An Internal Look Into the Frenzied Oscars Race

Marketing promotions range anywhere from a couple million dollars to ten times that amount.

The Oscars has continued the tradition of garnering a high number of viewers. In order to sustain this high amount of traffic, money needs to be spent – lots of it.

BRENTWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 24: Nate Sanders displays the collection of Oscar statuettes that his auction company will sell online to the highest bidder on February 24, 2012 in Brentwood, California. (Photo by Toby Canham/Getty Images)
BRENTWOOD, CA – FEBRUARY 24: Nate Sanders displays the collection of Oscar statuettes that his auction company will sell online to the highest bidder on February 24, 2012 in Brentwood, California. 

In The Eyes Of Strategy PR

For the average viewer, the Oscars is just a high-profile awards ceremony. To marketing firms and PR reps, it’s a gold mine.

It isn’t cheap either. Major movie studios will spend over $10 million on advertisement campaigns, movie trailers, screeners, lavish buffets, champagne receptions, and so on. The compressed weeks make for an extremely stressful period for all that are involved with the Oscars, including the actors.

Steve Doctrow and Richard Davis, of Rogers & Cowan, have led marketing campaigns for the Oscars. According to Doctrow, the Oscars is an extremely hectic time. The frenzied month-long span that is the Oscars consists of various phases. The first phase involves the announcement of the nominees. The second phase involves filmmakers being honored in marquee categories. Also, factor in the international promotions, event campaigns, attending various events like the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and last-minute preparations.

Oscar Nominations Means Additional Spending On Adverts

For Oscar-anointed films, lobbying their movies during the month of the Oscars is undoubtedly crucial for publicity. Additionally, once the nominations are released to the public, trailers and commercials will need to be rapidly released to include the actor’s or actresses’ name with their nomination. You can expect pretty much everyone that’s involved with an Oscar-nominated film to utilize that nomination in order to drive business.