ResearchonWord—of—mouthMarketingofFantasticBeasts& WheretoFindThem

【Abstract】Since Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them was released in mainland on November 25，the box office has been on a increase. The myth of its box office lies in the consumer-oriented marketing strategy. The research takes Robert Lauterborns marketing theory of 4C as the basis and explores the procedures of the film to show merits of word-of-mouth marketing. Based on this research，several suggestions are offered to Chinese film industries.

【Key words】4C theory； word-of-mouth marketing strategy； Chinese film industry

【作者簡介】王穎，江蘇師范大學外國語學院。

Chapter One Introduction

Since Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them was screened on November18， the box office has been on a increase. Many audiences and mainstream medias have good comments on it. Theres no doubt that word of mouth created by these comments leading to many consumers go to the cinemas. Success of the film owes to its word-of-mouth marketing strategy.

This thesis focuses on the word-of-mouth marketing strategy of this film based on 4C theory and then explores its procedures of this marketing strategy. Based on the research， the author gives some suggestions to domestic film industries， trying to find out more feasible plans for them.

Chapter Two Research on the marketing strategy of Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them based on 4C theory

2.1 Word-of-mouth marketing strategy based on 4C theory of this film

When carrying out word-of-mouth marketing， Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them considers four elements：consumer， cost， convenience and communication. These four elements of 4C theory play important roles in its word-of-mouth marketing process.

2.1.1 Consumer

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them attaches high value to consumers need， providing plots consumers want to see. Consumers are attracted by the perfect visual effects， exquisite stunt production， simulation props on the screen. All of those qualities contribute to good word of mouth on the Internet and motivate consumers to watch the film.

2.1.2 Cost

The film offers three versions with different prices and qualities for consumers to choose. And no matter which version consumer buys， theyre offered the same service. Also consumers can buy film tickets through Meituan， Baidu Nuomi or many other Apps online with cheaper prices than buying in brick-and-mortar stores， which can help reduce the cost.

2.1.3 Communication

Before the film was released， many domestic websites have put the news on the Internet. Old fans have gathered quickly to help promote the film. Introduction and different pictures of the leading roles are put online to attract people. Many Internet users see their propaganda and participate in the discussion of the film. By interacting and communicating with each other， the resources will be highly combined.

2.1.4 Convenience

The film enterprise cooperates with many online ticketing systems. Consumers can click on their phones and book tickets online instead of waiting in the queue for the tickets. Convenience provided here can reduce consumers purchasing cost and meet their demand not to go far to buy tickets.

2.2 Procedures of word-of-marketing strategy of this film

2.2.1 Producing the topic

The first step of Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them is to design in advance of how to make word of mouth become the initial point of the promotion. The film enterprise firstly search for opinion leaders and checks if they can remind people to watch the film through a comment or a report. It also contacts fans association and gets their cooperation willingness to produce the topic and promote word of mouth of the film.

2.2.2 Leaving a great impression

The original information which the selected opinion leaders get is only the surface information of the film about the role of actors or the directors name， etc. So after election of opinion leaders， the film enterprise spreads the specific information to attract target consumers. The enterprise also arranges fans meetings for consumers and create them a special experience， leaving them deep impression.

2.2.3 Doing propaganda

The promotion of word of mouth isnt just require the audiences to spread relevant information. Instead， the enterprise need to let the consumers pick out things they already know and use their own words to say out and promote. Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them sets up a post on the Internet and people can find other interesting articles and pictures on the websites too， which let the consumers know more about the film and promote to others spontaneously.

2.2.4 Confirming the effect

During the release of film， its important to know from whom the new consumers get the information and why they choose to watch the film. Questionnaires are always used here. Through the investigation， the enterprise can know the procedures more precisely and whether the marketing strategy works efficiently and have a further reference for the future promotion.

Chapter Three Suggestions for Chinese film industries

Word-of-mouth marketing strategy is the key to win the market. Here re some suggestions for Chinese film industries when adopting this marketing strategy.

3.1 High-quality film

First of all， only films which can bring consumers good experience can let them willing to spread word of mouth of it. Some films are in bad quality and will result in negative word of mouth. The type and characteristics of the film determine the quality of word-of-mouth effect. Not all the good films are suitable to do word-of-mouth marketing. Only the films which can stimulate the nerve of the consumers and raise their interest can produce better word of mouth.

3.2 Effective word of mouth

Marketing guru Philip Kotler （2011） said：“word of mouth is expressed or implied by the individual outside the producers， not through the third party processing.” Therefore， by laying the consumers comment as a solid foundation for the spread of word of mouth， the enterprises can prevent the propaganda efforts from turning into negative word of mouth. The enterprises must avoid counterfeit or any other means to enhance the amount of word of mouth and they need to distinguish between effective and ineffective word of mouth effect. Only effective word of mouth can work well in the promotion. Enterprises need to take creative marketing tools to grasp the psychological needs of the target consumers.

Chapter Four Conclusion

In short， success of Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them is mostly due to its consumer-oriented word-of-mouth marketing strategy based on 4C theory. It cares about the needs of consumers and cut down the cost. Additionally， it maintains effective communication with the target consumers and earns good word of mouth. All of these elements play very important roles in the marketing process of this film.

Thus， when Chinese film enterprises are doing word-of-mouth marketing， they need to concentrate on the needs of target consumers and provide well-made films. The quality of a film is the basis of word-of-mouth marketing strategy.

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