A Blockbuster Campaign Can Be as Good as Gold

Los Angeles Times is talking about how studios spend millions of dollars campaigning for Oscars, advertising their movies to Academy Awards voters. Why?

"Winning an Oscar still means a spike in theater ticket sales. And with DVD sales and rentals now representing more than 60% of a studio's revenue, spending even as much as $15 million on an Academy Award campaign can be a good investment. In this 15-minute culture, Oscar is one brand that lasts.

"That money comes back in spades in terms of more rentals, more sell-through [video purchases], more television fees…. The bottom line is those awards have a life probably as long as that statue," said Russell Schwartz, president of marketing for New Line, which took home a bushel of Oscars last year for the third part of its "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

This means all the nominees and winners will have "long wait" status on Netflix and other online DVD rental services, unless they're smart and buy more copies. Read more about Oscar campaigning (registration required)

Hacking Netflix has links to where the Oscar winners and nominees appear on Netflix, so you can add them to your queue. You might also want to check out the Independent Spirit Awards, which are better, in my humble opinion.