Prop Store’s DREDD Prop & Costume Auction — A Case Study — [OVERVIEW] Overview fs one o the world’s leading vendors as well as the revenue potential of their A of collectible film memorabilia, we at material—and to propose an auction event Prop Store were very proud to partner with that would meet those goals. DNA Films to present an exciting auction sale event of production assets from the 2012 We launched the auction of 225 individual sale feature DREDD. Based on the popular 2000 AD lots shortly after DREDD’s home entertainment graphic novel series, the latest film incarnation release, in January 2013. eBay was selected as the developed a strong following with fans, and platform for the sale, due to the extensive organic recent home entertainment sales performance traffic it receives. The auction was a resounding has been impressive. success, with over 5,000 bids coming in from hundreds of participants around the world. The Having worked with DNA Films previously on prices achieved exceeded our expectations across titles such as Sunshine and 28 Weeks Later, the board, and DNA was very pleased with the we entered into discussions on the sale of the marketing exposure the event received via both assets while DREDD was still in the beginning print and web outlets. Our fee for conducting the stages of production. Our early involvement auction was based entirely on a split of the revenue gave us adequate time to assess DNA’s specific return, meaning DNA incurred no expenses in the goals—in maximizing the marketing exposure preparation of the sale.

Hero Lawmaster Motorbike

www.propstore.com 1 [PREPARATION] Preparation Asset Transportation & Storage pon wrap of DREDD’s principal photography Uin South Africa, all production assets were transported to London to be sorted, cataloged, and stored until DNA reached final decisions on what assets would be sold. With over 12,000 square feet of warehouse space in Prop Store’s London facility, we were able to securely store the sensitive assets and ensure they were not disturbed before the film’s release. As Prop Store covers all up-front costs relating to producing an asset sale, DNA saved significantly on the direct costs of asset transportation and storage. Asset Cataloging ince the assets arrived in the same condition Sthey left production, our first phase of the project was to sort and inventory the material. Based on our preliminary knowledge of the film and familiarity with the labeling used for the garments, we were able to assemble the wardrobe components into the most complete costume sets possible. Outfit completion for costumes weighs heavily with collectors, so it was important for us to ensure this process was done correctly. The props also had to be sorted as to whether they were used during filming, unfinished standby versions or prototypes. Each and every inventoried item was then described in-depth, down to the smallest piece (such as spare badges and belts). They were Complete Judge Dredd Costume then evaluated for production usage, condition, completeness, material construction and labeling. absolutely paramount for achieving the greatest Once collated, all data was logged into our inventory possible return on the material. We spent a database. Each description was composed by great deal of time preparing the costumes for one of our specially trained copywriters and later photography, as it was important that they look served as the basis for describing the item during as good in these images as they did in the film the sale. itself. A range of mannequins were used to With the cataloging of the material complete, all ensure that the costumes fit properly. Many of items were then transferred to our photography the items in the sale had more than 10 individual department. The significance of product photographs to accompany its sale listing. Each photography in asset memorabilia sales cannot photo was carefully composed, properly lit and be understated – professional photography is edited to ensure the best possible presentation.

2 www.propstore.com [PREPARATION] Sale Recommendations acilitating a sale such as the DREDD Fauction is always a collaborative process. We had several discussions with DNA Films, which included our recommendations for the sale’s timing and format as well as the specific asset list that would comprise the event. The two major opportunities to capitalize on the interest in a film—and therefore the interest in collecting the assets— occur during the theatrical and home entertainment release periods. The latter tends to be a more comfortable time frame for us to work within, as it affords us the opportunity to view the film before we begin cataloging assets. DNA agreed that the ideal time to conduct the DREDD sale would be during the home entertainment release period. Reviewing the fully-cataloged asset list, DNA identified items that they wished to hold for their own archive or for other reasons. Prop Store made recommendations as to what pieces Prototype Judge Helmet would perform best in the sale and also suggested that a selection was held back for a possible secondary auction, or direct sale at a later date. As a result of these discussions, we were able to lock in the final sale list.

DREDD inventory sample

www.propstore.com 3 [SALE] Sale Auction Platform fter evaluating a number of online auction Aplatforms, including all of those used by our competitors within the market, we concluded that eBay was the best platform for this sale. Despite the numerous challenges eBay’s rules and regulations pose to professional retailers, we felt the organic exposure brought to the sale through this platform made it ideal. eBay is one of the top online retail websites in the world, and that exposure was one of DNA’s main targets in selling the assets.

