The main focus today is 01 PROMOTING MEDIA: LEGO. We look at how Warner created a synergetic release of the trailer ad break, video game and posters in order to promote The Lego Movie (2014). We have to know these three elements (rather than the movie itself) and answer questions on how they promote the movie and engage / attract / address audiences.
At each stage, we study the sample exam question and the examiner's report (how to answer the question). There are links to open in most of the points below.
- PEGI: who are they and what do they do?
- Why do film studios such as Warner and others of the Big Six release a portfolio of related products? What is cross-promotion?
- We view a walk-through of the video game
- We apply Blumler and Katz's uses and gratifications model of audience needs and behaviour to the Lego video game. This is explained simply in the article Why People Watch Television.
- See also MediaKnowall
WHAT DO AUDIENCES ENJOY IN THE LEGO VIDEO GAME?
Today we watch the Lego Movie Video Game walk through.
• As we know, media practices are widely connected to Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory, in terms of the audience’s sense of identity. The sense of actual identity and aspirational identity can be seen in the use of a first-person protagonist (to associate directly with the gamer) and the ‘quest’ to explore new worlds in The Lego Movie Video game. The theme of good versus evil is often a key social value in video games and is at the heart of this game too.
• Arguably the target audience for the video game is younger than the film. This can be seen through its level of difficulty, which provides a younger audience with an entry point to the franchise, without needing to watch the film. Criticism was mixed for the game and its narrative as it takes elements of the film’s narrative but lacks the cohesion and humour of the film. Critics recommended seeing the actual movie and seeing the gameplay as a stand-alone.
• The Lego Movie Video Game is a cross-media promotional product as it advertises a range of Lego characters and icons, like the superheroes and ‘Benny the Spaceman’. Both the movie and the video game are part of a larger Lego video game franchise that existed before The Lego Movie resulting in intertextuality for the audience and a deeper relationship with the Lego brand. The superheroes featured (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman) are also part of the larger Warner Bros./DC superhero franchise so the video game also acts as an introduction point to those characters and helps to cross-promote this superhero franchise in terms of other Lego video game products (e.g. Lego Batman) and films (e.g. Justice League). Purchasing the game provided childhood nostalgia for parents (a brand they might have played with when young themselves) and allowed them to play with their children. This also illustrates how the audience for video games might interpret the same product differently, e.g. young and old getting different pleasures from the product.
• The Lego Movie Video game was number 1 in the All Formats Chart, the sixth Lego video game to do this. It was released available across a wide range of popular console, PC and Mac platforms. • The Lego Movie Game for mobile devices included in-app purchases but required a larger memory (over a Gigabyte of space) which met to further mixed responses.
• In the same week (Feb 17th 2014) there were five Lego video games in the top 40 All Formats Chart meaning that Lego games made up one eighth of the total chart.
• The game was released onto mobile devices due to the market being worth around $21 billion in revenues. As the game appealed to families and children alike the hope was they would attract a mixed-age audience.
- the game sets challenges (missions) involving collecting studs (yellow Lego circular pieces), building scores and completing levels
- There are different adventures, such as "Escape from Bricksberg' and players can become different characters, like Emmet or Wyldstyle
- There are familiar characters, voiced by familiar names, like Liam Neeson, Chris Pratt, etc
- Emmet's aim is to fulfil the prophecy, thwart Lord Business, save the realm
PREP
The Uses and Gratifications audience framework offered by Blumler and Katz suggests that audiences use media to gratify needs for:
- escapism, entertainment, diversion
- surveillance (finding out what's going on in the world)
- forming relationships (both with on-screen figures and in real life through sharing pleasures with friends & family)
- shared values and beliefs (we identify with certain people as heroes, hope that villains will be defeated, want a particular set of values to be restored and so on)
