Wicked is everywhere

Wicked is everywhere…

You can’t move online or even walk down a city street without being reminded that the movie Wicked will be released in cinemas on Thursday. The marketing is everywhere, boosted by a visit to Australia by its stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo for the premiere at the State Theatre in Sydney earlier this month. 

Confession time: I’m not a musical theatre/film fan. Whatever part of the brain that facilitates the enjoyment of a story moving from word to song and back to word doesn’t light up when I’m confronted (yes, confronted…) with this content. And it’s not for a lack of trying - I saw Wicked in New York, and I was still a bit ‘meh’... Still, each to their own. 

So if you’re wondering why this is our News Club newsletter topic this week, it’s because what I can get excited about is trying to understand what’s happening behind the scenes. And particularly interesting is how these well-loved stories are turned into franchises and rolled out to fans around the world as massive major commercial enterprises. 

To that end, our Club Picks are focused on the business of Wicked… 

1. Standing on the shoulders of Barbie, the producers of Wicked currently have 60+ brand collaborations in place, including Aussie fashion brand Camilla’s 85-piece Wicked collection ($2,999 bomber jacket and all…). As this piece in Vogue Business outlines, it’s a unique opportunity to convert fans into customers, but Camilla Franks is on script: “I love that this story is about what makes us human; about defying expectations, embracing our uniqueness and encouraging others to do the same.”

2. Beyond the merch, the way Wicked is being marketed points to the broader economic opportunities. This Wall Street Journal article (paywall) unpicks the approach from splitting the story into 2 parts (although the makers have downplayed that) to how Comcast (the parent company of filmmaker Universal Pictures and TV network NBC) integrated it into their Paris Olympics coverage. As Universal’s chief marketing officer Michael Moses forewarned, their promotional efforts would be “just short of obnoxious”...

3. Even though I’m a musical theatre sceptic, I can still appreciate that the songs are bangers… So, for some light relief, this Time interview with its composer Stephen Schwartz goes through the key songs and how they have been interpreted for film. “The only rule for me is that it has to feel organic - it can’t feel like you’re doing a riff on American Idol,” he said. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed the break from the rough and tumble world of international politics and conflicts. A bit more than 70% of the 1,150 Squizers who responded to last week’s survey told us they were worried about the result of the US election, so we think a bit of light and shade in the topics we pick is important. And breathe…