The streaming service Netflix has never made a film like “Roma”. It is a personal, black-and-white arthouse film that shows the audience an inside look at a housekeeper’s life in Mexico City. The film is a glimpse into director Alfonso Cuarón’s childhood and life while being “based on and dedicated to the domestic worker who helped raise him (Lee, 2019). “Roma” was Netflix’s best chance to win the Oscar for “Best Picture”. So employees at Netflix created a specialized digital marketing campaign to draw viewers to the movie and encourage Academy Award members to vote for the film. Official financial numbers were never released but Hollywood reporters estimate Netflix spent between $25-40 million on the campaign, more than the film’s budget and record-breaking for marketing budgets for films (Laporte, 2019).
Netflix spent that immense amount of money because it was looking for validation as a major movie studio. The technology company wanted to win an Academy Award for Best Picture to show Hollywood, directors, producers, and movie stars that it can create and support award-winning films (Lee, 2019). It also has more money on hand to spend on marketing budgets than other Hollywood studios, which are now cutting back (Laporte, 2019).
Netflix’s digital marketing campaign had all the hallmarks of other Academy Award Best Picture campaigns and it added new, innovative, and expensive experiences. Film planners released the expected posters and trailers ahead of “Roma’s” premiere. The marketing team went even further and created a special interactive website, myromamovie.com, while also buying billboard ads around Hollywood promote the film to potential voters (Ng, 2018). Academy Award voters received boxes of homemade chocolates signed by the actress (@aarondicer, 2018), coffee table boxes, and signed movie posters.
Despite the millions of dollars that Netflix spent, the streaming service still did not win the “Best Picture” award at the Academy Awards. Many Academy Award voters say they felt that Netflix was trying to buy the “Best Picture” award and while others expressed bias against the streaming service (Dicer, 2019). Some voters were also angry about how Netflix only had to show “Roma” on a few movie screens for the film to be eligible for Oscar nominations (Lee, 2019).
An innovative and expensive digital marketing campaign still could not give Netflix what it really wanted, prestige and acceptance by Hollywood.
Literature Review
Marketing for films usually includes posters, trailers, and possibly social media pages like Facebook and Instagram. The purpose of digital marketing campaigns is to create and build connections with moviegoers to generate interest for their films.
Digital marketing campaigns include everything from live streams, google hangouts, social media contests, movie-based video games, and digital advertisements (Case Study, 2013). In-depth campaigns will build more innovative online experiences for fans and viewers. YouTube is also an essential tool for digital marketers. Posting trailers, behind the scenes videos, and cast interviews to the video streaming platform can be cost-effective while also target certain audiences (Kumar, 2018). Besides social media websites and Youtube, other movies have created buzz by using varying other forms of digital marketing.
“Roma” is not the first film that has gone above and beyond the normal digital marketing strategy. For example, the team for “The Hunger Games” estimated it could get more than 20,000 likes and comments per post, so they decided to generate an even more robust digital campaign. They created a Tumblr blog dedicated to the film’s fashion. It even curated a special section on their YouTube page “District Citizen Reel,” which featured fan-made videos. On Twitter, the Digital Marketing team revealed posts that show “various puzzle pieces around the internet, which fans then had to assemble on twitter” (Case Study, 2013).
Comparing others also nominated for the Best Picture award, “Roma” had some of the highest numbers of social media impressions. “Roma” had more than 135,00 followers on Facebook (@ROMACuaron) compared to the eventual Best Picture winner “Greenbook” (@Greenbookmovie), which had only 80,000 followers. It also had more than four times the amount of followers on Twitter and Instagram (@ROMACuaron) than “Greenbook” (@Greenbookmovie). The trailer for “Roma” was watched more than 5 million times (Netflix, 2018). While the social media reach and impression of “Roma” seem high, it’s nothing compared to the astronomical number of people that “Black Panther” reached. The Marvel superhero film had more than one million followers on each of the social media networks (@BlackPantherMovie). Despite Black Panther having the largest social media reach it was not even considered a top contender for best picture.
Analysis and Observation
Netflix used tried-and-proven digital marketing techniques such as creating an official “Roma” page on Facebook along with “Roma” Twitter (@ROMACuaron) and Instagram (@omacuaron) accounts. It also made sure to keep those pages constantly updated with new posts every day. One of the first posts to “Roma’s” Facebook and Twitter account was a short trailer along with a quote from Alfonso Cuaron “Time and Space constrain us, but they also define who we are, creating inexplicable bonds with the others that flow with us at the same time and through the same places” (@ROMACuaron, 2018). This received more than 1,400 responses on Facebook along with 255,000 shares. On Twitter, the post got more than 2,600 retweets. These types of posts can be considered the bare minimum when it comes to digital marketing.