Above: Sample product auction listing from DREDD sale

Right: DREDD custom auction template

4 www.propstore.com [SALE]

DREDD auction launch page

www.propstore.com 5 [SALE] Auction Format regular contact with eBay account managers to ensure that we operated within their policies and ne concern many of our clients have is an resolved every question to the best of our ability. Ouncertainty of the value of their assets. As props and costumes are as unique as the films Some of the more enthusiastic bidders requested they helped create, there is no standardized price to preview the items in person in our London guide available for them, and in some instances office. We accommodated a number of these there are very few directly comparable sale preview requests over the course of the sale. Past results. With DREDD being a brand new film, no experience has shown us that this level of service assets had ever sold previously. For this reason, entices people to go above and beyond what they we opted to begin each auction at £1.00, with might have been prepared to bid on an item. no reserve price. The bidders alone would set the final sale results, to the great delight of the Another ongoing task during the sale period was collecting community. verifying the identities of bidders with zero or private eBay feedback. One shortcoming of the A minimum of 20 new items were posted daily over eBay platform is the ease by which a user can a period of 10 working days, with each auction register and bid on items, and “zero-feedback” running for a seven day period. This resulted in a users may or may not be genuine bidders. If they total auction duration of three complete working are not genuine, their bids can be damaging as weeks, and the seven-day period on each auction they result in unpaid items, or they serve to run gave fans and collectors ample time to locate and up the price on genuine bidders, who then pick up bid on the items. on their tactics and lose faith in the validity of the As a special courtesy to our customers and an auction. We phoned every participant with zero incentive to promote bidding activity, we offered or low feedback, and if we were unable to verify winning bidders the option to pay for their material their identity, their bids were cancelled. over a period of three months. This payment plan is similar to a layaway option and allows customers Fulfillment to bid beyond what they are prepared to pay in a ith each item sold via the auction, we single installment. Wcalculated individual shipping costs and prepared final invoices for our winners. Uniquely Auction Maintenance serial numbered certificates of authenticity had s expected, offering 225 unique items for to be created for every asset and linked in our Asale on an international platform prompted a database to the customer who had purchased the tremendous number of customer inquiries. Over item. In an industry known for slow turnaround, the course of the three-week sale, our offices in we have always prided ourselves on speedy both London and Los Angeles fielded hundreds service, and this event was no exception. Our crew of questions via telephone, e-mail, and web worked overtime to carefully wrap and ship the discussion forums. Inquiries were made on the volume of packages without delay. All shipments items themselves as well as the post-sale logistics were sent via a fully-tracked service to ensure of item payment and delivery. We remained in proper delivery.

6 www.propstore.com [MARKETING] Marketing Print e prepared and executed Wa comprehensive printed media marketing campaign to promote the auction. All of the work on the design, coordination and execution of the campaign was handled in- house, with the exception of the DREDD film images and logos, which DNA provided to us and authorized us to incorporate. Half-page advertisements were taken out in the two most popular film magazines running; Empire and Total Film. These advertisements were published a week before the auction began.

EEMPIR magazine editorial coverage via promotional giveaway contest

EMPIRE mag​ azine advertisement

www.propstore.com 7 [MARKETING] Additional exposure in Empire and Total Film came via promotional giveaway contests that we partnered with the magazines to produce in order to increase editorial coverage. In exchange for relatively low-value pieces from the film, we gained thousands of pounds worth of additional print marketing coverage. These publications have a substantial reach, as evidenced by the nearly 2000 individual entries that the Empire contest received. Promotional flyer cards were designed, printed and distributed extensively to further promote the event. These flyers were included with all Prop Store orders for several months prior to the sale and were also included with the thousands of holiday greeting cards that were sent out to our client list at the close of 2012. We were able to broaden our reach with the installation of flyer dispenser units at both locations of the London Film Museum.

Right: DREDD auction promotional flyer

Below: Total Film magazine editorial coverage via promotional giveaway contest, and advertisement

8 www.propstore.com [MARKETING] Online unning concurrently with the print marketing Rcampaign was an extensive online marketing campaign that targeted a wide variety of film and fandom related outlets on the web. As with the print campaign, online marketing efforts were launched by the Prop Store team, performed at our expense and largely called upon our existing relationships and status within the community. We began raising awareness of the upcoming sale on our own website several months prior to the start of the event. A dedicated sale launch and information page was created, which contained the official press release for the event as well as pertinent details that bidders would need. Banner ads linking to the launch page were placed on our home page and our product listings page. A custom-designed DREDD Auction Newsletter was mailed directly to the thousands of clients on our mailing list, following teaser ads that ran in our newsletter for several months previously.

