 
"Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West" was positioned based on extensive audience research. The positioning that was most appealing to audiences is what we're calling "heroic adventure" - while the expedition has enormous political and historical significance, what motivated audiences to want to buy a ticket was more the sense of adventure, and the heroism involved in making (and completing) a journey of this magnitude, with so many unknowns.
BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY
To strengthen its marketing effort, DCI sought to market test the appeal of Lewis & Clark with consumer audiences in the United States and Canada. Specifically, DCI wanted to determine the:
- Interest level in the topic of Lewis & Clark and related aspects of the film
- Preferred choice for film titles
- Most appealing positioning of the film (i.e. adventure, exploration, journey, etc.)
- Most and least appealing aspects of the film concepts
- Likelihood of seeing the film based on the title, description and supporting images from the film
AUDIENCES THAT WERE MOST INTERESTED IN LEWIS & CLARK BASED ON THE TOPIC ALONE
- 35-54 year old adults (83% very or somewhat likely) and adults 55 years of age or older (87% very or somewhat likely)
- College-educated adults (83% very or somewhat likely)
- Medium frequency film-goers (85% very or somewhat likely) and high frequency film-goers (82% very or somewhat likely)
- Members of the institutions surveyed (90%) very or somewhat likely
U.S. RESULTS
Overall interest in the Lewis & Clark film in the United States is high, with participants increasing their likelihood of seeing the film as they view potential film titles, read the film's description and see images from the film.
TOPIC ALONE
Over 76% of participants are very likely (41%) or somewhat likely (35%) to be interested in Lewis & Clark, based on the topic alone.
FILM TITLES
After participants are shown potential film titles, over 82% of participants are very likely (45%) or somewhat likely (38%) to see the film.
TOPIC, TITLE & DESCRIPTION
After participants read the description of the film, 83% of participants are very likely (47%) or somewhat likely (36%) to see the film.
TOPIC, TITLE DESCRIPTION & IMAGES
After participants were shown images from the film, 91% were very likely (56%) or somewhat likely (35%) to see the film.
INTEREST IN LEWIS & CLARK
Seventy-six percent (76%) of participants indicated that they would be very or somewhat likely to see a large format film about Lewis & Clark based on topic alone. The percentage of participants that indicated they were very likely to see the film steadily increased.
INTEREST IN SEEING LEWIS & CLARK BASED ON...
| Level of Likelihood |
Topic Alone
(n=802) |
Topic & Title
(n=800) |
Topic, Title and Description
(n=787) |
Topic, Title, Description & Image
(n=351) |
| Very or Somewhat Likely |
76% |
83% |
83% |
91% |
| Neither Likely nor Unlikely |
11% |
9% |
9% |
5% |
| Somewhat or Very Unlikely |
13% |
9% |
8% |
4% |
RANKING OF LEWIS & CLARK AGAINST OTHER FILM TITLES IN 2002
Participants were shown a list of four other film titles that will be released in 2002 in addition to Lewis & Clark. Participants over age 35, particularly 55 years of age and older, ranked Lewis & Clark as their top film choice out of five film options.
AGE
Participants 35-54 years of age and older were at least twice as likely than participants under age 35 to be very interested in Lewis & Clark based on topic alone Consistently over half of participants over age 35 were very likely to be interested in Lewis & Clark. Three out of five participants (61%) indicated "I'm more likely to see (Lewis & Clark)" if they know the film is produced by National Geographic.
INTEREST IN SEEING LEWIS & CLARK BASED ON...
| Level of Likelihood |
Under 18
(n=73) |
18-34
(n=240) |
35-54
(n=326) |
55+
(n=151) |
| Topic Alone |
53% |
69% |
83% |
87% |
| Topics & Titles |
62% |
77% |
87% |
92% |
| Topic, Titles & Description |
54% |
80% |
88% |
94% |
| Topic, Titles, Description & Images |
93% |
89% |
92% |
98% |
IMPACT OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ON INTEREST IN LEWIS & CLARK
Three out of five participants (61%) indicated "I'm more likely to see (Lewis & Clark)" if they know the film is produced by National Geographic.
Lewis & Clark Research: April 2001
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