Prop Store’s DREDD Prop & Costume Auction

— A Case Study —

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[OVERVIEW]

Overview

A  s  one  of  the  world’s  leading  vendors of  collectable  film  memorabilia,  we  at Prop  Store  were  very  proud  to  partner  with DNA  Films  to  present  an  exciting  auction  sale event  of  production  assets  from  the  2012 feature DREDD. Based on the popular 2000 AD graphic novel series, the latest film incarnation developed  a  strong  following  with  fans,  and recent home entertainment sales performance has been impressive.

Having worked with  DNA  Films  previously  on titles such as SunShinE and 28 Weeks Later, we entered into discussions on the sale of the assets while DREDD was still  in the beginning stages  of  production.  Our  early  involvement gave us adequate time to assess DNA’s specific goals—in maximizing  the marketing  exposure 

as  well  as  the  revenue  potential  of  their material—and  to  propose  an  auction  event that would meet those goals.

We  launched  the  auction  of  225  individual  sale lots  shortly  after  DREDD’s  home  entertainment release, in January 2013. eBay was selected as the platform for the sale, due to the extensive organic traffic  it  receives.  The auction was a  resounding success,  with  over  5,000  bids  coming  in  from hundreds of participants around the world.   The prices achieved exceeded our expectations across the  board,  and  DNA was  very  pleased with  the marketing exposure  the event  received  via both print and web outlets. Our fee for conducting the auction was based entirely on a split of the revenue return, meaning DNA incurred no expenses in the preparation of the sale.

Hero Lawmaster Motorbike

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[PREPARATION]

PreparationAsset Transportation and Storage

Upon wrap of DREDD’s principal photography in  South  Africa,  all  production  assets  were 

transported to London to be sorted, catalogued, and  stored until DNA  reached final  decisions on what  assets  would  be  sold.    With  over  12,000 square  feet  of  warehouse  space  in  Prop  Store’s London  facility,  we  were  able  to  securely  store the  sensitive  assets  and  ensure  they  were  not disturbed before the film’s release. As Prop Store covers all up-front costs relating to producing an asset  sale, DNA  saved  significantly on  the direct costs of asset transportation and storage.

Asset Cataloguing

Since the assets arrived  in  the same condition they  left  production,  our  first  phase  of  the 

project  was  to  sort  and  inventory  the  material. Based on our preliminary knowledge of  the film and  familiarity  with  the  labelling  used  for  the garments, we were able to assemble the wardrobe components into the most complete costume sets possible.  Outfit completion for costumes weighs heavily with collectors, so it was important for us to  ensure  this  process was  done  correctly.    The props  also had  to be  sorted  as  to whether  they were  used  during  filming,  unfinished  standby versions or prototypes.  

Each  and  every  inventoried  item  was  then described  in-depth,  down  to  the  smallest piece  (such  as  spare  badges  and  belts).  They were  then  evaluated  for  production  usage, condition,  completeness,  material  construction and  labelling. Once collated, all data was  logged into  our  inventory  database.    Each  description was  composed  by  one  of  our  specially  trained copywriters  and  later  served  as  the  basis  for describing the item during the sale. 

With the cataloguing of the material complete, all  items  were  then  transferred  to  our photography  department.    The  significance of  product  photography  in  asset  memorabilia sales  cannot  be  understated  –  professional 

photography  is  absolutely  paramount  for achieving  the  greatest  possible  return  on the  material.    We  spent  a  great  deal  of  time preparing  the  costumes  for  photography,  as  it was  important that they  look as good  in these images  as  they  did  in  the  film  itself.    A  range of  mannequins  were  used  to  ensure  that  the costumes fit properly. Many of the items in the sale had more  than 10  individual photographs to  accompany  its  sale  listing.  Each  photo  was carefully  composed,  properly  lit  and  edited  to ensure the best possible presentation.

Complete Judge Dredd Costume

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[PREPARATION]

Sale Recommendations

Facilitating  a  sale  such  as  the  DREDD  auction is  always  a  collaborative  process.    We  had 

several discussions with DNA Films, which included our  recommendations  for  the  sale’s  timing  and format as well as the specific asset list that would comprise the event. The two major opportunities to capitalise on the interest in a film—and therefore the interest in collecting the assets—occur during the  theatrical  and  home  entertainment  release periods.  The latter tends to be a more comfortable time frame for us  to work within, as  it affords us the opportunity to view the film before we begin cataloguing assets. DNA agreed that the ideal time to  conduct  the DREDD  sale would be during  the home entertainment release period. 

Reviewing  the  fully-catalogued  asset  list,  DNA identified items that they wished to hold for their own  archive  or  for  other  reasons.    Prop  Store made recommendations as to what pieces would perform best in the sale and also suggested that a selection was held back for a possible secondary auction, or direct sale at a later date.  As a result of these discussions, we were able to lock in the final sale list. 

