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Sue Kroll, head of global marketing for Amazon MGM Studios, works on releasing all types of movies, from blockbusters like the Harry Potter and Matrix series to streaming originals like the recent reboot. It's done. Road House” and the new romantic comedy “The Ide of You.”
The field of marketing has changed dramatically in recent years, with more digital tools and metrics at our disposal. But as Kroll said in his keynote speech, there's one key element that hasn't changed. varietyThe Entertainment Marketing Summit hosted by Deloitte discusses the sometimes need to go with your gut about what's right for a particular property.
“When something feels right, you can feel it,” Kroll said during the April 24 session of the daylong conference at the Beverly Hilton. At the same time, his impossible-to-ignorable feedback loop occurs 24/7 when it comes to movies and TV shows. “The great thing about today's digital and social marketing environment is that the audience conversation is so fast. You can be so nimble. We can’t afford not to try…we listen and learn.”
Kroll and Amazon MGM Studios continue to have strong launches with film titles such as the Prime Video series “Fallout'' and director Peter Farrelly's “Ricky Stanicki.'' Kroll pointed to last year's sleeper hit “Saltburn,'' writer-director Emerald Fennell's sexy meditation on class and privilege, as a title that is ostensibly a tough sell to moviegoers. But the film's quirky POV and word of mouth made it worth the effort.
“There's no script for a movie like this,” Kroll said in a Q&A with Variety co-editor Cynthia Littleton. “You want to lean into the provocative nature and the subversiveness of it, but at the same time you have to try to lean into people and make them feel like that's okay. It's a guilty pleasure in the most extreme sense of the word. '' Kroll added that the film proved to be a cross-generational hit when it debuted on Prime Video late last year. “My grandparents have seen it, too,” she pointed out.
Kroll also reflected on his extensive experience, having spent more than 20 years as a top marketing guru at Warner Bros. That’s what we do,” Kroll said. “There are so many considerations, offerings, and opportunities to entertain people right now. And you have to use everything you have to break through the culture.”
