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Tiny Times, a box-office winner in 2013, is one of film producer Zhang Zhao's biggest successes in terms of marketing strategy.
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To market the film, Zhang Zhao bypassed traditional methods, such as news conferences and interviews, and instead released short behind-the-scenes videos about the film on LeTV.com, a Hulu-like video portal LeTV company owns.
Some of these three-minute videos reveal intimate details, such as what the crew members eat. "What happens on the set of the most famous Chinese director every day, that could be a real hook for young people," Zhang Zhao says.
The videos, shot by a 27-year-old cinematographer, have been viewed more than 30 million times. "I told Yimou that we are sharing this film with the young audiences, and the attitude of sharing and being open suggests this film is similar to them," says Zhang Zhao. "He bought it very quickly. He is an Internet user, too, adept at social media like weibo and WeChat."
The Internet has given Chinese filmmakers unprecedented opportunities, Zhang Zhao says.
"In filmmaking we may need 20 years to catch up with Hollywood, but we have 600 million netizens we know very well," he says. "When addressing this populous market, Hollywood studios need to ask my advice."
The most successful example of Le Vision's collaboration with Hollywood has been The Expendables 2, an action film starring veteran stars such as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Le Vision introduced it to the mainland theaters in 2012 and handled the distribution.
Zhang's marketing team defined the film as a family-friendly drama and attractive to young filmgoers. The team released 10 trailers revolving around the theme of "heroes of one generation after another". In theaters, they provided viewers with gifts such as cloth scarves or tattoo stickers to experience the "heroic legacy".
This year, Le Vision will co-produce the third film of the series and will be fully involved in the story development and marketing.
Le Vision plans to produce 16 films this year, with expected revenues of 3 billion yuan. In 2013, the company's box-office revenue was 1 billion yuan, the third highest among domestic film companies.
"We are at the best time of the Chinese film industry, where Zhang Yimou and Guo Jingming co-exist," Zhang Zhao says. "And we have audiences who feel at home on the Internet, ready to accept new things and share."
Over the next five to 10 years, Zhang says, Le Vision will involve the audience in every aspect of the film industry, from crowd-funding and story development to distribution.
"People may call me producer of Zhang Yimou, or a CEO at capital markets, but I would rather define myself as an advocate and practitioner of the industry revolution," Zhang Zhao says.
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