Synergetic practices (Extended deadline-due before Section meeting 11/20)
What is synergy? How does it operate within a contemporary media environment primarily run by large conglomorates? Give one example of synergy (you can use an example from the present if you wish).
Synergy is when multiple elements of a structure, whether it be a group of people, a company, or something like media as a whole work together in order to benefit the entire group rather than the individual parts. In a contemporary media environment large conglomerates of different media mediums work together in order to generate more profits. This is seen in a case similar to that of the AMC program the Walking Dead. The Walking Dead started off not as a television show, but as a graphic novel. From here it has developed to have a hit television show, video game, and even action figures. Each medium has worked together to make the consumer feel more immersed. If they have watched all of the show, they can read the graphic novels, if they are more into video games, they can play the video game, and if they are a collector or for some reason like to play with action figures of their favorite character, they can. All of the different mediums are selling the product (The Walking Dead), but they are all selling different types of products in order to satisfy the consumer and make even more of a profit off of it. In this scenario, all of the different producers are essentially beneifiting off of the same thing, just in different ways.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s interesting to bring up the Walking Dead as an example of synergy because most of the time examples come from children’s shows or Spielberg-esque blockbusters. Usually we think of synergy in relation to franchises like Pokemon and Transformers that encompass the world of children through TV, movies, toys, video games, action figures, playing cards, music, and tens of other forms of media. These franchises are bred for synergy because of how easily they can branch out to different elements of production. Children are easier to target in these categories, as they are more likely to obsess over the new Batman toy or the Avatar playing cards.
DeleteWe also see synergy at play with older crowds in franchises such as Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Jaws, and other Universal Studios entertainment. These companies take books and movies and use higher-level mediums of amusement parks, t-shirts, and other acceptable adult adaptations for profit.
Yet even in entertainment such as the Walking Dead, which is less obviously branded for mass production, large conglomerates will still combine elements of different mediums for higher profits. A novel will become a film, which will become a TV show, which will sell merchandise and so forth. The different elements of production are thrown together to produce greater profits than could be achieved by each part individually.
Again, a very intersting point with The Walking Dead. When I look at synergy, I see corporate moves that are incredible deliberate. Franchises are established with synergy specfically in mind. Synergy being the use of all the different parts of a conglomerate to benefit from media. Whenever a franchise is engineered, every part of the company builds a way to piggyback off of it. Disney is the greatest example of this. A new Disney movie creates synergy in almost every industry. The Muppets, for instance, used every part of the Disney empire. ESPN and ABC both featured Muppets interludes in programming and advertising. The Disney Store chain became filled with Muppet merchandise. All of this merchandise was created by Disney's Consumer Products group and much of it was placed in other retail stores. Disney's website (speculation alert!) probably had Muppets videos and games. Lastly, Disney's theme parks had their Muppets attraction refurbished and new emphasis was placed on it. If the movie was a hit, Disney would be ready with its entire collective force to take advantage of the movie's success and translate it to the rest of the company.
ReplyDeleteWhat's interesting about synergy (that's never come into class) is how much of the company's success banks on the franchise's success.Take The Lone Ranger. The movie failed and cost Disney $200 million. I'm sure this also impacted merchandise sales, where Lone Ranger toys and clothing sold less than expected. It also may have impacted Disney's theme parks, although no rides were constructed (would have been a waste of a lot of money).
Synergy is when a common subject matter is used to generate various types of products that all connect within one 'universe' of the featured setting of that subject matter.
DeleteI agree with you that a lot of synergy is planned and deliberate, but I'd argue it doesn't have to be to qualify as synergy. Spins offs come as opportune ways that a conglomerate can generate more profit in a way that they didn't necessarily expect. I think, depending on the subject matter, some things are more planned out in advance as synergies. The Marvel universe is a really good example of synergy that has both factors. The Marvel comics are wide and diverse, and then they are made into films, and there are many t-shirts, action figures, posters, etc. Some of this synergy is planned. For example, when a Marvel movie is made, the company is aware that there is already a huge fan base out there, and so they will likely design and market clothing, toys, posters, etc. in conjunction with the release of the film. The products (merchandise) are designed to be 'of' the movie; action figures of characters from the movie, movie posters, etc. But then, Marvel recently began a TV show Agents of Shield, that needed the success of the feature film The Avengers to be successful or arguably even possible. The show is an example of synergy that was triggered by a former success, rather than planned before hand.
