CROSS MEDIA CONVERGENCE - This is a term that refers to when companies come together and work, this could be vertically or horizontally. An example of CMC is The Walt Disney Company and Disney Motion Pictures coming together to distribute films or comics. This is an advantage as they are able to reach a higher distribution market and network with bigger stars. Another example of CMC is 20th Century Fox working with Universal.
BRAND IDENTITY - Brand identity is when your products have icons/details that allow the audience to know it's yours. This could be the logo. the font, parts of the mis-en-scene etc. These elements will help the audience make a judgement on whether the product is yours or not. An example of this is the mask from Jigsaw or The Chucky doll from Childs Play.
SYNERGY - This is when multiple organisations come together to help each other in a promotion of the film. This is effective as all organisations get profit out of it.
BRAND IDENTITY - Brand identity is when your products have icons/details that allow the audience to know it's yours. This could be the logo. the font, parts of the mis-en-scene etc. These elements will help the audience make a judgement on whether the product is yours or not. An example of this is the mask from Jigsaw or The Chucky doll from Childs Play.
SYNERGY - This is when multiple organisations come together to help each other in a promotion of the film. This is effective as all organisations get profit out of it.
Examples of Synergy & CMC
Success Of Real Media Texts
The Final destination is a highly successful franchise which began in 2000, with the release of final destination 1. Since then there has been 4 more films released, 3 novels and a comic series. The most recent release was in 2011 which was final destination 5. The film franchise was directed by James Wong, throughout all of the films there were other production companies included such as New Line Cinema, Zide-Perry Productions & Hard Eight Pictures. All 5 films include a small group of people who escape impending death when one individual (the protagonist of each film) has a sudden premonition and warns them that they will all die in a terrible mass-casualty accident. The first release made up to $10,015,822 on its opening weekend, it was a box office success, this is an example of the rest of the releases and how they succeeded worldwide.
Posters of the different films.
THE MERCHANDISE:
As shown above, across the release of the 5 films, the franchise has released a variety of merchandise through cross media convergence and synergy. However, this franchise do not have a brand identity that seems to be known by the audience, they do not have a specific base unlike franchises like Chucky or Nightmare on Elm Street, The final destination franchise do not have a set iconography or convention that they specifically follow throughout the 5 films, (except from the shattered skull) The typography of Final Destination is not denoted throughout the films, this franchise has not made it known to their audience what their specific brand is, however it is still successful as it is somewhat a sequel that many people enjoy. Merchandise such as the t-shirt allows the audience/fans to express their interests in the film, which acts as a word of mouth advertising which is beneficial to the production company because they are reaching a wider demographic audience included newer ones.
Comparison of posters
Top left is the first final destination poster released in 2000 and Top Right is the final destination poster released in 2011. As you can see there has been a lot of development in terms of the technology used to create the poster on the right and the poster on the left. There isn't really any common factors, except from the broken skull. That is the only reoccurring convention. This is what makes the poster recognisable, this is part of the brand identity. The main changes are the Font of the title of the film and also the layout. They have kept the colour of the skull similar, only making it a little darker. Maybe the restricted change over time connotes shows the restricted change in their sub-genre of horror.
Examples of other uses of synergy.
Insidious is a another highly successful horror franchise that began in 2010. It ben with the release of its first film Insidious one. The franchise consists of 4 movies, its most recent release is Insidious: The Last Key which aired on the 5th January 2018. The film franchise was directed 5 different directors, James Wan, who directed film 1&2. Leigh Whannell who directed film 3 & Adam Robitel who directed the last one. Throughout the production of the film there were many different production company, this is an example Blumhouse Productions, Stage 6 Films & Alliance films, this is an example of CMC. CMC benefits all companies involved, whether it be financially or socially.
GROSS OF FRANCHISE
As shown above, the gross of the whole franchise was solely increased by the release of the second film. This could have been because of the increase of marketing and promotion.
Merchandise
Comparison of posters
In the posters above there are very little similarities however there is one thing that stands out between the two are is very evident which is the 'SI' in the spelling insidious, this could be seen as a brand identity and it is evident in all their posters no matter the film. The picture on the left is the first insidious poster from the first film and the picture on the right is the poster from the last film, throughout the years, it is evident that the composition and the style of the posters has changed. This could be due to the advance in technology or just even the concept of the film.
Synergy through different media platforms.
The pictures above are examples of Synergy through different media platforms. Synergy is an important factor of marketing because it allows companies to promote their productions in the most effective way possible and a way that can allow other people to see it. Having my film on a platform like Netflix and sky allows me i reach a global audience and that will mean more exposure and more success for my film. Also having it on a bus that goes around London, will add to that exposure a it is going to be seen a lot and as it is very big, it cannot be missed.