Prototype Judge Helmet

DREDD inventory sample

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[SALE]

SaleAuction Platform

After evaluating a number of online auction platforms, including all of those used by our 

competitors  within  the  market,  we  concluded that  eBay  was  the  best  platform  for  this  sale. Despite  the  numerous  challenges  eBay’s  rules and  regulations  pose  to  professional  retailers, we felt the organic exposure brought to the sale through this platform made it ideal. eBay is one of the top online retail websites in the world, and that exposure was one of DNA’s main targets in selling the assets.

Above: Sample product auction listing from DREDD sale

Right: DREDD custom auction template

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[SALE]

DREDD auction launch page

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[SALE]

Auction Format

One  concern  many  of  our  clients  have  is  an uncertainty of  the value of  their  assets.   As 

props  and  costumes  are  as  unique  as  the  films they helped create, there is no standardized price guide available  for  them, and  in  some  instances there  are  very  few  directly  comparable  sale results. With DREDD being a brand new film, no assets  had ever  sold previously.  For  this  reason, we  opted  to  begin  each  auction  at  £1.00,  with no  reserve  price.    The  bidders  alone  would  set the final  sale  results,  to  the great delight of  the collecting community.  

A minimum of 20 new items were posted daily over a  period  of  10 working  days, with  each  auction running for a seven day period.  This resulted in a total auction duration of three complete working weeks, and the seven-day period on each auction gave fans and collectors ample time to locate and bid on the items.

As  a  special  courtesy  to  our  customers  and  an incentive to promote bidding activity, we offered winning bidders the option to pay for their material over a period of three months.  This payment plan is similar to a layaway option and allows customers to bid beyond what they are prepared to pay in a single instalment.

Auction Maintenance

As  expected,  offering  225  unique  items  for sale on an international platform prompted a 

tremendous number of customer inquiries.  Over the course of the three-week sale, our offices  in both  London  and  Los  Angeles  fielded  hundreds of  questions  via  telephone,  e-mail,  and  web discussion  forums.  Enquiries  were made  on  the items themselves as well as the post-sale logistics of  item  payment  and  delivery.  We  remained  in 

regular  contact  with  eBay  account  managers  to ensure that we operated within their policies and resolved every question to the best of our ability.

Some of the more enthusiastic bidders requested to  preview  the  items  in  person  in  our  London office.  We  accommodated  a  number  of  these preview requests over the course of the sale. Past experience has shown us that this level of service entices people to go above and beyond what they might have been prepared to bid on an item.

Another ongoing task during the sale period was verifying  the  identities  of  bidders  with  zero  or private eBay  feedback.   One  shortcoming of  the eBay  platform  is  the  ease  by  which  a  user  can register  and  bid  on  items,  and  “zero-feedback” users may or may not be genuine bidders.  If they are  not  genuine,  their  bids  can  be  damaging  as they result  in unpaid  items, or they serve to run up the price on genuine bidders, who then pick up on their tactics and lose faith in the validity of the auction.  We phoned every participant with zero or low feedback, and if we were unable to verify their identity, their bids were cancelled.

Fulfillment

With  each  item  sold  via  the  auction,  we calculated  individual  shipping  costs  and 

prepared final invoices for our winners. Uniquely serial  numbered  certificates  of  authenticity  had to  be  created  for  every  asset  and  linked  in  our database to the customer who had purchased the item.  In an  industry known for slow turnaround, we  have  always  prided  ourselves  on  speedy service, and this event was no exception. Our crew worked overtime  to  carefully wrap  and  ship  the volume of packages without delay. All shipments were  sent  via  a  fully-tracked  service  to  ensure proper delivery.

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[MARKETING]

MarketingPrint Marketing

We prepared and executed a comprehensive printed  media  marketing  campaign  to 

promote the auction. All of the work on the design, coordination  and  execution  of  the  campaign was  handled  in-house,  with  the  exception  of the  DREDD  film  images  and  logos,  which  DNA provided to us and authorized us to incorporate. 

Half-page  advertisements were  taken out  in  the two most popular film magazines running; Empire and  Total Film.  These  advertisements  were published a week before the auction began. 

 Right: EMPiRE magazine editorial 

coverage via promotional giveaway contest

Below: EMPiRE magazine advertisement

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[MARKETING]

Additional  exposure  in  Empire  and  Total Film came  via  promotional  giveaway  contests  that we partnered with  the magazines  to produce  in order to increase editorial coverage.  In exchange for  relatively  low-value pieces  from  the film, we gained thousands of pounds worth of additional print marketing coverage.