Synergy is the cooperation of multiple parts of an organization to produce combined, greater results than the sum of their separate effects would be. In a nutshell, it is cooperation through interaction. In media, it operates within multiple levels of large companies, like toy divisions working with television divisions to create a TV show and market a toy to help increase marketability and profit margins. I think a good example of synergy would be Pokémon. Pokémon started as a trading card game in Japan, but, seeing that the Japanese versions of cards were making their way to American shores, publisher Media Factory decided to bring the cards to America. Soon there after, the television show was launched, coinciding with the launch of the video games Pokémon Red and Blue for Nintendo Gameboy. The franchise had market shares for the video games, the cards, and the TV series, and they all worked together to force sales of each other. Kids like myself in the late 1990’s would start off with the cards, then watch the TV show, then ask mom and dad for the video game as well as fan merchandise like stuffed Pokémon and Pokémon trainer hats. This synergy helped Pokémon grow so much that Nintendo purchased the rights to everything Pokémon less than five years after the trading cards launched. To this day, the tv series, video game and to a lesser extent, the trading cards are a cultural phenomenon for a whole new generation of kids. Through use of synergetic practices, Pokémon became a global phenomenon, showing that media exposure through different channels can be a very effective practice for companies.
ReplyDeleteSynergy is essentially the embodiment of the idiom “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Within contemporary media, especially since they are usually run by large conglomerates, synergy operates by combining the resources and efforts of individual divisions within the conglomerate to create franchises that are marketable through various mediums, such as visual media (television shows and movies) and merchandising. A current example would be the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, specifically The Hobbit live-action trilogy, as The Lord of the Rings live-action series has run its course. Although the books the franchise is based on are old, the films (the live-action ones, not the animated ones) based on the books are not, which fuel interest in this franchise. The second film of The Hobbit trilogy is set to release in a few weeks, and with that, there has been an influx of The Hobbit merchandise on the shelves, specifically toys. Other forms of marketing and promotion are in full effect; Denny’s currently has The Hobbit-inspired items on their menu.
ReplyDeleteSynergy is the concept that when a group of individual parts come together, what they produce together is greater than the sum of their individual parts. In entertainment, many of the above examples have dealt with how different forms of entertainment can combine to create a greater viewing experience (i.e. not only watching a television show but reading the comic book first and being able to play with the action figures as well). However, I think this can be seen earlier and deeper than on the surface of the content and products made. Synergy is a result of optimizing the potential behind economies of scale. The cost advantages are what drive synergy. For example, ABC produces both Grey’s Anatomy and General Hospital. If both shows were produced separately, each show would construct a complete hospital set and shoot separately with separate equipment, crew, facilities, security, resources, etcetera. The list of resources necessary to create a show goes on forever. However, because both shows are produced by ABC, they actually share a production lot in LA, as well as a portion of their crew, many of their sets, office buildings, equipment, and even casting personnel and extras. The shows collectively have more resources and capabilities together than they would separately, demonstrating a prime example of the advantages provided by network conglomeration and synergy.
ReplyDeleteSynergy is defined as the cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the parts of a corporation, that creates an enhanced combined effect. Working together, the combined effect of the multiple agents is greater than the sum of their individual effects. (The whole is greater than the sum of its parts).
ReplyDeleteI think the students’ mentioning of ABC and Disney as large conglomerates are great examples, especially because (coincidentally) the ABC network is owned by the Walt Disney Company. Disney really is the quintessential example of synergy. Take its show widely popular from 2006-2011, Hannah Montana. It started off as just a television show, but commodities soon followed (as is typical for teen and children’s shows), like bedspreads, dolls, DVDs, books, etc. As the series wrapped up, Disney released an original film, Hannah Montana: The Movie. What made Hannah Montana a true phenomena, however, was Disney’s Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert. During the concert, Miley Cyrus alternated between performing as herself and the show’s character, bringing together two parts of the Disney conglomerate. The concert was recorded and released on DVD, and set a record for the highest revenue for a 3-D movie for one weekend.
Synergy occurs when two or more pieces combine to form a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Looking at this phenomenon from a business perspective, one can attribute this intangible gain in overall wealth to something that accountants call “goodwill,” which is the valuation the intangible assets of a business. This valuation could be attributed to any number of things – a brand’s loyal following and strong reputation, a product line being known for quality, or a businesses’ relationships with other businesses that allow them to negotiate lower prices on transactions. When two companies with existing goodwill merge together, they develop a synergy in which their separate intangibles combine to form an even larger conglomerate entity.
