[Dixielandjazz] The "High School Musical" phenomenon

[Steve Barbone]

Many a time we lambaste the media for offering junk to the general public.
We blame them for the dearth of music among the young audiences. Then along
comes Disney, targeting a 9 to 14 year old audience and voila, a huge
impact. The below article is long, and not about OKOM, but it is about
marketing MUSIC to young people and those who are trying to figure out how
to get music to kids may find it interesting.

17.2 million viewers for "High School Musical". Wow. (see 2nd paragraph)

If interested, google <High School Musical>. Quite a marketing achievement,
including Karoke space on the soundtrack CD/DVDs.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
 

Move Over Mickey: A New Franchise at Disney

NY TIMES - By DAVE ITZKOFF - August 20, 2007

When ³High School Musical 2,² the sequel to the hit 2006 made-for-television
movie, made its debut on the Disney Channel on Friday night, it was a highly
anticipated moment for millions of children across the nation.

It was also a satisfying one for the Disney Channel and its parent, the Walt
Disney Company. Despite lukewarm reviews, the film¹s debut drew 17.2 million
viewers, according to preliminary ratings estimates from the channel. If
those estimates hold up, it would make the debut of ³High School Musical 2²
the No. 1 television program of the week, on cable or network, as well as
the most watched show of any kind in basic cable history.

The success of ³High School Musical 2² is an indication of Disney¹s
long-term efforts to reposition its cable channel to appeal to the
underserved 9-to-14 age group and to rope in youngsters for whom Mickey
Mouse seems too babyish. For the time being at least, the movie has made a
trio of fictional high school students named Troy, Gabriella and Sharpay as
recognizably Disney as that 79-year-old mouse.

Rich Ross, the president of Disney Channel Worldwide, argued that the
ratings achievements of the sequel pointed to the larger strength of the
channel¹s television movie business. He noted that ³High School Musical² had
been the channel¹s 61st original movie. ³People talk about ŒHigh School
Musical¹ as a franchise,² he said. ³The franchise is the Disney Channel
original movie.² 

Nevertheless, sustaining interest in ³High School Musical² required Disney
and its promotional partners to bombard capricious young viewers with a
relentless stream of merchandise and marketing in the 18 months between the
first and second movies.

And now some analysts wonder if Disney is risking the health of this budding
franchise by expanding it too quickly.

³It¹s all about how you steer the ship,² said Matt Britton, chief of brand
development for Mr. Youth, a New York marketing firm. ³You want to satisfy
demand but not overdo it. They are coming right up to that line.²

>From the moment the first ³High School Musical,² a made-for-television,
totally wholesome confection about a hunky jock and a cherubic straight-A
girl who discover a mutual passion for performing, had its premiere in
January 2006, a sequel was assured: the film made its debut to an audience
of 7.8 million viewers, and generated $100 million in profits from DVD and
soundtrack sales, touring concerts and ice shows, and numerous other brand
extensions over the next two years.

The sequel continues the characters¹ adventures during a vacation at a New
Mexico resort.

Virginia Heffernan, a television critic for The New York Times, wrote that
although the sequel had a haphazard charm, ³the movie is mediocre, and
should be skipped.² But she added, "I can¹t wait to buy the soundtrack and
do the karaoke."

When Mr. Ross joined the Disney Channel, in 1996, its prospects were not
uniformly bright. As it tried to shift from being a premium service, the
Disney Channel was best known for its cartoon shows ‹ and as a perpetual
also-ran to its basic-cable rival Nickelodeon.

And when Mr. Ross and his colleague Anne Sweeney, now the president of the
Disney-ABC Television Group, sought to create a Disney Channel line of
made-for-television movies, they were second-guessed within their own
company: the channel was already associated with a film studio that could
supply it with theatrical releases. But with the R rating in ascendance and
an emerging demographic of 9-to-14-year-olds craving pop culture to call
their own, they persevered.

A decade later, the Disney Channel is now the biggest kid on the block: for
two years, it has been the highest-rated basic cable channel among children
6 to 11 and 9 to 14. It is a sea change from 2000-1 when Nickelodeon had all
of the Top 10 most-watched cable programs among children 6 to 14.

In the 18-month lead-up to ³High School Musical 2,² Disney executives did
not want to repeat their missteps with the original, when they were
surprised by the degree of success: they did not have enough merchandise to
sell the Monday morning after its premiere. And the cast was not yet signed
for the sequel. 

This time the channel subdivided its audience into the narrowest of niches
and sought out each razor-thin slice wherever it could be found:
cross-promotions were created with Major League Baseball, Wal-Mart, Sprint
and Dannon yogurt, among others. Gossip and updates on the making of the
sequel were doled out to magazines like CosmoGirl and People, and every star
of the film had an official presence on YouTube, MySpace or elsewhere on the
Internet ‹ a strategy that was largely absent from the promotion of the
first film. 

Even the gradual unveiling of the sequel¹s poster on the Disney.com Web site
was turned into its own event. ³The poster was released in pieces,² said
Danielle Chiara, the deputy editor of J-14, a tween-oriented entertainment
magazine. ³Every week you would see a piece from it, and then kids could
print it out once it was entirely revealed.²

Meanwhile, a global marketing plan was devised for the movie, beginning with
an almost-24-hour-long conference call between American executives at the
Disney Channel and its partners in more than 100 countries. ³We started with
India, and we ended with Australia,² Mr. Ross said.

And, oh yes, there was merchandising, from apparel to pencil cases to
melodic toothbrushes. Fans could choose from three different DVD versions,
and at least as many soundtracks. Disney¹s Consumer Products group estimates
that in the 2008 fiscal year ³High School Musical² should generate some $650
million in retail sales.

Some observers of the fickle tween marketplace say they are surprised that
³High School Musical² has been able to maintain its popularity as long as it
has. ³It¹s taken over everything, and everybody¹s under the assumption that
what goes up must come down,² Ms. Chiara of J-14 said. ³But it¹s on such a
height right now that I don¹t see that coming down happening any time soon.²

By now, even the franchise¹s most loyal fans are aware of how persistently
³High School Musical² has been marketed to them.

³I always think that it¹s way too much,² said Bridget Lavin, an 11-year-old
from Manhasset, N.Y., wearing earrings in the shape of Mickey Mouse. ³That
doesn¹t make me any less excited.²

And some of the parents who pay for all the merchandise say they do not
mind, as long as it is in the service of something so squeaky clean.

³What can I complain about?² said Andrea Doherty of Manhasset, the mother of
two daughters, 10 and 13. ³In a regular teen movie, they¹d be jumping all
over each other and you¹d have to bleep things out.²

There will be plenty of additional ³High School Musical² products to put on
wish lists in the months ahead.

And a third movie is in the works, a feature film that will make its debut
in theaters in late 2008, once negotiations with principal cast members are
complete. 

Mr. Ross gave no sign that the film franchise will end as a trilogy,
pointing to the Harry Potter series as his inspiration. ³You always feel
pretty good when there¹s a number seven after their last sequel,² he said,
³and a two after yours. If you do it right, maybe there¹s more to go.²

end article - -

For a full history of "High School Musical" see also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_School_Musical