Chasing Curiosities
Topics on the intersection of brands, technology, and marketing practices accumulated throughout my 2011 fall semester at St. Olaf College. The collection outlines various musings and ultimately the inspiration for my senior capstone project "Technology and Marketing Imagination." -Molly Moon
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Earlier today I paged through my moleskin, reviewing a semester’s worth of notes. Which unfortunately, holds a plethora of concepts and ideas that have not made it into this blog… yet. Anyhow, I came across a little rant about the Walmart and P&G collaboration for “Family Movie Night.” Professor Sonnega and I once had a ravishing conversation considering the implications of our family movie content being crafted by, advertised by and ultimately for two of the largest multinational companies on the planet. Mind you, Walmart is the largest retailer with approximately $419 billion in sales for fiscal year ending January 31, 2011 (LexisNexis Academic). P&G isn’t too shabby either with $79 billion in sales for its 2010 fiscal year; $12.6 billion of those sales were at Walmart (Reuters). Seemingly these two companies were partners long before the “Family Movie Night” concept.
Anyhow, I thought about what this type of “win-win” investment means for marketing. If for two hours a family’s media consumption is entirely defined by the two heaviest hitters in CPG and retail it seems more like a infomercial for consumer culture than a wholesome family movie night. The shear breadth of sales the two companies bank individual is mind-boggling— together, obscene! At this point I have not watched any of the movies but have taken a moment to look into the project’s stakeholders.
Cyclical Advertising
1. Movie Trailer + Product PlacementDid you catch the blatant shot of P&G products?… kind of hard to miss. I would deem this an advertisement for the advertising you will be watching during the advertisement…OOPS! I meant movie…
2. Retail Sales
Who doesn’t want a copy for the family to watch at anytime? Naturally, the movie will be sold at Walmart.