The streaming company went even further by building an interactive social network website for the film. Similar to Instagram or another social media website but only dedicated to the film, myromamovie.com lets people post photos, write stories, and show how “Roma” affected their lives. It is simple to look at, streamlined, and easy to browse. This social media site is only for “Roma.” That’s something that is not done for other films and might be the first social media website dedicated to one film.
Many users posted about memories that the film brought up and how the movie reminded them of their own childhood. One viewer in Mexico wrote this tribute that has been translated to English from Spanish:
“Seeing this movie brought back many memories of when I was a child … the man who sells the balloons when leaving the cinema … in short … this seemed almost like a documentary, a portrait of Mexico City at that time .. Thank you Mr. Cuarón .. they returned my memories” (Maldonado, n.d.)
There are countless other heartfelt tributes to the film, some just photos from people’s past that reminded them of the film. While others have posted several minutes long video responses to be watched and shared. This is an impressive response to a film. Hundreds of people used the website and there are still new posts months after the film was released. This shows just how impactful “Roma” was to audiences. The marketing team really strived to make the “Roma” experience stand out.
Netflix also spent millions on the digital marketing campaign just for Academy Award voters. The streaming company “set up a Roma immersive experience on a Hollywood production stage; it hosted cocktail parties celebrating the film, including one led by Angelina Jolie” (Laporte, 2019). It also delivered handmade chocolates signed by Roma’s main actress to voters (@aarondicer, 2018) while also inviting hundreds of critics for an overnight stay in New York City to screen the film with the director and cast (Dicer, 2019). One film critic stated: “There are always a few awards campaigns that go above and beyond, but the top of mind effort from Roma was the most I’ve ever seen. Once Awards season began there was something Roma based every couple of weeks” (Dicer, 2019). Netflix was doing its best to make sure Hollywood and Academy Award voters knew it had arrived.
Discussion
The way that Netflix used traditional digital marketing techniques along with more interactive and costly experiences shows just how much the streaming company had invested in “Roma.” Digital marketing for films needs to be more than just social media pages and posts. Netflix did this along with creating whole new experiences for fans and watchers of “Roma”. The popularity of the MyRoma website shows that people want more than just a Facebook page. They want fully immersive ways to connect with films and other content. This means specialized web experiences need to be created along with access with the creator and actors of films and shows. Alfonso Cuaron constantly drove audiences to the film by giving them an inside look into his filmmaking and process. The director took part in several question and answer sessions that were posted to YouTube with clips also posted on Facebook (ROMACuaron, 2019). This is quality content engages the audience and shows them that “Roma” is more than just a film, it tries to show that “Roma” is a full experience that goes beyond the theater. These types of posts connect a director or actors with potential viewers to create a relations (Case Study, 2013).
For Academy Award voters and Hollywood insiders, many say that it felt like marketing campaign “came for you at all sides” (Olsen, 2019). People in Los Angeles, home to many Academy Award members, said that billboards along Sunset Avenue were plastered with “Roma” (Ng, 2018) and there were always some sort of event being held (Olsen, 2019). This intense Best Picture campaign may have been a determinant to “Roma’s” chances of winning at the Academy Awards.
Recommendations and Conclusions
Despite not winning, “Roma’s” digital campaign is something to emulate and exceed further. The failure of “Roma” not to win “Best Picture” is because not because its digital marketing campaign. The team did everything it could to build interest and hype for the film, spending unheard of amounts of money. Netflix should continue its push into digital marketing for all its films and thus will create the connections needed to promote future award-winning films. The creation of “Roma’s” own social media page is something especially to see if other digital marketing campaigns copy. myromamovie.com might be the first social media network dedicated to a film and that may become common practice for other films and franchises. A Netflix produced film will probably win a Best Picture award eventually but it may take a shift of thinking and attitudes in Hollywood. Netflix’s expensive digital marketing campaign for “Roma” might have been too much, too early. A rival Academy Awards campaign adviser is quoted as saying “A vote for Roma means a vote for Netflix, and that’s a vote for the death of cinema by TV” (Lee, 2019). One movie critic says “Roma’s” failure to win Best Picture was “more of a bias against streaming media in general and the disruption of the typical cinema experience” (Dicer, 2019). He goes on to say that the bias may always be there and it might take time for “old-school voters” to be replaced with new ones. The streaming giant spent millions and got the attention it wanted but Academy voters are still prejudiced against Netflix and other streaming companies and there is nothing that changes that but time and more prestigious films.
References
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Anthony R. Leong 