Prior Product PreferencePrior Product Preference
Dr Stephen DannAMPR, QUT
Dr Stephen DannAMPR, QUT
Influence of Previous Star Wars Films on Star Wars Fan Attitudes
BackgroundBackground
A long time ago in a market research lab far
far away…
A long time ago in a market research lab far
far away…
Project SummaryProject Summary
• Influence of Prior Product Attitudes towards– Episode III
– Commercial exploitation of the franchise
• Influence of Prior Product Attitudes towards– Episode III
– Commercial exploitation of the franchise
MethodMethod
• Survey– personally administered to the sample
population – 200 surveys / 178 useable response (89%)– estimated total population of 300 filmgoers
(n=178, 60% response rate overall).
– Selection of the sampling unit was based on the cinema where the author and their assistant had tickets to the midnight screening.
• Survey– personally administered to the sample
population – 200 surveys / 178 useable response (89%)– estimated total population of 300 filmgoers
(n=178, 60% response rate overall).
– Selection of the sampling unit was based on the cinema where the author and their assistant had tickets to the midnight screening.
StudyStudy
• Opinion towards prior Star Wars Movies
• Attitude/Optimism towards Episode III
• Attitude towards Advertising
• Opinion towards prior Star Wars Movies
• Attitude/Optimism towards Episode III
• Attitude towards Advertising
SampleSample
– 178 respondents, • 124 males• 42 females (n=166)
– Ages • 16 to 41, • mean of age of 26.4 (SD=5.8).
– Ethnicity • 88% self identified as Australian, • 12% self identifying with 11 different
nationalities (n=164).
– 178 respondents, • 124 males• 42 females (n=166)
– Ages • 16 to 41, • mean of age of 26.4 (SD=5.8).
– Ethnicity • 88% self identified as Australian, • 12% self identifying with 11 different
nationalities (n=164).
Prior AttitudesPrior Attitudes
Movie Mean SD
Liked Episode I: The Phantom Menace
3.22 1.21
Liked Episode II: Attack of the Clones 3.71 1.08
Liked Episode IV: A New Hope 4.50 0.75
Liked Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
4.74 0.59
Liked Episode IV: Return of the Jedi 4.63 0.66
Prior Product and Optimism
Prior Product and Optimism
• Movie Optimism Scale– based on in part on the Richins (1997) three
item optimism scale.
• Scale Vital Stats– inter item correlation mean of .5507, – alpha coefficient of .8529. – Factor Analysis
• Bartlett's Test of Sphericity was significant, • Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling
Adequacy was .762• Correlations were appropriate• initial eigenvalue of 3.213, explaining 64% of
the variance
• Movie Optimism Scale– based on in part on the Richins (1997) three
item optimism scale.
• Scale Vital Stats– inter item correlation mean of .5507, – alpha coefficient of .8529. – Factor Analysis
• Bartlett's Test of Sphericity was significant, • Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling
Adequacy was .762• Correlations were appropriate• initial eigenvalue of 3.213, explaining 64% of
the variance
Prior Product v OptimismPrior Product v Optimism
Table 4: Prior Product Preference and Optimism towards Episode III
Episode I II IV V VI
The trailer left me excited .294** .388** .262** .331** .211**
I am optimistic about Episode III - .290** - .195* -
I believe Episode III will be a good film .387** .538** .279** .309** .258**
I am hopeful about Episode III .203** .354** .325** .274** .240**
TV commercials have encouraged me to be optimistic about Episode III - .224** .214** .230** .166*
Summed scale 0.275** 0.437** 0.292** 0.333** 0.241**
** Correlation is significant at the .01 level (2-tailed).
SummarySummary
• Attitude towards Episode II produced the most consistent, and strongest, relationships. – liked Episode II felt more positively inclined
towards Episode III.
– absence of a relationship between preferences for Episode I, IV and VI was unexpected
– weak relationship between Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and optimism for Episode III may be related to the darker overtones of both movies
• Attitude towards Episode II produced the most consistent, and strongest, relationships. – liked Episode II felt more positively inclined
towards Episode III.
– absence of a relationship between preferences for Episode I, IV and VI was unexpected
– weak relationship between Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and optimism for Episode III may be related to the darker overtones of both movies
Prior Product Experience and Advertising
Prior Product Experience and Advertising
• Five scale summed item totals relating to advertising were correlated against the attitudes towards the five Star Wars movies
• Attitudes to advertising were measured on a five item semantic differential scale
• Five scale summed item totals relating to advertising were correlated against the attitudes towards the five Star Wars movies
• Attitudes to advertising were measured on a five item semantic differential scale
Semantic ScaleSemantic Scale
• "not at all objectionable“• "not annoying“• "not at all exploitative“• "very persuasive“• "impressive, most impressive“
– alpha of .8244, – average inter-item correlation
of .4812 – single factor (eigenvalue 2.938,
variance 58.77%).
• "not at all objectionable“• "not annoying“• "not at all exploitative“• "very persuasive“• "impressive, most impressive“
– alpha of .8244, – average inter-item correlation
of .4812 – single factor (eigenvalue 2.938,
variance 58.77%).
Ad SampleAd Sample
Commercial ExploitationCommercial Exploitation
• See paper for the correlation table
• See paper for the correlation table
SummarySummary
• Original Trilogy had no relationship with – attitudes towards the use of Star
Wars character in advertising– the three copy tested items
• Prequel movies had – significant results on all of the
attitude of towards the Star Wars advertising
– Episode IV had a weak correlation with the Website advertising
• Original Trilogy had no relationship with – attitudes towards the use of Star
Wars character in advertising– the three copy tested items
• Prequel movies had – significant results on all of the
attitude of towards the Star Wars advertising
– Episode IV had a weak correlation with the Website advertising
Prequel ResultsPrequel Results
• Episode I– relatively low correlation scores,
• not a strong predictor.
• Episode II – higher propensity to be predictors of
reactions to the Website advertising, and reaction to the overall advertising
• Episode I– relatively low correlation scores,
• not a strong predictor.
• Episode II – higher propensity to be predictors of
reactions to the Website advertising, and reaction to the overall advertising
Correlations Episode I Episode II
Summed Usage - 0.256**
Yoda# -0.204** -0.262**
Website# -0.278* -0.372**
Wookie# -0.203* -0.298**
Composite Ad Scale# -0.278** -0.349**
Now what?Now what?
• Classic product did not influence contemporary attitude
• Inconsistent reactions from fans
• Limited application of the Star Wars universe
• Classic product did not influence contemporary attitude
• Inconsistent reactions from fans
• Limited application of the Star Wars universe
Questions?