards this film. Can we do that?"

"Sure Link!"

The three rose to leave, and Link leaned back in his chair, contemplating any additional strategies for boosting the movie's influence before its release.

He needed to make sure that box office figures started hitting the bank account sooner rather than later.

*****

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