Before some of Hollywood’s hits make it to No. 1 at the box office they have to first go through boutique lifestyle marketing agency, Liquid Soul Media (LSM). Founded by CEO Tirrell Whittley and CMO Nick Nelson, the award-winning agency has mastered integrated multicultural marketing campaigns, resulting in approximately 13 No. 1 box office films and over 80 film and television properties, collectively generating over $1 billion in revenue.
The road to such success for LSM is one of transformation as the company began as an online radio destination, before morphing into providing new media services for clients and in 2005 changing course to focus on marketing films. With credits including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 and Part 2) and upcoming projects such as Dark Knight, the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42 and NBC’s fall line-up, LSM remains one of the most relevant gatekeepers to the multicultural audience. Whittley and Nelson spoke with BlackEnterprise.com about their marketing strategy, fighting to represent the value in markets of color, and why international marketing of African-American films may not be as relevant as you think.
LSM has a very strategic approach to marketing. Please walk us through those steps from A-Z.
Whittley: Internally, we do research to understand the psychographics and sociographics of consumers. It’s about understanding our audience through audience analysis, profiles and strategies. Then, we go into lifestyle segmentation and identify what is it about them to make them care about the product. From there we dig into the associations that audience may have and how they may accept the product and messaging. Finally is the affinity factor: why are they going to like this project? What is the unique selling point? Then it’s about making the conversion and action we want them to take, whether it’s a ticket sale or ratings.
You have the marketing strategy down to a science. However science is not always 100% accurate. So what surprises have you experienced as a result of your strategy that perhaps opened up an audience you may have never thought existed?
Whittley: Sometimes what we bring to the table are audiences that our clients don’t see. With Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, we talked about the father/daughter relationship. The studio recognized it but they think fathers and boys but we convinced them that if you overlook the father you’re not looking at the total family. So we developed a program, which led to a box office hit. We partnered with Ed Gordon’s foundation; Daddy’s Promise and involved 100 Black Men of America to create father/daughter film viewing experiences. That demonstrated that fathers mattered too and here is how you compel them to take part even on a princess film.
Do you feel a responsibility to prove that films with people of color as the leads can hit a general market and not just its niche target?
Nelson: Yes, it is very important. Think Like a Man was mostly Black and it hit wider. So you have to make a
film feel bigger and wider. With the Black audience, the biggest piece is investing into that audience. We over index in television watching and going to the movies; we are hungry for content and people that look like us.Isn’t there an assumption amongst studios that you don’t have to cater to the African American market and that we will automatically come running once we see a person of color in a trailer?
Whittley: It works both ways. We work on a host of general market films and tell the studios because there are no Black or Brown faces doesn’t mean that cross cultural message won’t resonate with diverse audience. With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows we did their first Africa -American outreach because even in its final installment there was still a fan base they hadn’t spoken to.
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It sounds like it’s still a struggle to convince studios that markets of color are valuable.
Whittley: It’s a daily struggle because there are not a lot of network or film executives that look like us and are advocates. So we engage with the executives to provide inside information, studies and research that confirm the audience is hungry for this information. Even with the successful evidence of films like Think Like a Man, Red Tails, or The Help, they are still hesitant. They are used to the same formula of film and television and many of them are now challenged to step outside the norm. It makes them scared. So we have to provide a level of confidence that this audience wants this content and if you give a proper message you will get returns.
Speaking of The Help, some accused the film of playing into racial stereotypes. What is your strategy when dealing with such sensitive projects?
Nelson: Studios want to know what groups may take offense so that we can be proactive and not be so reactive. We also identify advocates. With The Help, we got advocates early on in the campaign that understood the film and knew that the story was part of history and it was not derogatory. Lastly, we identified people with a passion for the film who helped spread the word and influence others to get them excited. So that momentum overshadows the more controversial aspects of what you’re dealing with.
In a previous BlackEnterprise.com interview with Datari Turner, he noted that African American films don’t do well overseas because there are no systems in place to market them internationally. Do you agree with this view?
Whittley: I think there is a good point there but we focus on the domestic market and can’t state the validity of it. Many domestic films have proven they can generate revenue. When you’re doing films with a $100 million plus budget you absolutely need the international market to deliver a return on investment. Many urban films are below $50 or $20 million and you don’t need an international audience to still see revenue. I do think the next phase of urban films is to figure out the international landscape and how to move films throughout Europe, Africa and Asia because Black culture is very influential from Brazil to Japan.
The Avengers has had major success. Although your company didn’t work on the project what do you think they did right?
Whittley: They built the right scenario by getting out stories independently and pulling all the characters together. It allowed people to connect in multiple ways. By watching Samuel L. Jackson throughout all the films it gives a common thread to know something big was coming. They put together a fantastic roadmap.
Nelson: One thing that was noticeable was the amount of exposure it had in the general market and in targeted spaces in with African Americans and Latino. They were able to get into specific sectors.
What are some of the best ways that you suggest studios utilize social media?
Nelson: The biggest piece is social media. Whether it is Instagram, Facebook or Twitter it is their ability to put together intriguing digital promotions and game assets. In summer months we are not in front of the television, we are on mobile devices. So it is about integrating and coming up with creative ways and different promotions like text to win or trending topics. It is not 1 to 1 it is 1 to 10,000.