The USP of Walt Disney Pictures can be hard to define as it encompasses so much, from Mickey Mouse to the family orientated, wholesome image they create with their films. The company uses their USP to gain the trust of customers, as not only is their USP a front for the company, it is also carried through all of their work, from friendly advisers on the internet or the end of the phone, through to clean and exciting theme parks and a continued friendliness through all of their staff. This backs up the image they have built themselves up to be and encourages trust from customers.
‘Alice in Wonderland’ was subject to a striking marketing campaign, using visually exciting posters, trailers, online campaigns and many crossover promotions, for example Tetley Tea offering a competition to win a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. Walt Disney Pictures chose to phase their marketing campaign so that potential viewers were being ‘teased’ for eight months previous to the premiere. The first set of posters used were simple depictions of each of the main characters, all shown in appropriate settings. This gave the audience a chance to almost get to know each of the characters before they met them in the film, which encourages the audience to build a ‘relationship’ with their favourites and least favourites. The next set of posters put the characters into the world we see them in in the film. Cleverly, it was chosen that Johnny Depp’s character, the Mad Hatter should be centre, which would have been a major draw for those that had seen and admired him in films like ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and also ‘Edward Scissorhands,’ another film by ‘Alice in Wonderland’s’ director, Tim Burton. By showing the film’s world, it also introduced audiences to the beautiful animations they would later see in the film and get an idea of the world they could expect.
The first trailer Disney released showed Alice falling down the rabbit hole and included brief introductions to each of the main characters. This was successful in a similar way to the first set of posters, as the audience could further develop their relationships with characters, and also illustrates the visuals we can expect to see. The trailer ends with Depp as the Mad Hatter again, which can only be a positive as he is perhaps the best known name in the film’s cast. The later theatrical trailer was similar to the first, yet in this one we become aware of why Alice being in Wonderland is so important. This means we further develop relationships with the characters, as for example, we find out why the Red Queen is hated so much, and we also get some battle scenes, which could entice a secondary audience that has not been so interested before, that of a young male generation.
‘Alice in Wonderland’ also made great use of the internet for their marketing, both with their own website, and later a Facebook campaign. The film’s website used beautiful graphics and included many different activities such as games, character profiles and the chance to listen to the forthcoming Alice inspired compilation CD. This can excite a potential viewer about the film as they further their relationship with characters and find the visuals amazing and build up their anticipation for the release. The later Facebook campaign set up fan pages for the Mad Hatter and Red and White Queens, and people were encouraged to choose a side. It was explained that whichever had the most fans come July 23rd; they would be able to see the exclusive trailer before anyone else, which is a great incentive as it meant people would invite their friends and therefore hype the film even more.
By using cross promotions, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ hype was spread right through the world, through things like fashion designers using Alice as inspiration, OPI releasing a limited edition set of Alice nail polishes and a iPhone campaign, leading to a mini site with many exclusive extras. Things like this can be extremely beneficial for a movie campaign, as people feel like they are buying into a part of the film, and therefore feel more a part of it. The more one feels ‘at one’ with a movie, the more likely they are to buy into its consumer culture.
The two major USPs of the marketing campaign for ‘Alice in Wonderland’ were clearly Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, hence him being the centre of both trailers and many of the visual campaigns, and also the immersion of oneself in the world Burton has created for Alice and her friends, which it does via the trailers and the beautifully designed posters. All of the marketing materials used are also fairly straightforward in that there is no confusion as to what one is looking at, yet they are still mysterious enough for viewers to keep guessing about the film and characters, meaning it is overall very successful.
