Film and television award season is in full swing, culminating in the Oscars on Sunday! Using Lumiere to help creatives understand how their content impacts their audience is a core part of what we do, so you can bet we’ll be watching closely to see who gets the statue in each category. And yet there is one particular category of interest for us that falls outside of the parameters of this award show: movie trailers.
To explore the impact of trailers on moviegoers, we executed a study in Lumiere with each of the best picture nominees. Our goal was to assess the extent to which these short previews of acclaimed films functioned as an advertisement AND ‘entertainment’ in and of itself. A sample of 517 film-enjoyers (our version of ‘The Academy’) was recruited to watch the trailers, provide granular commentary, and answer a series of questions. The feedback that we received in the study allowed us to evaluate attention-capture, memorability, engagement, viewing-intent, and overall appeal. The specific metrics that we focus on include:
Overall Rating: Average of multiple trailer ‘moment’ rating scores on 10-point scale
Number of Comments: Aggregate # of times viewers logged spontaneous remarks
Question Responses: % of participants responding affirmatively to various questions
Composite Score: An aggregate figure, factoring in several individual metrics
Ranking: For various metrics, rank order out of the 10 trailers is provided.
The list of best picture nominees can be found here. And now, without further ado, the award for best trailer in this Latitude research study goes to… well it depends on how you define ‘Best.’ After reviewing the results, we determined there were a number of ways to assess the success or failure of a given trailer, and it makes sense to call those out.
“It’s enticing with Elvis’s dance moves that were famous for making the crowd go wild.”
“I like the creative way they used music to highlight this scene in the trailer.”
“It shows how he captivated the youth of the time and modernized people’s thinking.”
“That shot right there makes me want to watch the movie.”
“I really like the narration. It adds a lot.”
“The shots of Tom Hanks make me want to see the part he plays.”
“The title of the movie is glitzy, glamorous, bright, and fits the theme.”
In other words, the trailer captures the spirit of its subject matter. As a marketing tool, the Elvis trailer was successful in encouraging moviegoers to catch this one. But the trailer is more than just an ad – it’s a form of artistic expression and entertainment all on its own. Perhaps one day we’ll see Best Trailer among the list of categories at the Academy Awards.
