The Lego Movie Video Game

Video games released alongside films:
The Lego Movie
Harry Potter
Guardians of the Galaxy
Batman
Lord of the Rings

Companies tie in video games with films because it gives them more ways of marketing and promoting the film therefore making a bigger profit. Also you get to become part of the narrative by playing as one of the characters, it also makes the film more enjoyable and pleasurable for kids and adults.

Uses and Gratifications 
Blumler and Katz theory - 1973
Entertainment - offers distraction from the world
Personal Identity - helps us consider who we are; what ideas and values we identify with
Relationships - we find things we can share and discuss with others
Information - new information we want to know or take pleasure in knowing

Which Apply?
Entertainment - it is entertaining because you get to play as all of the characters, there are references to the movie which make it more fun, you get to build part of the set.
Personal Identity - it helps us understand what type of a person we are by doing puzzles in the game and how we enjoy playing the game.
Relationships - kids and teenagers will talk about the game with their friends and family and will play the game with each other.
Information - the information kids draw from the game also comes from real life situations as well just in a video game form and as if it were lego.

Explain two reasons why a film company would release a tie - in video game to a film.
Lego and Warner Bros. released a tie - in video game to help with the marketing and promotion of The Lego Movie. The video game would help with the promotion and marketing of the film because kids that play games would want to purchase the game and may not have seen the movie before therefore attracting them towards the film. Because the film being a big hit, the game would most likely follow through and make big profit.

Analyse how the Uses and Gratifications theory applies to The Lego Movie Video Game.
The Uses and Gratifications theory applies to the Lego Game because the game would satisfy the needs of a child and would attract them towards the film. A kid would want to play as their favourite characters in the film so they can play the game to interact with their favourite characters and play the role they play in the game and film. Game critics as well would be interested in the game because they may have a list of things that they want in a game and the Lego Game can offer what they want and maybe more.

Lego Movie Video Game

Simultaneous Releases
Guardians of the Galaxy TellTale Series

The Lego Movie TV Advertising

In Dancing On Ice at 7:27 PM on Sunday 9th February 2014 - five days before the movie launched - ITV broadcast a world first, an ad break made entirely out of LEGO. British Heart Foundation, BT advert, Premier Inn; these were examples of ads made entirely out of LEGO It created a lot of hype on social media, people who didn't see it commented on it and started looking it up on YouTube.Saved half a million by advertising on this world first TV advert rather than advertising in newspaper.

The Lego Movie broke boundaries in advertising techniques as to create hype and generate free press it did a world first by doing a whole ITV ad break on February 9th 2014 at 7.27pm (during Dancing on Ice) in Lego. This saved a lot of money in newspaper advertising and online advertising because journalists and members of the public couldn't help but write about leading to 6 million YouTube views.
It targeted different target audiences because of having usual TV adverts made out of Lego and then the official Lego Movie trailer advertised afterwards, this can appeal to older audiences like adults and maybe older adults because this is something that is out of the norm for them and it is attracting them to the Lego Movie at the end. This can also appeal to older kids like teenagers because it is also something out of the norm for them so therefore they will talk about it social media and look it up on YouTube which will attract a bigger audience to the official trailer and will make them want to go and see the film in cinemas. Younger kids would also like this as well because they like to play with Lego, so this world first TV advert would get them excited about the movie and make them want to go and see the film. This was very successful as they saved a lot of money with advertising and marketing and it has attracted people to the movie by having usual British TV adverts made out of Lego, therefore creating a bigger audience making a bigger profit.

Lego Movie Marketing

Marketing methods for promotions

Buses, TV, social media, trains/tube, billboard, fast food. 

Synergy

The Lego Movie released tie - in merchandise to go along side the movie, these are examples:

Lego movie play sets, Lego movie games, Lego characters, kids watches and clock, bed spreads. This is the definition of synergy: The interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. 

The official Lego Movie website is shown in this screenshot:  

Events that the Lego Movie have been held at Legoland

Lego Movie posters promoting the characters and actors

Lego Target Audience

The Lego Movie is a U age rating. The primary target audience is young kids who play with lego. The second target audience is parents who play with their kids and want to watch the film with their kids, also people who want to feel nostalgic.

The movie appeals to children because they play with lego and the movie set is made out of lego including the characters, also the plot of the movie is set out so a young kid can interpret the movie in their own way and have them relate to some of the characters and can relate by gender. Parents that played with lego when they were young and when they play with their kids now can be attracted to the movie because the characters in the film may relate to them in a similar situation. Adults can also relate to some of the situations in the movie in real life situations. The movie can also relate to young adults who like to see movies like this, they may also relate to stuff in the movie like characters or the plot, also they may just want to see the movie for a laugh and they bring back memories of when they were kids as they may be young adults or teenagers. Both genders can relate to the characters in some of the situations the characters get into and gender related stuff for example, females are the heroin and the males are the heroes.

Propp’s Spheres of Action

Lego Movie Infographic

Cover lesson