Because they are inherently social, people find value in reading the same books and watching the same movies that others do. Anita Elberse Read Quote
Media companies’ hit-focused marketing did not emerge in a vacuum. It reflects how consumers make choices. The truth is that consumers prefer blockbusters. Anita Elberse Read Quote
When a publisher spends an inordinate amount on an acquisition, it will do everything in its power to make that project a market success. Anita Elberse Read Quote
Most large media firms make outsized investments to acquire and market a small number of titles with strong hit potential, and bank on their sales to make up for middling performance in the rest of their catalogs. Anita Elberse Read Quote
The average movie-goer in this country sees six films in a year. That’s one every two months. What the studios are trying to do is make sure it’s their movie. Anita Elberse Read Quote
If you’re a film studio, you’re making a movie for a foreign market. You’re pursuing ideas that travel well. It changes the movies we see and how movies are made. Anita Elberse Read Quote
If you are the record label who owns Lady Gaga, and you have a new artist coming up, you can say, ‘Let’s have the artist play just before Gaga.’ Now you’ve exposed the huge Gaga audience to the new artist. It’s similar to showing a trailer before a movie. The hit creates a hit. Anita Elberse Read Quote
One problem with relying on existing concepts is that it could stifle innovation, weakening the film sector over time. Anita Elberse Read Quote
Think about trailers you see in theaters. If you’re seeing a Warner Bros film, the studio might have three of the five trailers. So having a hit helps you create the next hit. Anita Elberse Read Quote
In investing, we intuitively think we should make a number of small bets. A blockbuster strategy is the opposite. It means making fewer huge investments. But it turns out to be safer. Anita Elberse Read Quote
