The Marketing Plan, Movie Insight, Inc

Under the direction of CEO Bob Iger, who took over in 2006, Disney has had a lot of success as an entertainment firm. Pirates of the Caribbean has to be one of the company’s most promising and profitable franchises. Because of the marketing technique used, the film was able to enter into new market groups despite being Disney’s first PG-13 rated film. Essentially, Tracy (2010) believes that the majority of the marketing was focused on offering franchise prospects through the film. As such, not only was their possibility for a spin off series to create demand for the franchise but also the brand merchandising comes in hand. The latter has allowed for the company to not only sell billions of dollars worth of brand products and services over the years but to grow its related theme park significantly. Therefore, it can be started that the marketing strategy the pirates of the Caribbean was to appeal to its target population as much as possible.

In respect to its target marketing strategy, Disney sensitized on market appeal. The franchise even though more associated with kids is also appealing to the older generations (Thilk, 2011). Thus, there is the potential of Disney broadening its target population to not only kids and more specific of the female gender but towards teen boys and adults alike. It also took the market strategy of targeting different markets in order for Disney’s CEO Bob Iger to get the movie’s target population correct. Upon realizing the loss in opportunities that Disney was not tapping into, Iger saw it necessary to cater for more than just kids. This meant revitalizing the franchising strategy that the company has since implemented to introduce films and programs that appeal to a diverse population, online sites, and programs that offered online games and family times.

Lastly, Disney’s franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean also enjoyed a marketing mix of product, place, and promotion. The product itself was a first for the company given the PG-13 ratings. In addition to this, there was also the market breakthrough of appealing to teen boys. In reference to place, it was available worldwide even though it first aired in cinemas in the U.S. The global market plays a key role in the success of Disney’s Franchises because of the demand for their products in a competitive international market. The aspect of promotion perhaps contributed generously towards the success of the film as well as that of Disney. As explained by Thilk (2011), the film was not only promoted through posters but its online presence generated more buzz for it. From games, social media and even the inspiration theme park, Pirates of the Caribbean was destined to be a success.

References

Thilk, C. (2011). Movie Marketing Madness: Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides. Retrieved from https://christhilk.com/2011/05/18/movie-marketing-madness-pirates-of-the-caribbean-on-stranger-tides/

Tracy, R. (2010). DISNEY’S POWERFUL MARKETING MACHINE. Retrieved from http://europe.newsweek.com/disneys-powerful-marketing-machine-69771?rm=eu