Merchandising promotes movies By Jesse Hiestand Staff Writer Shrek loves to wallow in dirt, but DreamWorks SKG hopes to clean up on his image. We do these things to make the movie look desirable, to make it look fun and hopefully motivate the kids and their mothers and families to think this is a piece of entertainment that is enjoyable. It's a strategy of high risk and occasionally higher reward. For the studios, the retail challenges are considerable, from approaching chains like Wal-Mart 18 months before a film's release to moving a mountain of product in the four to eight weeks it plays. Notoriously fickle consumers can also sink a project by ignoring the movie or feeling put off by the campaign.
Nobody wants to feel they're being manipulated, and people can get very cynical very quickly.
If it doesn't, then that merchandise will be in the markdown bin, so it's still a big gamble for the toy manufacturers. Retailers are also showing more caution to these campaigns. Product licensing isn't an option for the studios. It was built into the expected revenue stream. The strategy works both ways, earning a film more money and encouraging people, particularly kids, to see a film.