ReplyDeleteA prominent example in the entertainment industry of synergy occurring would be when Disney bought Marvel Entertainment in a $4 billion acquisition. While this price may seem steep, consider that they made back $1.5 billion of that investment solely through ticket sales of The Avengers. And the heart of this investment is the addition of new character and copyrights into the massive Disney portfolio. Disney, as it stands today, is a master of copyright law, and the majority of its goodwill is created through the intangible sentiment and following behind its beloved characters. Adding Marvel characters and story rights to the mix allows Disney to create new movies and license new products that use their existing studios, production facilities, and other capabilities, but bring in a whole new portion of the market that Disney had not previously encapsulated with its existing model. In this sense, synergy helps Disney grow at a fraction of the price.
Synergy evolved from 1980s free market business practices. Under Reganomics in the 80s, conglomerates and free market capitalist practices were heavily encouraged--"big business" came to dominate in place of regulation and more government-involved practices. Thus, firms and corporations merged into conglomerates, with vast amounts of wealth and social/marketing power behind them. Synergy was the concept of these conglomerates marketing a product (i.e. a show or toy) in multiple facets or outlets and using those to encourage consumption in another field. Many 80s and 90s cartoons used synergy to their advantage, spawning not only a syndicated show but also a toy line and other merchandise, like books, licensed clothes, etc. Stations would also advertise for other stations (or their programming) if they were owned by the same conglomerate. Synergy was similar to the concept of vertical integration, but all of the "parts" involved did not come from one industry. Rather, they were spread out, controlling shares in different markets/industries, like film or television and a related product line. Many companies now have moved into the field of video games as well, either developing merchandise in tandem with a game or developing a game as a complement to a TV show or film.
ReplyDeleteThe LEGO franchise has capitalized greatly on synergy in the past ten years. LEGO has a library of video games, television shows (Bionicle), and their original building-block product, which comes in a variety of kits and styles.
Synergy occurs when the various separate parts of an organization work together, forming a combined effort. Within a contemporary media environment primarily run by large conglomerates, this can lead to the spreading of a popular concept or intellectual property across many different mediums.
ReplyDeleteA prime example of synergy can be observed in the Stars Wars franchise. Under the careful guidance of George Lucas, the world Star Wars has grown from a trilogy of movies to perhaps the single biggest fictional world in existence. As earlier comments observed, synergy can be planned. Back when he first created Star Wars, George Lucas ensured that he owned all of the rights to the franchise, and he has done everything in his power to make sure that the franchise has flourished, including spreading it throughout several different mediums. The still prominent Star Wars merchandise such as toys and clothing became extremely popular. In a prime example of planned synergy, Lucas only incorporated the cute and cuddly Ewoks into Star Wars Episode VI because he needed a character that would make a good toy for younger children. The franchise also expanded into books and comics. In fact, Lucasfilm not only often grants licensing permission to many various authors wishing to add the fiction, but also has them work with lore masters in order to ensure that all of the stories stay consistent. Even the Star Wars videogames have added to the universe. This has led to many complex stories hardly even related to the movies, with some even taking place in completely different eras within the fictional world. Star Wars made its way into television too: first with the notoriously awful Star Wars Christmas Special, then with a cartoon mini series that bridged episodes 2 and 3, and finally a fully-fledged animated show. In another great example of how well Lucas promotes Star Wars through synergy, Lucasfilms permitted the adult cartoon Family Guy to create a trilogy of parodies based on the original films. The only condition was that the episodes be easily recognizable as a spoof of Star Wars. There’s even a Stars Wars themed ride at Disneyland. The final incarnation of this synergy is the massive Star Wars conventions that gather together hundreds of fans to celebrate the franchise in all its many different manifestations, forming a community based on the shared passion for total immersion in the fictional universe of a galaxy far, far away . . .
Synergy is the culmination of many of corporations coming together to promote their products within other corporation’s products. The “synergy” being each product boosting or playing off of each other, an example being how Lebron James and Dwayne Wade are both amazing at basketball, put them together and have them connect produces a “synergy” that in turn makes a greater duo than them individually. How this operates in today’s contemporary media, well to stick with the basketball example, you can take the shoe industry, energy drinks/food and the NBA. The NBA and its teams pay for players who if are great or amazing, can be walking advertisements for other corporations like food, health and clothing as well as the NBA itself. If you have Michael Jordan doing a photo shoot for the NBA while wearing Nike branded shoes (Which now bare his name and is a subsidy of Nike) and drinking Gatorade this produces synergy for Gatorade, the Chicago Bulls (NBA) and Nike. Elements of synergy can also be found in the example given in class where Movie advertisements, food companies, toy manufactures and clothing brands would work together to advertise the movie while selling food modeled after said movie, figures of the lead character in toy form. Its and infinite cycle of advertisement telling you to go to the other and in the end synergy is recognizing a common goal between corporations or people and coming together to gain more together than what you could do individually.
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