DVD 0 Pre-Release Marketing
DVD/VHS Release Marketing
This page lists various forms of marketing provided to different audiences, in preparation for the release of various editions of DVD/VHS releases. These include:
Digital Asset Kits (sometimes seen on eBay or elsewhere abbreviated as DAK or DAKs). These typically were sent to sales outlets who would be buying LOTR video products wholesale and reselling them. DAKs include information about promotional campaigns, along with downloadable advertising materials for use in print (e.g., camera-ready ad slicks in black and white and color) and on the web (e.g., JPGs of DVD/VHS covers, screenshots of DVD menu pages).
Paper Press Kits (sometimes abbreviated as PK or PKs). PKs usually include a high-quality two-pocket 9″ x 12″ folder. The folder often shows special design or printing features to make it more distinctive, such as die-cut patterns, embossing, gold foil lettering, holographs, etc. PKs also usually include some combination of cover letter with official contact lists for further details, press releases, production notes, photographs, CD-ROM press kit disc, brochures or booklets on related products, camera-ready ad slicks, quotes, and reviews.
Note: Because a paper press kit might be customized for a particular purpose, it is possible that not all of them from the same film edition will contain the exact same set of items. I get this sense from having had a few press kits from the same LOTR film and edition pass through my collection where the contents differed. This could be because of intentional customization by the distributors, or it could just be that an eBay seller combined several items from the same film/edition in the same lot. I only say this in case you end up with a press kit that differs from the contents I’ll be listing from the ones I’ve had.
Official Sales Promotional Kits. For each LOTR film, the official promotional kit included a set of 12 pins/badges, plus a combination of vinyl window cling, posters, and point-of-sale shelf tags. These were shipped in a custom-size plain cardboard box to stores where the LOTR video products would be sold.
Other types of promotions included print ads, posters, postcards, pins, etc.).
I am only listing and describing these here, and using the rest of the page for any references and resources on marketing. For the details of these various materials on a given film release, see DVD 1 FOTR Marketing, DVD 2 TTT Marketing, and DVD 3 ROTK Marketing – or for other editions: DVD 4 Limited Edition Marketing and DVD 5 Blu-ray Marketing.
Resource Materials on Marketing The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood by Kristin Thompson (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-520-24774-1). A wonderful narrative of how The Lord of the Rings film trilogy came into being, based on interviews with many of the principal cast and crew. Includes sections on the film, building the franchise, beyond the movie (licensing products; interactive Middle-earth), and the lasting power of the Rings. There are sections that address issues of marketing/promotion. When I index that book, I’ll list the most relevant of what I find.
Studying the Event Film: The Lord of the Rings, edited by Harriet Margolis, Sean Cubitt, Barry King, and Thierry Jutel (Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-07190-7198-0). A set of academic essays using The Lord of the Rings trilogy to illustrate how a film can now become a global phenomenon through careful planning, marketing, licensing, and promotion … in ways that intersect with fan (and potential fan) interests. This one-of-a-kind resource includes a timeline, filmography, references, index, and 7 sections totaling 28 essays. The essays most relevant to marketing the DVD releases are:
- Multiple DVD releases.
- Marketing strategies.