Detailed view of product listing on Prop Store’s e-commerce sales platform, linking through to eBay auction

Product listings on Prop Store’s e-commerce sales platform, linking through to eBay auction

www.propstore.com 9 [MARKETING] When the auction began, every item listed on eBay was concurrently listed on our own e-commerce sales platform. Our platform is updated daily, and our latest product listings are vigorously monitored by eager collectors around the globe. The DREDD auction items were listed as part of these daily updates, with the full description and photographs of the item, and a link taking our customers directly to the eBay auction. Perhaps our most visual effort in the online marketing campaign for this event was a complete takeover of the popular Judge Dredd fandom website 2000AD (www.2000ad.com). We worked closely with the owners of the site to incorporate a graphical takeover that promoted the auction heavily and was present on every page of their site.

Promotional takeover of 2000AD.com website

Advertisement on collecting forum TheRPF.com

10 www.propstore.com [MARKETING] Additional editorial content on the DREDD sale websites around the web, in true viral fashion. went up on major film industry news and fandom websites such as Ain’t It Cool News, /film, Collider In addition to the film fandom community at large, and theRPF. Each of the sites ran a promotional Prop Store specifically targeted the memorabilia giveaway contest for a small DREDD memento to collecting community with banner advertisements coincide with the sale. Ain’t It Cool News created on a number of collecting forums and blogs. These a filmmaking contest and accepted submissions of linked directly to the eBay sale launch page. short DREDD-inspired fan films. The final winner was a very clever piece in which a movie theater Our social media platforms represented the final patron converts a used popcorn bucket into a push of our web marketing campaign. We posted Judge helmet, before passing judgment on noisy extensive teaser photos and additional item neighboring filmgoers. coverage to our Facebook and Twitter accounts Like eBay, these news sites receive a staggering for many weeks in the lead up to the sale. With amount of traffic, and once the auction had been over 10,000 Facebook followers, these images covered on these platforms, the news quickly trickled and links also quickly went viral and helped spread down to a plethora of smaller film news and fandom word among the collecting community.

Promotional coverage via giveaway contest at AintItCoolNews.com

www.propstore.com 11 [RESULTS & PERFORMANCE] Results & Performance

he auction performance was assets for sale, and by making the imagery and logos Tconsidered a resounding success available for marketing use. by both Prop Store and DNA Films. The buzz leading up to the sale met DREDD’s performance within the home entertainment our expectations, and the resulting market is even more impressive. It was the top title during performance statistics speak for the week of its release, selling over 650,000 units. It was themselves. The 225 auction items also the top digital download the same week. Performance received a total of over 150,000 on all home media platforms has remained steady since, views; the Judge Dredd costume as the film has received excellent buzz via word of mouth. alone received over 15,000. This is exactly the type of excitement and viral marketing that promotional sales generate, and DNA agreed that the A total of 5,082 bids were placed DREDD auction delivered beyond all expectations. throughout the three-week online event. Winning bids came in from all across the globe. The items were dispersed throughout the United Kingdom and United States, as well as Australia, Ireland, Taiwan, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Canada, France and Austria. Over 100 different bidders won items in the auction. The print and web prize giveaway contests were also considered a complete success, as thousands of contest entries demonstrated interest in the film and the props and costumes that helped bring it to the screen. We feel that DREDD is an ideal title to showcase the potential – both in terms of generating revenue and garnering exposure – for promotional auction as a strategic method to sell production assets. DREDD has a built-in fan base and recognition within collecting communities, and the bespoke costumes and props from the film are exactly the type of pieces that collectors aspire to own. DNA helped capitalize on this potential by providing us with adequate lead time to prepare the Selection of eBay auction results

12 www.propstore.com [CONTACT INFORMATION]

Contact Information

Ld on on Office Ls o Angeles Office Great House Farm 9000 Fullbright Ave Chenies Chatsworth Rickmansworth CA 91311 Hertfordshire USA WD3 6EP UNITED KINGDOM CactSont : tephen Lane CactBont : randon Alinger CEO COO

(e) [email protected] (e) [email protected] (t) +44 (0) 1494 766 485 (t) +1 818 727 7829 (f) +44 (0) 1494 766 487 (f) +1 818 727 7958

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