On 24 May, the new live-action film of The Little Mermaid will be released in France, a film that has been controversial from the start, both for the choice of Halle Bailey as the main protagonist and for the digital design of some characters and scenes. These days, the trailer for Dreamworks’ new film, Ruby, the Teenage Kraken, which will be released in cinemas on 28 June, has been unveiled.
In the trailer, we see an evil version of mermaids, which dismantles the Disney film. In addition, the film’s villain is a small mermaid with white skin, blue eyes and strikingly familiar red hair. Ariel?
As if this coincidence wasn’t enough, this film will be released just one month after The Little Mermaid. Coincidence?
There are too many coincidences not to think that Dreamworks wanted to take advantage of the controversy generated by The Little Mermaid to release a similarly themed film, where the mermaids are evil, just one month after the release of the Disney film.
marketing strategies
If we transpose this film war to the world of marketing, we can see that Disney’s marketing strategy is clear: nostalgia as the main tool to revive its classics, but adapting them to new times, thus approaching new market segments. As these decisions are controversial, a word-of-mouth effect is generated and publicity for the film is almost automatic.
But what about Dreamworks’ marketing strategy?
- Like Disney, Dreamworks uses the controversy surrounding the Disney film to create a word-of-mouth effect and thus generate sales. The fact that there is only a month’s gap between the two films is proof of this.
- Satisfying a dissatisfied market segment by presenting a little white mermaid with red hair and blue eyes.
- A differentiation strategy to sell the film by presenting the protagonist of the competing film as a villain.
Marketing positioning: the differentiation strategy
In the buying decision process, consumers choose the products that can best satisfy their preferences. If they consider that there are two or more products with the same characteristics, they are likely to choose one product over another.
For this reason, it is necessary that the company’s offerings provide some value or distinguishing feature that differentiates its products from those of its competitors.
With the differentiation strategy, the company highlights certain characteristics of its offer. The objective is that the target audience perceives it as unique and different from the competition. This differentiation is very important because it is a source of competitive advantage, provided that it highlights elements valued by consumers, which are in line with their preferences. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to identify beforehand the aspects that can influence consumers’ perception of the product.
