51 The Promotion Plan (1/2)

”Okay, April 28th.” Mark Strong nodded his agreement. He could see that Wang Yang had not just picked a random date, so he asked out of curiosity, ”What day is that?”

Smiling, Wang Yang said mysteriously, ”A big day.”

”Okay,” Mark Strong simply said, not trying to pry into anything. Picking up a piece of paper, on which there was a table printed from the meeting table, he said, ”Let's see what movies will be on in that season.”

He read out the table content, ”April 23rd, we should watch out for Pushing Tin by 20th Century Fox; April 30th, Entrapment, also by Fox, and Idle Hands by Columbia.” He threw Wang Yang a look, smiling at the mention of Idle Hands.

Shrugging, Wang Yang said, ”Great.”

Mark Strong went on, ”May 7th, wow, The Mummy! A blockbuster with a budget of eighty million dollars. How ambitious it is! Well, next, May 19th, here comes Star Wars.”

Simon Willis aired his opinion, ”It is beyond doubt that this prequel of Star Wars will be a big hit, but we don't need to worry about that. Moviegoers will surely watch other films at the cinema, too.” Looking at Wang Yang, he said, ”Besides, High School Musical differs from it in style, selling point, and audience, so it will not affect us too much.”

”I think what matters most is the quality of our film.” Leaning against the back of the swivel chair, Wang Yang spread his hands. He said with a confused look, ”Maybe we will beat Star Wars' first week? Huh, just kidding!” Star Wars had an overwhelming influence, so this prequel was regarded as this year's Titanic. It was predicted it would secure the first place of the yearly box office gross, even though it had not yet been released.

Everyone in the meeting room laughed. Mark Strong said, ”Well, The Mummy and Star Wars are both strong opponents for us. Oh, sure, our goal for the moment is to not lose money. We don't need to compete with them.” He added after a pause, ”However, if we want to get the movie onto more big screens across the country, we will have to amaze those theater chains with a great box office gross in the first two weeks.”

Nodding, Wang Yang said, ”Our promotion of the film must be a success.”

Mark Strong said with a smile, ”Of course. Paranormal Activity taught everyone a lesson. The power of promotion was unexpectedly great.”

They all burst out laughing again. So did Wang Yang. Opening the promotion plan drafted by the Department of Publishing, he said, ”That means viral marketing is extremely necessary. This will be the trump card that leads us to victory.”

It was clearly written in the promotion plan that the Department of Publishing would strengthen the promotion one month before the release of the film to ignite the ”bomb”. They would involve more discussions about the film in more school forums on the internet to grab students' attention closely. At the same time, in real life, they would carry out a saturation campaign, both in schools and on campus. The school where the premiere of the film would be held would be the center of attention. The High School Musical posters would cover every corner there, along the corridors, in the pantry, even in the classrooms. Anywhere a poster could be placarded would not be missed.

The budget for this plan was over $5,000,000. Plus the estimated final producing cost, which was $8,000,000, and the cost of film copies and other costs generated from showing the film, the total cost of the film would exceed $15,000,000. Wang Yang had earned thirty-five million after-tax from Paranormal Activity. He had spent over three million on the company, so if High School Musical turned out to be a failure, he would lose half of his money, though he would remain a multi-millionaire.

However, money was not the only problem. He was not the only one who had expectations for High School Musical and had put effort into it. It was not just his future that would be affected. Many people had pinned their hopes on it. It was many people's futures that would be affected. He would not allow this film to fail, even if only for Jessica's sake so that those who said she was insane would shut up.

Wang Yang felt there was still something missing while reading in the promotion plan. He felt this plan alone would not be enough. It was different from the mysteries with Paranormal Activity. This plan was a standard promotion. It was simply telling people, ”This film is great. Believe me. Go to the cinema to watch it!”. Such a way to promote could only inform people of the existence of High School Musical, but how would it pique their interest? If people were not interested in it, even if they had a poster on their wall, they still would not go to the cinema to watch it.

Besides, although they were to launch a saturation campaign, the saturation surely should not go too far so that any students would be annoyed. The rebellious mentality could evoke hostility. Even though it was a good movie, people might say it was terrible if they'd been averse to the film's promotion.

Wang Yang spoke out on his doubts. Mark Strong said helplessly, ”Boss, our hands are tied. If you had big stars in your film, the audience's interest would be naturally piqued. But you know that the biggest star in High School Musical is the director. That's you.”

”I know, but this isn't enough.” Frowning, Wang Yang was trying to order his thoughts. High School Musical was a trendy movie. It was important to shape a positive, youthful image. Having an idol director would certainly help, but after all, it was the leading actors and actresses that the audience would see on the big screen. If the audience felt interested in the protagonists and took a fancy to them, it would certainly be of greater help.

Was there any way to make people get to know the leading actors and actresses and take a fancy to them, thereby raising their popularity?

”To increase their exposure.” Mark Strong answered Wang Yang, ”This is my experience as an agent. If you always show up before the public with a positive image and have some good works that can make people remember you, you will be an idol. To draw attention, you need to create topics. That being said,” shrugging, he said, ”there are no topics for our leading actors and actresses. Scandals surely won't do here. The main audience of this film is students. They wouldn't like to know that their idols are in love. So…” Looking at Wang Yang and smiling, he said, ”Boss, watch out.”

Everyone laughed. Although they did not know whom this young boss was dating, everyone supposed a rich young man must have a girlfriend.

”You've warned me many times.” Wang Yang rolled his eyes at him. He sometimes felt Mark Strong was like his agent. He would nose in on almost everything.

What on Earth could they do? A positive, youthful image, showing up before the public, exposure… it took Wang Yang a good while to think. Then, suddenly, a moment of clarity appeared, and he came up with an idea. Opening his eyes wide, he said loudly, ”Mark, contact television stations!”

Mark Strong said confusedly, ”What for?”

Wang Yang said slowly after ordering his thoughts, ”We will collaborate with a television station to launch a small show that gives dance classes. Ten minutes a day or five minutes a day—it doesn't matter. The show will teach the audience some basic dance steps in one month. The classes will be given by Tom, Jessica, and so on, of course. They will be wearing their High School Musical costumes, beaming, healthy, youthful, positive—idols!” He could not help but smile when he had finished speaking.

However, Mark Strong only spread his hands. He said uninterestedly, ”Yang, even in the local channels of Los Angeles, a ten-minute or five-minute commercial played every day can't be cheap. If you mean TV stations like ABC or NBC, that's insane because it will be extremely expensive.”

Shaking his head, Wang Yang said, ”It's not a commercial. It's cooperation.”

Mark Strong still was not persuaded. He went on, ”I'm afraid no TV station will think this is cooperation. Why would they let the leading actors and actresses of High School Musical teach the audience to dance? They could find someone else to do it themselves. Yang, this is a commercial. Nobody will speak to you unless you pay the commercial fee, which will be rocket-high.”

Wang Yang fell silent. After giving it a thought, he realized it was only his wishful thinking, indeed. TV stations would never lack programs or videos, while High School Musical did lack exposure. Wang Yang said after thinking for a bit, ”Try to contact them first. See how much it will cost. We can do it if it's not too expensive.”