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THAT’S JUST WHAT THIS COUNTRY NEEDS: ANOTHER FILM THAT’S A FLOP AT
THE FLICKS1
A PR PERSPECTIVE ON THE SUCCESS OF HOME-GROWN FILMS AT THE
AUSTRALIAN BOX OFFICE
by
Harriet Dixon-Smith
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements of the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS)
August 2014
Copyright 2014 Harriet Dixon-Smith
1
The title is in reference to a well-known quote from Stephan Elliott’s 1994 Australian film The
Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, “That’s just what this country needs: a cock in a
frock on a rock.”
Object Description
| Title | That's just what this country needs: another film that's a flop at the flicks: a PR perspective on the success of home-grown films at the Australian box office |
| Author | Dixon-Smith, Harriet |
| Author email | hdixonsmith@gmail.com;hdixonsmith@gmail.com |
| Degree | Master of Arts |
| Document type | Thesis |
| Degree program | Strategic Public Relations |
| School | Annenberg School for Communication |
| Date defended/completed | 2014-07-02 |
| Date submitted | 2014-07-03 |
| Date approved | 2014-07-03 |
| Restricted until | 2014-07-03 |
| Date published | 2014-07-03 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Floto, Jennifer D. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Jackson, Laura Min Murphy, Mary |
| Abstract | This thesis examines one of Australia’s most divisive and dynamic cultural debates in recent years: Australian cinema’s disconnect between filmmaker and audience, and how it is impacting the success of Australian films at the local box office. ❧ In 2013, Australian films’ share of the local box office was 3.51 percent, well below the 34‐year average of 6.89 percent and a far cry from the 11.49 percent average in the 1980s (Screen Australia, “Share”). The author believes that more can be done to improve Australian films’ share of the local box office and return the industry to its glory days. ❧ In this thesis, the author will study the Australian film industry landscape through a public relations lens to determine what strategic PR can do to help encourage more Australian audiences to see Australian films at their local cinemas. ❧ While Australia is well known for its cinematic talents and its screen stories have earned an important place in the country’s national identity, the success of home‐grown films at the local box office is threatened by a number of internal and external factors. ❧ Three of the key issues affecting the success of Australian films at the local box office, as determined by the author through primary and secondary research, are the domination of big budget U.S. films, the negative public perception toward Australian films and ineffective marketing and PR strategies weakening Australian films’ ability to compete in the marketplace. ❧ In response to these issues, the author provides six strategic public relations recommendations to encourage more Australian audiences to see home‐grown films at the box office: 1) emphasise the “critical element” of each film; 2) utilise social media and content marketing; 3) create Australian film advocates; 4) start marketing and PR efforts early; 5) craft mainstream messages; and 6) create a comprehensive, dynamic campaign to dissipate the negative public perception of Australian films. ❧ It is the author’s hope that these recommendations might have an impact on the success of Australian films at the box office; however, they are only one part of the equation. The author calls on the Australian film industry to recruit talent from all areas of expertise—marketing, distribution, production, funding, exhibition and filmmaking—to contribute their own skill and knowledge to find a comprehensive and coordinated solution to the country’s box office dilemma. ❧ Ultimately, it is the author’s hope that public relations can play a key role in improving the success of Australian films at the local box office to rebuild an industry that Australian audiences are proud to call their own. |
| Keyword | Australia; Australian film; film; entertainment; unit publicity; publicity; marketing; communications; strategic public relations; strategic PR; public relations |
| Language | English |
| Format (imt) | application/pdf |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Dixon-Smith, Harriet |
| Physical access | The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given. |
| Repository name | University of Southern California Digital Library |
| Repository address | USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 7002, 106 University Village, Los Angeles, California 90089-7002, USA |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-DixonSmith-2609.pdf |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume14/etd-DixonSmith-2609.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | THAT’S JUST WHAT THIS COUNTRY NEEDS: ANOTHER FILM THAT’S A FLOP AT THE FLICKS1 A PR PERSPECTIVE ON THE SUCCESS OF HOME-GROWN FILMS AT THE AUSTRALIAN BOX OFFICE by Harriet Dixon-Smith A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS) August 2014 Copyright 2014 Harriet Dixon-Smith 1 The title is in reference to a well-known quote from Stephan Elliott’s 1994 Australian film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, “That’s just what this country needs: a cock in a frock on a rock.” |
