Since leaving Disney last year, veteran marketing and production executive Oren Aviv has been studying the changing Hollywood landscape (while training for a triathlon). On Tuesday Fox Filmed Entertainment named him chief marketing officer and president of theatrical marketing. He was grilled by TheWrap's editor Sharon Waxman on how he sees marketing as the tip of the spear for changes that are happening in entertainment habits.
Also read: Fox Taps Oren Aviv as Chief Marketing Officer
Why did you want to take this job?
This moment in time is a crucial one for the industry. With all the competition for consumers’ dwindling free time, where the rubber meets the road — it’s marketing.
Marketing is the most dynamic area of the business right now. It’s where innovation and breakthrough thinking is happening most frequently and to greatest effect. With a constantly shifting marketplace, the audience has so many different entertainment choices. This is the ultimate challenge.
What new things are happening? And where specifically?
I think change will come, and has to come, from every area. It’s going to have to come from research, from creative, promotions, publicity. It’s going to have to come from a new approach and a new way of thinking. If you don’t, your audience is changing the way its thinking. They’re changing the way its behaving.
If you look at it from a holistic view, audiences' habits have changed. We all know the movie industry continues to change, but marketing has the advantage because it represents change.
How about an example?
Social media is an easy example.
Meaning, you plan to use Twitter?
If you’re asking what my specific plans are, I haven’t even met my staff yet.
But … look at the way trailers are cut today versus 10 years ago. People can cut trailers for giant movies in their homes and garages off a Macintosh. That changes things. Technology is always forward thinking. There are things you can do in marketing that is status quo, tried and true. But you can also do things differently. You have to decide based on each individual movie what the approach is. Technology can be your friend, and transparency is really key.
Do you mean transparency in terms of letting the audience in on the process?
Everything is movie marketing. The film’s title. An announcement about casting. A script reviewed on a fan site. A director attaching himself to him or her project. A photo taken on a set. So we need to find ways to harness and use technology. There’s so much information available.
Some people say Hollywood needs to stop offering so much information and bring the mystique back to the movies.
I say you have to harness that and deal with it one way or another. It’s a fact of life. You can ignore it or embrace it. I think embracing is the only choice you have.
What movies are you looking foward to working on?
I have to jump into the deep end. If you ask me to quote what our titles are here I’m at a distinct disadvantage.
Has a period of time off changed your thinking at all?
Yes. I think all of us in the business are trying to change constantly, not just in the last year or two, but always. When you work with new people, it brings in new insights. The thing that kept coming up again and again — with production, marketers, gaming, retailers — is content. Creating and implenting fresh, multi-dimensional, multi-platform content. As marketing drives people to engage, upload and download movies – this is the eye of the storm. This position is a great vantage point.
Are you planning on a new team? Should we expect to see changes there?
I have not met the team, I don’t know yet culturally what will be till I get here. I’m open minded to meet a lot of smart, capable people.