Going Unconventional to Market Movies

By STUART ELLIOTT
April 6, 2006 - NewYorkTimes

A MOVIE opening tomorrow, "Take the Lead," has an appropriate title, and not just because it is about dancing.

The studio releasing the film, New Line Cinema, wants to take the lead in finding alternative ways to market movies beyond traditional methods like advertising on television and in newspapers. It is a search that is also preoccupying the rest of Hollywood, anxious to reverse a slump in ticket sales.

For "Take the Lead" — a romantic drama about a professional dancer who volunteers to teach all the right moves to New York City schoolchildren — New Line is sponsoring such unusual marketing initiatives as a chance for computer users to create unofficial mash-ups. Those are mixed versions of music from the movie, using material available on the film's official Web site (taketheleadmovie.com).

To market "Take the Lead" effectively to its intended audience of younger moviegoers, "you can't force-feed them" with traditional top-down advertising, said Russell Schwartz, president for domestic marketing at New Line in New York.

Rather, "it's all about giving these kids our trailers, our songs, and letting them take control," he added. "Our assets become their assets, and that's how they become fans of the movie."

There are risks to that approach, Mr. Schwartz acknowledged, particularly since it yields results that are "not as trackable or researchable" as those for campaigns in mainstay media like television or print.

"The methodologies we have in place are not that valid anymore," he added. "But it is a new world, and we have to be brave about it." One benefit to shifting more of a movie's marketing budget to the new media is that "the Internet is not that costly," Mr. Schwartz said, adding that $1 million or $2 million is a significant amount to spend online.