Julie Rieger, President/Chief Data Strategist and Head of Media at 20th Century Fox, recalls the meeting in March 2017 when a group of the movie studio’s marketers were discussing what they could learn from the past to promote a new project.
“The Greatest Showman”, a musical film inspired by the story of P.T. Barnum and starring Hugh Jackman, was set to have its premier the following December. “What comparable films do we have for ‘The Greatest Showman’?” Rieger asked her colleagues.
“Pitch Perfect”, a musical comedy that first appeared in 2012, with sequels in 2015 and 2017, generated some enthusiasm,...