Types of Entertainment Products

Products DVDs and VHS (videos) Music on CDs and DVDs Video and electronic games Books Magazines Toys Clothing Concessions Services Television shows Movies Concerts Theatres Amusement parks Zoos Museums Snack bars Products and Services

Film and Music Merchandising Theatres provide their media-based services – motion pictures, plays, and musical productions for which customers pay and receive tickets Concessions are snack bars that sell refreshments such as popcorn, pop, and candy Studios issue related or extended products of films. These ancillary products include toys, games, and clothing Why do large retailers sometimes have lower price points than smaller brick-and mortar stores and e-tail stores?

DVD/Video Rentals and Sales Film producers have two choices for DVD and video distribution: 1.Rent (On Demand, Netflix, etc.) 2.Sell through – selling to the customer (40% of revenue for DVDs) Television advertising are key methods of marketing rentals and creating sales

Evergreens Evergreens are films or products that are popular year after year, primarily because new generations of viewers who may be unfamiliar with the films buy them; thus these products continue to generate steady revenue

DVD/Video Rentals and Sales Some movies do not succeed at the box office after release and are pulled from theatres Some films are made for release straight to video rental or to the overseas film and television markets Technology has changed this industry in terms of competition and distribution (due to convenience) –1950s, TV put some theatre owners out of business –Pay-per-view and on-demand movies from cable companies eliminated rental store businesses

Music CDs and Distribution Worldwide sales of recorded music total about $15 billion a yearWorldwide sales Record clubs are organizations in which members receive free records if they agree to purchase additional records within a certain time period (i.e. Columbia House, BMG.com) Rack jobbers are independent vendors who distribute, price, and control their own inventory within a store What are examples of music specialty stores?

Electronic and Video Games $93 billion a year, the gross sales of video game for game consoles such as Sony PlayStation and Xbox, rival the sales of music CDs Major producers of games are large conglomerates such as Sony, Vivendi Universal, Microsoft Electronic Arts (EA) is the largest independent developer of electronic games, and competes with major movie studios in terms of creative output

Cross Marketing Cross marketing in video games is common with collaboration with films, television shows, sports teams, and cartoon characters What are some examples? Popular music also has a big role in video games Video game music can be featured in concerts (i.e. rock festival, Lollapalooza and the Nintendo Fusion Tour) Game target market is young: four out of ten players are under 18, and 40% of them are year olds.

Tie-Ins The potential is huge for tie-ins with film, music, and sports as well as related merchandise such as apparel and accessories, because the game buyers are also the primary market for all these forms of entertainment and can be for non- entertainment products Advergaming is marketing on video games i.e. Daimler-Chrysler knows that over 60% of PlayStation players are over 24 years of age. This is Chrysler’s key market. Therefore, Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler brands have been placed in online games to entertain and sell products

Print Books Print media is the second oldest source of entertainment Trade books are published for general bookstore sales and public library –Fiction (i.e. romance, science fiction, mystery, fantasy, horror, western) –Non-fiction (i.e. how-to, self-help, history, reports, textbooks) Some books are made into box office movies (i.e. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Stephen King’s The Shawshank Redemption, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter)

Magazines There are over 20,000 magazine titles on the market appealing to different groups. Only 160 of those titles earn 85% of the total magazine revenue Evergreens: The New Yorker, Time, National Geographic, Good Housekeeping, Newsweek, Life, BusinessWeek Entertainment: Rolling Stones, Billboard, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter Magazines are subject to ups and downs of consumer spending (i.e. down in a recession)

Magazines cont. Major media corporations also own magazines and print media (i.e. Time Warner, Hearst Corporation, General Electric, Viacom) The Internet has enabled e-zines or electronic versions of magazines on websites increases the potential for reaching a greater global market

Theme Parks and Water Parks Location based entertainment (LBE) is the industry term for entertainment that includes amusement, theme, animal, and water parks. LBEs can be local, regional, or national attractions In the 1990s, major park operators began promoting theme parks as destinations and resorts trying to get tourists to stay for more than one day

Theme Parks and Water Parks cont. Customers became a “captive audience” once in the park because customers’ impulse buying (i.e. buying without prior planning) is common in the park environment is set up to urge patrons to spend money at every opportunity LBEs are usually owned by major entertainment conglomerates and they use themes, characters, stories and other intellectual property of their owners Amusement park industry has players like Disney, Six Flags, Inc., Cedar Fair Entertainment Company

Edutainment Related destinations that provide recreation based entertainment and are linked to education because they focus on learning as part of the experience Museums (i.e. Royal Ontario Museum) Zoos, animal parks, and aquariums (i.e. Toronto Zoo) Theatres (i.e. Princess of Wales Theatre) Historic sites

Special Entertainment Events Circuses such as Shrine Circus Fairs Pageants Ice shows such as Disney on Ice, Stars on Ice, Sesame Street Show, Champions on Ice are a blend of sports and performance entertainment These special entertainment events are constantly moving to different arenas across the country, providing its entertainment service to eager audiences

Activity In groups, choose to do one of the following: –Name some benefits of installing kiosks at movie theatres and brainstorm where else kiosks could work for entertainment –Name 20 books that have turned into movies –Choose a video game, explore the cross marketing and game tie-ins. Be prepared to share 10. –Research the major company/owners for theme parks and water parks in North America. –List 20 edutainment venues in the greater Toronto area. –List all the magazines that are available in the library and categorize them into genres.