02/02/2006

Total P&A spend: DKK 1,6 million (€ 215,000)

Nordisk Film was involved in the film from a very early stage, having contributed to its financing with an MG. This gave Nordisk the opportunity to work closely with the director and M & M Productions on the creation of marketing materials from production stage.
Nordisk Film is responsible for the theatrical distribution of Adam’s Apples not only in Denmark, but also in other Nordic countries such as Sweden where the film was released by Sony Pictures on December 2, and in Finland and Norway through Nordisk’s joint venture with Columbia Tri Star.
The vertically integrated film structure of the Scandinavian giant enables Nordisk to optimise the distribution of its films and to make the most cost-effective use of its marketing materials and campaigns not only across Scandinavia but also across all media.
In the case of Adam’s Apples, the artwork for the poster created for the Danish distribution will remain the same for Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Here under is a broad description of the marketing campaign that was put together by Nordisk Film Distribution for the Danish release of Adam’s Apples on April 14, 2005.

Target audience for the film
According to Jan Lehmann, sales director at Nordisk Theatrical Distribution Denmark, the target audience for the film was the 18-35+ primarily male audience, but also female audience.

Marketing hooks
-Cast and director
The lead actors Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nicolas Bro, Nikolaj Lie Kaas are hot items in Denmark, described by Lehmann as the Danish ‘rat pack’. So the whole marketing and publicity campaigns made full use of their names and faces to promote the film.
Anders Thomas Jensen is very popular as well in Denmark as a scriptwriter, associated with other successful directors such as Susanne Bier (Open Hearts [+see also:
trailer
film profile] or Brothers [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) or as a writer/director. His first film Blickering Lights released in 2000 by UIP was the second most successful Danish film of the year with almost 300,000 admissions and was described by the local media as a ‘witty buddy movie’. His second film The Green Butchers released in 2003 by Sandrew Metronome sold slightly less: 261,000. But Adam’s Apples released last April scored again with over 360,000 admissions.
Anders Thomas Jensen’s typical black humour and very stylised universe, his partnership with almost the same leading actors in his three films playing semi-comical misfits or neurotic characters have contributed to creating a ‘Jensen’ brand easily recognizable to Danish cinemagoers and appealing in particular to the 20-30+ male audience.

Release date and pattern of release
Nordisk Film knew they had a film with a strong box office potential, so they decided to release it in April 2005, a time in the year calendar when exhibitors can run a film for a long period if it gets hold of the right audience from the beginning. There were no other main competitors released at the same time.
The film was released with 60 prints covering 90% of the Danish territory. At press time (early December), the film was still playing in 69 cinemas.

Advertising campaign
-Trailer
The trailer was created by Nordisk Film in collaboration with M&M Production. The director was not involved in the making of the trailer.

-Artwork

The poster was again created in-house by Nordisk Film Distribution in collaboration with the production company. The artwork made a prominent use of the star actors, telling the audience that this was Anders Thomas Jensen’s third film with almost the same stars.

-Advertising campaign
Nordisk Film used all possible medium available to advertise the film: TV, outdoor posters, newspapers, magazines, and radio.

-Publicity campaign
The star actors and director did a lot of interviews and appearances on popular TV shows from production start, until the release of the film.

-Total admission figures in Denmark (2005/12):
360,000 admissions.