For Your Consideration

A burst of applause proceeds the entrance of NOTABLE-STAR as he (lets be real, the host is most likely male) steps onto the stage. Cameras are pointed towards him, attentive and ready for battle. 26.5 million viewers are watching from there their homes, attentive and ready to be entertained. In this expensive venue, all of last year’s best actresses, actors, directors, producers, costume designers, film score composers, editors, etc, are in one place, attentive and ready for their award. This is the Academy Awards Ceremony. Not to dramatize a three-hour special on television, but it really is a big deal. Not so much because of who wins, though that’s a huge — huuuuuuge — part of it. What really makes the Academy Awards, and the entire awards season, a big deal is the work and money that goes into marketing and promoting the potential films months and months prior to the ceremony.

The most noticeable marketing for films during the awards season is the full page “FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION” ads in the trade magazines. They are hard to miss. I can remember the first Variety magazine I got. The entire cover was a still shot from the live action version of the film Beauty and the Beast from 2017. The still consisted of a large group of heavily costumed people dancing in a large ballroom, giving whoever happens to see this ad a sense of the film’s grandiosity. This is only one example of marketing films for Awards. In fact, the process can start as early as a film’s premiere at a film festival like Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, etc. Next comes public appearances from the filmmakers and cast, then media makes their predictions, cast makes appearances on talk shows and then finally we see the “for your consideration” ads in the trades (Stanley).

To lobby academy voters, anywhere from $3 million to $10 million has been invested on behalf of the Best Picture nominees alone (Stanley). One of the biggest expenses in promoting films for Award nominations and wins comes from throwing lavish parties and giving eligible voters “gifts.” This is a part of the process director Steven Spielberg is not the biggest fan of, “I do think the amount of let’s just call it ‘gifts,’ the amount of ‘enticements,’ should be reduced to zero… I think sending out a DVD of your movie is all we should be doing and nothing beyond that,” (Feinberg).

While the tactics are questionable, it’s not hard to imagine great lengths are gone to in order to catch the attention of those that can vote. Winning an Oscar has a lot of benefits, for the producers, filmmakers and especially the actors and actresses. Some of the benefits are validation, credibility, and uniqueness (Kalb). For the films that win, the film and its filmmakers are validated in their craft, and their credibility in the industry is increased. Also, the film is unique, it’s special. The film will stand above the rest that came out that year, and therefore many people will buy the film on DVD or on Video On Demand. This gives the film a promotional advantage (Kalb).

In the end, Oscar marketing is expensive, overwhelming, and competitive, but in the realm of the film industry, it’s the best way to stand above a saturated market.

Works Cited

Feinberg. Scott. ‘Awards Chatter’ Podcast — Steven Spielberg (‘Bridge of Spies’). The Hollywood Reporter. 11 Feb 2016.

Kalb. Ira. Oscarnomics 2016: The Brand Value of Awards. The Huffington Post. 10 Feb 2016.

Stanley. T.L. Inside the Relentless Marketing Push Behind Every Oscar Winner. ADWeek. 21 Feb. 2016.