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Target group denotes a particular category of people that marketers have identified as potential consumers. Once identified, the business embarks on a marketing plan that is particularly geared towards convincing the group to use the product. It remains a key element of strategic marketing that can make or break a business. If a business wrongly identifies a target group, it may end up spending a fortune trying to convince the inconvincible. Essentially, identification of target market is a significant determiner of business success. This paper analyses the strategic marketing plan that has led to the success of Wreck-It Ralph. It focuses on the target group that the marketers identified and the strategies they used to convince them.
Wreck-It Ralph Target Market
The marketers seemed to have done their calculations right with regards to the effects of Hurricane Sandy. With such a weather calamity in the offing, most families would dread going outside their houses. Instead, they would probably be watching a movie in the house in order to help them forget about the possible effects of the bad weather. To them, this was a perfect opportunity to sell their movies, as they would offer the much needed psychological relief. In addition, it was almost obvious that most of the infrastructure in the East Coast would be vandalized. As such, there would not have been passable roads; constant flow of electricity or any businesses running, including theatres. It would basically imply that a huge majority of the people in the East Coast would be stuck in their houses and therefore desperately seek for entertainment. Although theatres also closed down, most studio distributing executives would be working, and therefore would still serve the market. Nonetheless, the marketers ensured that theatres were opened as early as the weather could allow. This would ensure that people got a place of comfort even as they reeled from the effects of the storm. In addition, they also ensured that distributing executives opened their shops as soon as the storm was over, so that people could get a place to buy their copies of the movie. Although it was not easy to predict when electricity supply would stabilize again; it was a strategic move, especially considering that most people would be desperately looking for a movie of this kind. According to literature, the fact that “Wreck-It Ralph” contained a family-friendly story, which made it an ideal movie for a full house locked indoors by bad weather. It suited virtually every family that understands the power of movies (Ashurst, 2012).
Schoolchildren were also significantly targeted for rigorous marketing because they are known to spend 80% of their holiday time watching movies. It is the reason the marketing team focused so much on using the internet to promote the book. They created a variety of viral internet content that was meant to reach internet users, who happen to be school kids. In fact, the lead film distributor, Dave Hollis, conceded that school closure had played a significant role in boosting their sales. He clearly noted that theatre attendance in the hard-hit areas had been remarkable due to the storm, as well as the closure of schools. The reasoning, according to sources, was that school going kids frequent the internet to look for any entertainment materials. Thus, it was almost palpable that they would bump onto the viral internet content, eventually becoming aware of “Wreck-It Ralph” as the movie of the moment. It is important to note that the fact for parents to face their children with the reality of the implications of the Hurricane Sandy was tough. As such, they would prefer to give them anything that would keep them busy. They would basically not want a situation where kids asked them tough questions that they would not have desire to answer. The only way to escape this scenario was to keep kids preoccupied with entertaining material to the extent that they forgot geographical problems that bogged their lives. Indeed, it was a case of double luck as both children and their parents would be home. In this scenario, the family usually ends up watching a movie that contains family-friendly content and which would suit the entire audience. It is the reason the marketers designed viral internet content that would enable them to reach young people in the easiest way possible (Eisenberg, 2011).
The whole marketing strategy was meticulously designed such that aggressive marketing started way back at the start of Summer Olympics. By the end of this period, the marketers had run several advertisements and created lots of viral internet content for public consumption. They understand quite well that the Summer Olympic would be well attended by people who loved having fun and watching movies. Thus, they saw a potentially fertile ground for an aggressive campaign aimed at getting people to buy the movie. In the end, they recorded significant success because people did not just buy the movie, but also thronged the theatres when their electricity supply was cut in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy (Aaker et al, 2000).
In conclusion, the major target group was high school students. The marketers also targeted families in the East Coast whose lives were about to be disrupted by Hurricane Sandy. The whole marketing strategy was meticulously designed such that aggressive marketing started way back at the beginning of Summer Olympics.