Studios use different box art for special editions, Blu-ray

Retailers appreciate help in distinguishing between SKUs

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/24/2008

OCT. 24 | Studios are increasingly assigning their big disc releases split personalities, with one piece of artwork on the basic, single DVD and a specially created image gracing higher-priced versions.

Marketers want to relieve consumer confusion about multiple formats, as well as encourage consumers to trade up to premium Blu-ray Disc and multiple-DVD SKUs.

Generally, the box art for the single-DVD version features the film’s original theatrical poster, in order to best appeal to mass audiences. To lure fanboys and fangirls to higher-priced product, many studios are creating exclusive artwork for the multiple-DVD and Blu-ray versions.

Titles following this pattern include Paramount Home Entertainment’s Tropic Thunder, with the familiar full cast emblazoned on the single DVD but a freshly designed shield for the two-disc and Blu-ray editions. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s Hancock offers the theatrical poster on the single-DVD version, versus a different apocalyptic movie scene for the two-disc and Blu-ray.

“Blu-ray and two-discs really speak to the core fan base, so we can really take it to the next level creatively, tapping into something visually and iconic from the film,” said Michele Bell, senior VP of worldwide creative services at Paramount. “This doesn’t have to appeal to the broadest consumer base and can be more fan-oriented.”

To especially tap into these intense enthusiasts, Paramount and Sony enlisted the help of Tropic Thunder and Hancock filmmakers in designing the distinct two-disc and Blu-ray artwork.

“We pulled from [director and star] Ben Stiller to see what he was thinking [for Tropic Thunder], and we looked at having that emblem,” said Bell. “When you look at it, it seems serious, but the images within are irreverent. So that is just like what he was doing with the film, taking a serious approach to the art, but then when you look closer, it’s just really silly and absurd.”

Sony hopes its divergence on Hancock will boost the title’s performance overall at retail.

“For Hancock, it made sense from a marketing perspective to use the original theatrical artwork for the single-disc DVD that contained the theatrical version of the film,” said Gregg Shack, VP of worldwide creative advertising at Sony. “For the other versions, we worked closely with the filmmakers to develop artwork that was not only very different from the original campaign, but something fresh and exciting that people haven’t seen to reflect the new unrated version and never-before-seen added-value content.”

Other contrasting single-disc and two-disc/Blu-ray titles this fourth quarter include Warner Home Video’s Get Smart and The Dark Knight; 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s The X-Files: I Want to Believe and Horton Hears a Who!; Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Wanted; andParamount’s Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

“Two-discs [and Blu-rays] are what we call clutter busters on the shelf,” said Bell. “Your eye is drawn to the different packaging. It’s like eye candy, and there’s an opportunity to get a lift with it. And retailers like it if they can sell a higher-priced item.”

There is some extra expense in crafting custom art, she admits. But differences between SKUs are worthwhile.

“Obviously, when you’re designing another package, there are cost implications,” said Bell. “But we are working in parallel, and it’s not financially prohibitive. It is not double the cost.”

Overall, retailers appreciate the variety of box art, as it helps further define that Blu-ray is a unique product.

“We still have people coming in and asking for VHS tapes. It takes a long time for the average consumer to transition to a new format,” said John Sanders, product/operations manager at a Leavenworth, Kan., Blockbuster franchisee. “This gives a whole new look so as to avoid confusion.”

Video Buyers Group president Ted Engen adds, “If you put the same covering on the two, they’ll still look the same whether or not there is a little blue showing at the top and bottom of the case. And I’d much rather prefer fancier packaging on the Blu-ray than on the DVD, because it’s higher cost.”

“Identical covers on various editions don’t always hammer home the differences between the different versions, especially when there are different prices involved,” agreed Virgin Megastores senior product manager Chris Anstey.

However, beauty can be in the eye of the beholder. There are cases in which retailers object to the new designs, which they say doesn’t fit with customer expectations.

DVD Empire’s Shannon Nutt is dismayed with Hancock’s two-disc/Blu-ray design “not so much for the look of it,” he said, “but for the fact that it reveals a major spoiler in the film. Studios shouldn’t assume customers have seen the movie.”