Female-only screenings and a “high tea” at Jane Seymour’s house highlight a unique new marketing push for the romantic comedy; says SPC co-president Tom Bernard of men, “We just said ‘Fine, it’s not for you. Don’t see it. Can’t come.’ ”
With its Aug. 16 romantic comedy Austenland, Sony Pictures Classics is taking female-targeted marketing to a new level. The specialty label has begun a series of word-of-mouth screenings and events for women only. “It’s not like we’re going to have guards at the door throwing men out,” says SPC co-president Tom Bernard. “But I think everyone will get the message based on the invitations.”
After nabbing the Jerusha Hess-helmed film at Sundance for just north of $4 million — one of the biggest sales of the festival — Bernard and co-president Michael Barker began devising a campaign that focused squarely on females. “At Sundance, women loved the movie, but we found that the few reviews that we did get from male critics were vicious,” recalls Bernard. “We just said, ‘Fine, it’s not for you. Don’t see it. Can’t come.’ ” Continue reading No Men Allowed: How Sony Pictures Classics Is Wooing Women Only to ‘Austenland’