Detroit's not the only one reeling from the collapse of General Motors. There are a few executives bummed out on the Paramount Pictures lot as well.
Eleven weeks before the release of its expensive summer sequel "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen," the studio can't count on its key promotional partner to support a marketing blitz that helps drive mass awareness of Hollywood's big popcorn movies.
The struggling automaker, whose new Chevy Camaro is one of the stars of director Michael Bay's action film in which vehicles morph into giant robots, has sharply throttled back its contribution to the advertising campaign tied to the sequel's release June 24.
The reduced spending by GM comes at a tricky time for Paramount, which needs all the promotional backing it can muster for "Transformers" in what looks to be one of Hollywood's most competitive summers ever. A dozen big-budget "event" films, including "Star Trek" and sequels to "Harry Potter" and "X-Men," will be elbowing one another into theaters.
"There's so much competition out there for the entertainment dollar that studios and filmmakers really can't open big, $100-million movies without the assistance of partner alliances that can help generate awareness and sell movie tickets," said Norm Marshall, chief executive of NMA Entertainment, a brand marketing firm that's been involved in movie "tie-in" campaigns for "Mama Mia!," "Iron Man" and "Matrix Reloaded."
For the Hollywood studios, which are under pressure to keep a lid on marketing costs, a promotional tie-in can spell millions of dollars of advertising underwritten by consumer giants like GM or fast-food chains McDonald's and Burger King.
The tie-ins take various forms, including advertisements of the company's products alongside the movie, in-store promotions, direct mailings, product placement and online campaigns.
"It can be extremely valuable," said Adam Fogelson, president of marketing and distribution for Universal Pictures, whose upcoming June release "Land of the Lost," a sci-fi adventure comedy starring Will Ferrell, has a "huge" media and in-store campaign with promotional partner Subway.
Studios can spend more than $100 million to market their "franchise" movies around the world. But as the studios try to rein in marketing costs, the tie-in campaigns with big advertisers become more important.
