Cameron Mackay Thesis
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Buzz in motion pictures: What is buzz and how can marketing create it? A thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Queensland University of Technology By Cameron Hugh Mackay B.Bus (Marketing), B.Bus (Hons.) School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations QUT Business School Queensland University of Technology Australia November 2013 “A film is like no other product… it only goes around once. It is like a parachute jump. If it doesn’t open, you are dead.” - Producer Robert Evans, former Head of Production at Paramount Pictures (Litwak, 1986, p.84) “An idea is like a virus, resilient, highly contagious. The smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you.” - Dominic Cobb portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’ KEY WORDS Buzz, film, movies, Hollywood, strategy, emotion, word-of-mouth, diffusion theory, contagion, marketing Abstract Despite the initial development of buzz marketing in the motion picture industry over a century ago, scholarly literature on the buzz phenomenon in the marketing discipline is still limited and remains an emerging field of research (Mohr, 2007a; Allsop, Bassett & Hoskins, 2007). No universally agreed definition of buzz currently exists in scholarly literature. This has resulted in confusion and misuse of the term. This is primarily because word-of-mouth (WOM) is often the main basis for describing and researching buzz (Rosen, 2000; Khermouch, 2001; Walker, 2004; Rosen, 2005; Carl, 2006; Rosen, 2009). However, simply engaging consumers in a conversation about a brand does not fully explain the buzz phenomena surrounding films such as ‘Gone With The Wind’ and ‘Avatar’. This thesis used a qualitative exploratory research approach to develop a deeper understanding of buzz through the context of the motion picture industry. This understanding was informed by valuable insights from key experts who have launched some of the most successful movies in box office history, as well as a range of moviegoers. The first major contribution of this thesis is the formulation of a new definition of buzz that comprehensively explains the buzz phenomena and provides a clear and holistic narrative that explains the phenomena. A second major contribution of this thesis is the mapping of the process explaining how buzz is co-created simultaneously by consumers and marketers. Furthermore this thesis also concludes that buzz is not the same as WOM. Statement of Original Authorship The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet the requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by any other person except where due reference is made. Signed: Date: 4th November 2013 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincerest thanks go to my supervisors Dr. John McDonnell and Dr. Jon Silver for their steadfast encouragement, dependability and brilliant guidance throughout the journey. Special thanks also go to Dr. Stephen Cox for his much appreciated advice. Finally, to my wonderful parents Hugh and Roslynn, as well as my brother Lachlan, thank you for your unwavering support and love. ABBREVIATIONS BWP – ‘The Blair Witch Project’ (1999 – Motion Picture) Fox – 20th Century Fox Studios GWTW – ‘Gone With The Wind’ (1939 – Motion Picture) Harry Potter – The Harry Potter film series from ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ (2001) to ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’ (2011) Majors/Major Studios – 20th Century Fox Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures (Columbia/Tristar), Universal Studios, Warner Brothers (films are distributed by Village Roadshow in Australia), and Walt Disney Studios MGM – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer MPAA – Motion Picture Association of America TDK – ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008 – Motion Picture) TDKR – ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012 – Motion Picture) Warner Bros. – Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. / Warner Bros. Pictures WOM – Word-of-Mouth Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 The buzz phenomenon and the rapid diffusion of new products.............................3 1.2 Buzz and the motion picture industry ........................................................................8 1.3 Buzz beyond motion pictures ....................................................................................12 1.4 Chapter summary.......................................................................................................15 Chapter 2: Literature review.................................................................................. 16 2.1 Literature review: New product diffusion ...............................................................17 2.1.1 Interpersonal communications theory...................................................................17 2.1.2 Interpersonal influence..........................................................................................22 2.1.3 Word-of-mouth communication theory ................................................................24 2.2 Literature review: Buzz .............................................................................................28 2.2.1 Critical review of buzz theory...............................................................................28 2.2.2 Contagion – definition and conceptualisation.......................................................32 2.2.3 Emotion – definition and conceptualisation..........................................................35 2.2.4 Critical review of buzz marketing theory..............................................................39 2.3 Chapter summary.......................................................................................................45 Chapter 3: Research method .................................................................................. 46 3.1 Qualitative research approach ..................................................................................47 3.1.1 Justification for qualitative research .....................................................................47 3.1.2 Justification for in-depth interviewing..................................................................51 3.2 Data collection.............................................................................................................53 3.2.1 Interview sampling................................................................................................54 3.2.2 Constructing interview guides...............................................................................57 3.3 Data analysis ...............................................................................................................59 3.3.1 Thematic analysis: Study 1 ...................................................................................60 3.3.2 Thematic analysis: Study 2 ...................................................................................65 3.4 Ethical considerations ................................................................................................68 3.5 Chapter summary.......................................................................................................69 Chapter 4: Analysis and discussion........................................................................ 70 4.1 Analysis: Moviegoer perspective of buzz .................................................................73 4.1.1 Emotion and contagion .........................................................................................73 4.1.3 Emotion and word-of-mouth.................................................................................97 4.1.3 Word-of-mouth and contagion............................................................................104 4.1.4 Summary and discussion: Do word-of-mouth, contagion and emotion interrelate to form buzz?................................................................................................................114 4.1.5 Discussion: Evidence of social and emotional contagion in forming buzz ........116 4.2 Analysis: Studio executive and movie marketer perspective of buzz ..................120 4.2.1 Defining buzz in the motion picture industry .....................................................120 4.2.2 A buzz-worthy product .......................................................................................123 4.2.3 Facilitating the heat on a buzz-worthy product...................................................131 4.2.4 Summary: Why do some new products develop buzz and others don’t? ...........141 4.2.5 Discussion: Evidence of strategic marketing in creating buzz............................143 4.3 Chapter summary.....................................................................................................144 Chapter 5: Conclusion........................................................................................... 145 5.1 Thesis conclusion: Merging the moviegoer and studio executive perspectives to construct a new understanding of buzz........................................................................145 5.1.1 Application 1: Explaining why buzz did not exist for ‘John Carter’ ..................148 5.1.2 Application 2: Explaining why buzz did not exist for ‘Kick-Ass’......................154 5.1.3 Application 3: Explaining why buzz did not exist for ‘Green Lantern’ .............156 5.1.4 Application 4: