Jurassic Park - Marketing Report

Directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Universal Studios, Jurassic park is still considered a ground breaking piece of film even 21 years after it's release.

 The film was released in the UK on the 16^th July 1993 and became the years highest grossing film  and at the time it was released it became the highest grossing film of all time.

 This report will aim to research and analyse the ways in which producers at Universal Studios used marketing techniques in order to create an affective campaign for the movie. Using this film as my text I will analyse such aspects of a marketing strategy as the teaser and full trailer and the use director Steven Spielberg as the 'star' of the film. I will also examine the ways in which producers have turned an otherwise gory and horrifying film into a household name that is enjoyed by children around the world.

Jurassic Park: 65 Million years in the making.

 Huge advancements in scientific technology have allowed for scientists to genetically engineer dinosaurs from DNA preserved in amber. John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) uses this technology and opens Jurassic Park, and interactive theme park located on the remote island of Isla Nublar off the coast of Costa Rica.

 When tragedy strikes and one of the parks workers in killed by a ferocious Velociraptor in a routine task, the park is at risk of closure before it has even opened to the public. In order to save his beloved dinosaurs, Hammond requests the help of Palaeontologists Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neil) and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) to endorse the park. Joined by Hammond's lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero), chaos theorist Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and Hammond's grandchildren Lex and Tim (Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello) the group are treated to a private tour of the park. When computer nerd Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) attempts the steal dinosaur embryos from the lab, he shuts down the whole park leading to carnivorous monsters roaming the island and endangering all those left on the island.

Box office

 With an estimated budget of $63,000,000 (IMDB) Jurassic Park broke box office weekend records making $47,026,828 in it's first Friday-Sunday run.  By end of it's theatrical run the film had grossed over $900 million worldwide.

 For the films 20^th anniversary, Universal re-released Jurassic Park in 3D which opened in 4^th place in the North American box office making $18.6 million. By end of it's time in theatres the film had grossed over $1,029,153,882 worldwide meaning “the film is now thirteenth on the all-time earners list” (White, 2013).

Target audience

 Whilst the film was targeted towards all age groups in the UK it received a PG rating for parental guidance. This was due to disturbing scenes that may be too much to children or those with a sensitive disposition. Jurassic Park had only been the second film to receive the PG certificate, “it may come to be known as the Spielberg rider as the other case was his early film Jaws.” (Lister, 1993).

 Listers news article was published less than a month before the films release date and created a buzz around the movie and what scenes viewers would get see. What's more the article even goes on the state that Spielberg himself would not take his own children to see the film as it is 'too intense.' (Lister, 1993)

Critical reception

 Jurassic Park received worldwide critical acclaim upon it's release in 1993. This was mainly due to  ground braking special-effects however the film was criticised for a lack of story and characterisation. Rolling Stones journalist Peter Travers described the film as a "colossal entertainment—the eye-popping, mind-bending, kick-out-the-jams thrill ride of summer and probably the year [...] Compared with the dinos, the characters are dry bones, indeed. Crichton and co-screenwriter David Koepp have flattened them into nonentities on the trip from page to screen." (Travers, 1993). Despite criticism, Jurassic Park had won all three Academy Awards it was nominated for which included Best Sound Editing, Best sound mixing and Best visual effects.

 Review aggregator Rotten Tomatos rated the film 'certified fresh' and gave it 93% with an average scoring of 8.2 out of 10 whilst critics on IMDB rated it at an average of 8.0 out of 10.

Trailers

 The teaser trailer for Jurassic park opens with an excavation on a mine wherein we see workers find fossilised remains of mosquitoes. A voice over is then heard explaining how these fossilised remains have helped in the genetic development of dinosaurs stating 'For the first time man and dinosaurs shared the earth'. 

 The teaser builds suspense for the audience; rather than revealing the dinosaurs straight away it focuses more so on the scientific advancements which have allowed for the creation of such creatures. In fact, if a member of the audience was viewing the teaser for the first time they may believe it was advertisement for an actual theme park. It is not until the last few seconds of the trailer wherein the voice over states “This summer director Steven Spielberg will take you there” that an audience member will realise it is a teaser for a film. Further more, by first explaining the science behind the bringing the dinosaurs into the 20^th century, the teaser establishes the film in the science fiction genre more so than other themes that are actually featured more heavily throughout the movie such as action and horror.

 The longer 3 minute trailer continues this trend of not fully revealing to the audience the tremendous creatures we will soon get to witness on our screens. Instead we are introduced to the movies stars and we get to experience the sheer awe as they are guests to this one of a kind theme park.

 The trailer creates an ominous tone as we hear the stars of the film voice their concerns of recreating these enormous creatures that died out 65 million years ago. As Dr. Grant voices his concern “two species separated by 65 million years of evolution suddenly thrown back into the mix together. We have idea what could possibly happen” we are treated to the iconic Spielberg technique of suspense. Like the ominous Jaws theme tune along with that terrifying dorsal fin peering through the water, we are presented with the heavy echoing footsteps and vibration of what can only be thought of as a creature of enormous size. Rather then allowing the audience to bare witness to magnitude of the dinosaurs we are only allowed a fleeting glimpse of the dinosaurs. Josh Horowitz describes this tactic as 'that old Spielberg axiom of never revealing too much' (Horowitz, 2007). This tactic is still seen being used by Spielberg in his newer films, for example when he and director Michael Bay did the same for their production of  Transformers in 2007.

 Instead the trailers builds suspense thus making audience want to visit the cinema in order witness how these magnificent creature are translated onto the big screen.

Poster

 The Jurassic Park poster (Appendix A) follows a very minimalistic and simple style, with just the fictional parks logo which will eventually become to logo for the film franchise.

 The logo for the film and fictional park is positioned in the centre of the poster which suggests it is the most important element of the poster. The Bright red and orange colours of the logo contrast to the plain black background further highlighting the importance of the image. The silhouette of the dinosaur suggests what topic and theme is going to run throughout the film. Without revealing  too much of the film the poster manages to forebode what the film will entail.

 The film is marketed with the tag line '65 million years in the making!' This is situated below the films logo and it coloured white, making it stand out against the black background. In a video released in a press pack before the movies release, director Steven Spielberg can be heard making a joke about the mosquitoes preserved in amber on Hammonds walking stick, according to Universal this was where the initial idea for the tag line had come from.

 The rest of the text that is featured on the poster is extremely thin and dark in colour which makes it difficult to read against the black background of the poster. This further encourages viewers to pay closer attention to the logo and title of the film. The title of the director is placed at the very top of the poster, placing him as the most important person in relation to the movie (more so than the actors).

Concept over Star power

 'The film was also a triumph of concept over star power, as it represented the appeal of the idea versus the movie star.' (Mendelson, 1023). Whilst is could be said that every other summer smash from the same year was typically Star endorsed. Jurassic Park became one of those rare movies wherein the concept of overall themes of the movie could still result in a box office smash without any star power behind it.

 The stars of the film, Richard Attenborough, Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum were not typically actors who would plaster their face over posters in order to sell tickets. However, news of  Richard Attenborough return to movies after a 14 year semi-retirement could have been responsible for some of the buzz surrounding the movie. Attenborough was already a beloved household name and well known for his roles in films such as Brighton Rock and The Great Escape. Attenborough claimed it was Spielberg who talked him out of retirement because he had “the charm of the devil.” (Peter T. Chattaway, 2008).  With news of his return to film as well as the fact Spielberg  encourage him to take the role this would created excitement for fans of Attenborough movies and  made them curious as to why this was the film that made him come out of retirement.

 It could be said that the star that was highly endorsed with Jurassic Park was Steven Spielberg himself. Before the release of Jurassic Park, Spielberg had already had success with Jaws, E.T.: Extra terrestrial and Indian Jones: Raiders of the lost Arc creating an established movie fan base. He is therefore featured more heavily on movie posters and trailers then the actual 'stars' we see on the screen.

The Jurassic Park Franchise

 After the success of the first Jurassic Park film fans encouraged and begged the author of the book with which the film was based upon to write a second in order for Spielberg to create a second movie.

  By the end of it's theatrical release the second in the Jurassic Park franchise The Lost world had grossed $618,638,999 and the third Jurassic Park 3 grossing $368,780,809. Despite the decline in box office revenues, a fourth film entitled Jurassic World as been announced for released in 2015 clearly proving that Jurassic Park is still a memorable and enjoyable franchise.

Merchandise and Events

Prior to and after the release of the film, as part of their marketing campaign, producers for Jurassic Park decided upon the use of merchandise as a way to market the film. Although the film was not particularly targeted for a younger audience, producers aimed to establish Jurassic Park as a house hold name by using a wide range of merchandise that would reach a younger audience. This included three Jurassic Park video games (Appendix B), a range of toys distributed by Hasbro (Appendix C) and toys that accompanied McDonalds Happy Meals. (Appendix D)

 One of the largest endorsements by the production company was the creation of the Jurassic Park ride (Appendix E). This opened in the Universal Studios Hollywood in 1996. The ride was opened a three years after the first film and a year before the sequel and therefore reminded audiences of the thrilling adventure they had once seen in the first film.

  Following the films release a travelling exhibition called the Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park began, which showcased dinosaur skeletons and film props (Julia M. Klein.1995).

Conclusion

 The marketing for Jurassic Park proved very successful as it paved the way for one of the most successful films of all time. Producers adopted various PR techniques in order to make Jurassic Park a household and a recognisable name which is still enjoyed 20 years after the films release.

 At the time of it's release, Jurassic Park broke box office records and has since become one of the high grossing films franchises of all time pulling in over 2 million at the box office (BoxOfficeMojo.com, 2001) despite heavy criticism for Jurassic Park 3.

 The upcoming 2015 release of Jurassic World, the fourth instalment in the franchise, is already promising to to become another box office smash, despite original director Steven Spielberg having nothing to do with the production of the movie.