The Game

The game created synergy by distributing the Avatar brand to U.K. audiences through another platform



Why the game was a successful part in the film's distribution and marketing:

• It was marketed and sold before the U.K. release date in order to wet the appetite of the audience by displaying the unique special effects, narrative and characters
• Appealed to the male audience, a vital segment of their target audience, by providing another platform to access the Avatar brand
• Connected with the action/fantasy genre, a genre that lends itself perfectly to a successful video game and therefore the two industries (film and video game) attract similar audiences
• Avatar needed to connect with the proliferation of hardware to sell the film successfully as audiences no longer access their media from one source, but look for cross media convergence

Avatar Website Comparison

Official Avatar Site (http://www.avatar-movie.co.uk/)

• See the trailer before entering the main site
• Links to share/follow the film creating audience interactivity (facebook, myspace, youtube, flickr, twitter)
• Links to buying merchandise, maximising awareness and profits
• Avatar theme music plays to immerse viewer in the site and the whole narrative world
• Flash based site fits with the technological side of the film (e.g. special effects)
• 20th Century Fox logo used to promote the distrbuting company through the Avatar brand
• Link to the 'avtr' narrative world site
• Links to downloads (desktop backgrounds) create more interactivity and promotion through the release dates being displayed

Avtr Site (http://avtr.com/)

• Presents narrative world to the audience through, for example, the themed link bar
• Coke Zero sponsor is prominent, creating synergy. The adverts also promote Avatar, forming a symbiotic relationship
• '#1 Transmission from Alison Boyd' creates believability that the characters can communicate with Earth. It compliments the film's narrative by providing information about the world of Pandora, its inhabitants and the human technologies
• Short video clips showing blue prints of the human warships/technologies in the film, appealing to the modern, majority masculine audience
• Link to facebook game creates interactivity and younger/teenage audience appeal, immersing audience in Avatar brand
• Live twitter feed gives instant audience feedback, creating a word of mouth viral response

Comparison

The avtr website gives more narrative information about the film whereas the official Avatar site serves to broaden the platforms the film is distributed through. The avtr site also provides a platform for the sponsor (Cokezero) to advertise on, however the official site purely serves to promote Avatar and the 20th Century Fox brand. Despite differences, they both work together in linking to interactive social networking sites (e.g. Facebook and Twitter) and creating a clear Avatar brand through, for example, colourscheme and images

20th Century Fox

Located in the Century City area of Los Angeles, just west of Beverly Hills, the studio is a subsidiary of News Corporation, the media conglomerate owned by Rupert Murdoch. The company was founded in 1935, as the result of a merger of two entities, Fox Film Corporation founded by William Fox in 1915, and Twentieth Century Pictures, begun in 1933 by Darryl F. Zanuck, Joseph Schenck, Raymond Griffith and William Goetz.

Specialise in mainstream franchises including:

• Star Wars
• Ice Age
• X-Men
• Die Hard
• Alien
• Planet of the Apes
• Home Alone
• Night at the Museum
• Predator
• The Chronicles of Narnia

Fox Movies Site

• Current focus on Avatar (themed/branded to film, full screen avatar images, promoting cinema release)
• Links to other 20th Century Fox releases (smaller images and links to official sites)
• Appeals to the majority masculine target audience through the black metallic colourscheme and sleek, modern, technological stylising
• Links to official site/trailer/widget/buying tickets for Avatar