In the hit TV series "Flowers", this large-scale production directed by Wong Kar-wai and gathering many first-line stars is not only highly praised in terms of plot, but also its commercial operation is even more eye-catching. In just over a month, "Flowers" has received super high ratings and attention from all parties, and the Douban score has increased from 81 rose to the current 82. Although there is a lot of controversy, it is still one of the most successful plays of the year.
So what is the secret of its business?This article will try to analyze in depth how "Flowers" uses old advertisements and new gameplay to maximize commercial value.
If you choose the most memorable commercial element of "Flowers", I am afraid it must be "advertising placement". On average, ten advertisements were implanted in each episode of this series, and these special advertisements echoed before and after, which not only met the needs of the plot, but also gave a new life to many old advertisements.
The time-honored advertisements such as "A Certain Ming" and "A Flower Building" are particularly typical. These brands all have a century-old history in Shanghai and even the entire Chinese circle, and once they appear in the camera, they can immediately evoke the collective memories of middle-aged and elderly audiences. They looked at the "milk of a certain ming" drunk by the characters in the play, as if they had returned to the scene of a street shop in their childhood;A box of pastries from "a certain flower building" reminded them of their mother's craftsmanship in the past. This kind of advertising placement is not only the product itself, but also the growth of consumers.
Compared with brainless hard implantation of modern advertising, old advertising implantation can obviously shorten the distance between the plot and the audience. It accurately touches the emotional memory of the audience, creates a sense of substitution, and also reopens a business channel for businesses to reach the hearts of consumers.
Different from product placement, "Flowers" innovatively moved some of the figurative goods in the play to offline shopping malls. For example, British suites, custom suits, and dramas are all on the shelves with the cooperation of related companies and have become real goods for consumers to buy. This marketing method of monetizing virtual IP into physical objects is ingenious.
Among them, the most representative is the 1702 yuan "Flowers**" launched by the Peace Hotel, which originated from a table reception in the play, including steak, dragon fish and other dishes. With the popularity of the series, this ** became a popular commodity of the Peace Hotel as soon as it was launched, and directly brought the feast in the TV series to the real table.
Similarly, there is also the "Flower Custom Suit" launched by an old tailor shop in Ningbo, which is the suit worn by the male protagonist in the play. This cooperation made the originally unknown small workshop popular overnight, and even had to increase production to meet the needs of fans who "want to be as handsome as Bao".
It can be seen that "Flowers" has explored the commercial value to a new level, that is, relying on the well-known IP of the TV series to directly commercialize the operation. This provides a new possibility for the commercial realization of film and television dramas.
In addition to the explicit advertising placement, we can't ignore some subtle commercial elements in "Flowers", such as the elaborate setting of costumes and props. These seemingly unrelated details are also silently marketing a certain atmosphere and a certain brand.
Taking the cars in the play as an example, the crew did not hesitate to configure a large number of classic cars to assist the actors. These elegant classic cars instantly bring out a sense of age for the plot, and at the same time, they are also conveying a certain cultural feelings and a certain brand aesthetics to the audience.
Another example is the dress of the characters in the play, those exquisite cheongsams and suits, which also create the heroic temperament of Shanghai's social elites for the audience. Even the leather briefcase in the hands of a supporting actor reveals the luxury and unique taste of a Shanghai businessman. This kind of "silent implantation" allows commercial marketing to penetrate into every cell of film and television works, reaching the point of meticulousness.
"Flowers" has made great efforts in terms of commercial operation, not only implanting a large number of positive advertisements, but also jointly launching the same products in the play, carefully using costumes, props, etc. to set off the atmosphere, and integrating commercial value into all aspects of film and television dramas. It is these colorful commercial elements that make "Flowers" successfully open the market and achieve extremely high commercial returns.
However, these commercial methods of "Flowers" are not without controversy. In particular, the large number of old advertisements has sparked discussions among some audiences. They questioned whether such an implant was too gimmicky, eye-catching or really impressive
Indeed, the biggest advantage of old advertising placement is to touch the audience's emotional memory of the past, which is also the intention of "Flowers" to choose this kind of advertising. However, if not handled properly, over-reliance on old ad placement can also make the atmosphere of the whole series too nostalgic and lacking in modernity and zeitge.
But on the other hand, we must also realize that in today's once-in-a-lifetime era of content consumption, film and television dramas need commercial operations to provide financial support for them. As a balance between business and creation, it is not taboo to appropriately implant a certain number of old advertisements. The most important thing is to grasp the proportion, not to take the superficial route too much, so that the implanted advertising puts the cart before the horse and becomes a stumbling block for film and television works.
For "Flowers", the old ad placement is not much at odds with its nostalgic style. But this also puts forward a warning to similar film and television dramas - commercial operation cannot become a drag on creation, and dramas that are out of touch with the atmosphere of the times and innovative consciousness will eventually be abandoned by the market. Finding the right balance between commercialization and innovation is the key to the future.
The successful commercial operation of "Flowers" provides many enlightenments worth thinking about: the old advertising placement should not only set off the atmosphere, but also not be too nostalgic;The launch of the same product in the play has opened up a new idea of IP monetization;The depiction of costumes, props and other details also contains great commercial value. "Flowers" allows us to see the infinite possibilities of the commercial operation of film and television dramas, and also provides a case for later generations to learn from.
In the face of increasingly fierce content competition in the entertainment market, commercial means and artistic innovation must be organically integrated, so that film and television dramas can survive in the market and let commercial value play its due positive role. We look forward to seeing more high-quality film and television dramas that are both creative and commercially beneficial in the future.
What do you think of the ads placed in "Flowers"?Feel free to discuss in the comments section!