Kate Walker 1

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The 6th Installment of the Harry Potter Series

Released by Warner Brothers Studio

on July 15, 2009

Kate Walker 2

All About Harry Potter

Became the highest-grossing film franchise in September 2007, after release of HP 5

HP 6 has a “complicated story”, but producer is willing to embrace the story

HP 6 release date was pushed back to ensure summer blockbuster status

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Harry Potter 6 Facts

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint all return

Will be released simultaneously in 100 IMAX 3-D theaters

Quidditch returns to the series in this film 2 extra scenes not in the book were added to

the film First to be rated PG-13

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Box Office Numbers for Harry Potter Series

HP 1: US Gross- $317,557,891 HP 2: US Gross- $261,987,880 HP 3: US Gross- $249,538,952 HP 4: US Gross- $290,013,036 HP 5: US Gross- $292,004,738

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HP 6 in the Media

Trailers were first released in November Articles in many international and

American media outlets Release of still photo scenes from HP 6 Book tour promotes movie as well

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SWOT Analysis

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Strengths Warner Brothers produces well-known movies Big-time celebrities are associated with this studio –

willing to speak on its behalf Brand loyalty, fan loyalty, and television presence of

Warner Brothers Studios Studio owns rights to many lucrative films – generate

large revenue Series loyalty for Harry Potter Characters and storyline of film are geared towards its

main, money-making audience Harry Potter brand loyalty – positive image in market

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Weaknesses

Series is targeted towards only younger audiences and ignores older audiences

Possible negative actions of main actors Keep to the well-planned path of the series Abstain from smaller, less lucrative movie

productions

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Opportunities

Ability to draw media attention from the book series and all the related publicity

Cross promotional opportunities with other companies

Trends: instilling a movie following early in life

Possible spin-off movies of the Harry Potter series

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Threats

Other successful studios Other “tween” Sci-Fi series – Twilight Change in directors/producers between

movies within the series

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Objectives

Increase media coverage of the film, especially among international audiences

Ensure that stars of the movie are portrayed positively, especially near the release date

Increase box office revenue from last film

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Audiences

Viewers aged 8-22 Shareholders of Warner Brothers Parents of “tween” population

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Messages

Stars of the Harry Potter series are positive role models for the youth of today

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the best Harry Potter film yet

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Strategies and Tactics

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Continually inform media of film progress

Weekly press releases Daily blog postings from Warner Brothers Interviews with the director and producer Press conferences Launch event for the press

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Portray film positively in media

Continue to release selected still shots of influential and entertaining scenes

Make sure that if anything is behind schedule, that there are legitimate reasons

Send out a statement saying that the PG-13 rating is not a negative thing

Issue positive statements when necessary to shed positive light on the company and the film

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Get the stars in the media Schedule personal, deep interviews with the

teen stars Do fan “meet ‘n greet” at movie theaters as

part of a media tour Speak with the teen stars about personal

conduct on and off the set Encourage them to attend popular

Hollywood events to further promote the movie

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Send information to international media outlets

Send press releases internationally International media tour to visit countries

such as Britain and Japan Make sure there is a contact in every

country that has Harry Potter fans Invite international contacts to a press-only

launch event for the movie

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Crisis Plan

IssueOn July 10, 2009, just days before the release of the 6th installment of the Harry Potter series, Rupert Grint, who plays Ronald Weasley, is caught giving the finger to a camera in downtown London. The picture was then posted on people.com, as well as multiple blogs. There was also a videotape made of him yelling at the press and then giving the finger, which has already been posted on youtube and received over 6,000 hits. Executives at Warner Brothers are worried what this might do to the prospects for the film, as Grint plays such a significant role. The executives are afraid that the bad publicity is already affecting the pre-sales and the sales of the midnight showing of the movies.

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Action TakenThe video was immediate flagged by the studio as inappropriate content and was removed from the youtube website. People magazine was contacted and Grint has submitted a formal apology to the magazine addressed to the public for his lewd behavior, which People has published online and will publish in the beginning of their next issue. In his statement, he apologizes profusely, saying that his behavior was inexcusable, and that he is ashamed for doing it. He promised to apologize individually to the reporter who he gave the finger to. Grint also promised it would never happen again. We scheduled Grint a press conference, during which he again apologized to the public for his behavior, mentioning that he and the reporter got into an argument, but he still had no right to act like that towards anyone. Since the press conference, Grint has been only in the news for positive occasions, such as volunteering at an animal shelter downtown.

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ImpactOur quick response allowed Grint to save face, and to save the image of the movie and the stars of the movie. Grint’s apology will be published and televised, showing the world that he truly is sorry for what he did. His face-to-face apology to the reporter was also caught on tape and has been aired on the E Hollywood News. This tape shows Grint as visibly remorseful. This small issue also brings extra media attention to the movie. Luckily, the negative impact of this event has been significantly decreased, and the movie will persevere in the box office and gather a large revenue.

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References http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/series/Harry

Potter.php http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/sep/11/jkjoa

nnekathleenrowling http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/160992

6/story.jhtml http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/harry-p

otter/5160902/Daniel-Radcliffe-prepares-for-Harry-Potter-screen-kiss.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417741/trivia