Los Angeles, CA, Sept. 4, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With twelve new feature films launching to theatres this weekend - including two new wide-releases - how can a European-produced, stop-motion animated film stand out and achieve box office success? This was the marketing challenge facing independent distributor Hannover House (Pinksheets: HHSE) with the release of "Toys in the Attic" opening this Friday.
"Theatrical release of a feature film can be one of the most difficult marketing challenges for any consumer product category," said Eric Parkinson, Hannover House C.E.O. "There are so many ways to present your message to consumers, that it's easy to lose focus on the targeted audience in an attempt to have your message heard. This past weekend, the industry witnessed a $25-million marketing fiasco with the release of the 'Oogieloves Big Balloon Adventure,' which was promoted through a variety of means not likely to be seen by the film's preschool audience, such as giant billboards on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Accordingly, we wanted to make sure that every marketing, advertising and publicity step being pursued with our release of 'Toys in the Attic' was deliberate and focused on reaching our initial core-audience," he concluded.
Due to the near-legendary status of animation director Jiri Barta, Hannover House chose to build a campaign for "Toys in the Attic" around animation fans, publications and websites. The film is featured in articles, ads and banners through most major animation media, including Animation Magazine, Stop-Motion Magazine, Animation World Network and their affiliated websites.
Expanding from this base, Hannover House conducted an aggressive internet and social media campaign to target fans of international cinema and fans of Tim Burton-style films (e.g., stop-motion animation leaning toward the slightly macabre). The Facebook campaign for "Toys in the Attic" has also played a significant role in the film's marketing campaign. The "Toys in the Attic" Facebook fan site has been building tremendous momentum, with over 20,700 fans / likes received in less than three weeks since launch. Last, but not least, the film is being presented to mainstream audiences through a variety of promotions with Regal Entertainment Group, the nation's largest theatre circuit. The Regal outreach includes email-blasts to Regal Crown Club members, Regal support on their website and Facebook pages, and in-theatre support for posters, banners and trailers.
The goal, said Parkinson, is to maximize visibility and demand within the core-base of animation fans, while still positioning the film for cross-over appeal and potential to mainstream audiences, including families.
"We are looking at every marketing opportunity on a return-on-investment basis," said Parkinson. "With our prior theatrical releases, we were largely playing follow-the-leader by attempting to replicate marketing strategies of other studios. While many marketing elements are universally relevant to all film releases, without a carefully crafted strategy it's easy to miss the target. While we may not achieve success with 'Toys in the Attic,' it will not as a result of ignoring the core-base of animation fans. We're reaching out to them in a big way, and can only hope that the box office results validate the wisdom of our plan."
With respect to the emerging influence of Facebook in predicting a film's likely performance (or failure), Hannover House notes that "Toys in the Attic" is ranked at number three among all of the new release titles for September 7th. The 20,700 Facebook likes for "Toys in the Attic" is surpassed only by the wide release drama "The Words" (at 29,000 likes) and the Kirsten Dunst comedy "Bachelorette" (at 60,363 likes). As a point of comparison, last weekend's top grossing release, "The Possession" had over 236,000 Facebook likes, while "The Oogieloves Big Balloon Adventure" had only 2,800 Facebook likes. "The Possession" generated over $17.7-million and the "Oogieloves" generated less than $500,000 - both titles falling within a 10% range of box office predictions based solely on Facebook likes.
The ratio of Facebook likes to theatres for the top four new theatrical titles this weekend can be ranked as follows: 1). "Bachelorette" - 60,363 likes supporting a 40-theatre launch (a ratio of 1,500 to 1); 2). "Toys in the Attic" - 20,700 likes supporting a 25-theatre launch (a ratio of 828 to 1); 3). "The Words" - 29,000 likes supporting 2,700 theatres (a ratio of 10.7 to 1); and in last position, "The Cold Light of Day" - 3,500 likes supporting 1,500 theatres (a ratio of only 2.3 to 1). Last weekend's "Possession" had a ratio of 84 to 1, while the "Oogieloves" ratio of fans-to-theatres was barely higher than a 1 to 1 ratio (i.e., only one Facebook "like" for each theatre playing that film).
Press screenings for "Toys in the Attic" are being held in New York and Los Angeles this week (and last), with national reviews expected to be posted within the next few days.
"We are hoping to generate the same level of certainty with our theatrical releases that we have been consistently achieving with our DVD and Video-On-Demand activities," said Parkinson. "The company has struggled with prior theatrical campaigns, and we're hoping that the focus and attention to detail that is driving the 'Toys in the Attic' release will deliver a positive and desired result."
"Toys in the Attic" features the voice talent of Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland"), Joan Cusack ("Toy Story 3"), Cary Elwes ("New Year's Eve"), Vivian Schilling ("Savage Land"), Douglas Urbanski ("The Social Network"), Rico Simonini ("Max Payne") and Emily Hahn ("Toy Story 3"). The English Adaptation was written, produced and directed by Vivian Schilling, for Eurocine Films.
In other news, the StockRadio.com has released an audio interview conducted with Parkinson last week, covering a variety of Hannover House issues and achievements, including a discussion about this week's launch of "Toys in the Attic." The entire interview can be heard on-line at:
http://thestockradio.com/erik-parkinson-ceo-of-hannover-house-inc-otchhse/1309"> http://thestockradio.com/erik-parkinson-ceo-of-hannover-house-inc-otchhse/1309
To learn more about Hannover House, visit the company's website at: www.HannoverHouse.com, or review the company's financials and filings at: www.OTCMarkets.com.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Sections 27A & 21E of the amended Securities and Exchange Acts of 1933-34, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Although the company believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these statements included in this press release will prove accurate.