Promotional  flyer  cards  were  designed,  printed  and  distributed  extensively  to  further  promote the  event.    These  flyers  were  included  with  all Prop Store orders for several months prior to the sale and were also included with the thousands of holiday greeting cards that were sent out to our client  list at  the close of 2012. We were able  to broaden  our  reach  with  the  installation  of  flyer dispenser  units  at  both  locations  of  the  London Film Museum.

Right: DREDD auction promotional flyer

Below: Total Film magazine editorial coverage via promotional giveaway contest, and advertisement

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[MARKETING]

Running concurrently with the print marketing campaign was an extensive online marketing 

campaign that targeted a wide variety of film and fandom related outlets on  the web. As with  the print  campaign,  online  marketing  efforts  were launched by  the Prop  Store  team, performed at our expense and largely called upon our existing relationships and status within the community.

We began raising awareness of the upcoming sale on our own website several months prior to the start of  the event.   A dedicated  sale  launch and information  page  was  created,  which  contained the official press release for the event as well as pertinent details that bidders would need.  Banner ads linking to the launch page were placed on our home page and our product listings page. 

A  custom-designed  DREDD  Auction  Newsletter was mailed directly to the thousands of clients on our mailing  list,  following  teaser  ads  that  ran  in our newsletter for several months previously.

Online Marketing

Product listings on Prop Store’s e-commerce sales platform, linking through to eBay auction

Detailed view  of product listing on Prop Store’s e-commerce sales platform, linking through to eBay auction

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[MARKETING]

When the auction began, every item listed on eBay was concurrently  listed on our own e-commerce sales  platform.    Our  platform  is  updated  daily, and  our  latest  product  listings  are  vigorously monitored by eager collectors around the globe. The DREDD auction  items were  listed as part of these daily updates, with the full description and photographs  of  the  item,  and  a  link  taking  our customers directly to the eBay auction.

Perhaps  our  most  visual  effort  in  the  online marketing campaign for this event was a complete takeover  of  the  popular  Judge  Dredd  fandom website 2000AD (www.2000ad.com).  We worked closely with the owners of the site to incorporate a  graphical  takeover  that  promoted  the  auction heavily and was present on every page of their site.

Advertisement on collecting forum TheRPF.com

Promotional takeover of 2000AD.com website

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[MARKETING]

Additional  editorial  content  on  the DREDD  sale went up on major film industry news and fandom websites such as Ain’t It Cool News, /film, Collider and theRPF.   Each of the sites ran a promotional giveaway contest for a small DREDD memento to coincide with the sale. Ain’t It Cool News created a filmmaking contest and accepted submissions of short DREDD-inspired fan films.  The final winner was a very clever piece in which a movie theatre patron  converts  a  used  popcorn  bucket  into  a Judge helmet, before passing  judgment on noisy neighbouring filmgoers. 

Like  eBay,  these  news  sites  receive  a  staggering amount of  traffic, and once  the auction had been covered on these platforms, the news quickly trickled down to a plethora of smaller film news and fandom 

websites around the web, in true viral fashion.

In addition to the film fandom community at large, Prop Store  specifically  targeted  the memorabilia collecting community with banner advertisements on a number of collecting forums and blogs. These linked directly to the eBay sale launch page.

Our social media platforms represented the final push of our web marketing campaign. We posted extensive  teaser  photos  and  additional  item coverage  to  our  Facebook  and  Twitter  accounts for many weeks  in the  lead up to the sale. With over  10,000  Facebook  followers,  these  images and links also quickly went viral and helped spread word among the collecting community.

Promotional coverage via giveaway contest at AintItCoolNews.com

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[RESULTS & PERFORMANCE]

The  auction  performance  was  considered  a resounding  success  by  both  Prop  Store  and 

DNA  Films.  The  buzz  leading  up  to  the  sale met our  expectations,  and  the  resulting  performance statistics  speak  for  themselves.    The  225  auction items received a total of over 150,000 views;  the Judge Dredd costume alone received over 15,000. 

A  total  of  5,082  bids  were  placed  throughout the  three-week  online  event.  Winning  bids came  in  from  all  across  the  globe.  The  items were dispersed throughout the United Kingdom and United States, as well  as Australia,  Ireland, Taiwan, Italy, Germany,  Denmark, Norway, Spain, Canada,  France and Austria. Over 100 different bidders won items in the auction.

The print and web prize giveaway contests were also considered a complete success, as thousands of  contest  entries  demonstrated  interest  in  the film  and  the  props  and  costumes  that  helped bring it to the screen.

We feel that DREDD is an ideal title to showcase the potential –  both in terms of generating revenue and garnering exposure – for promotional auction as  a  strategic method  to  sell  production  assets. DREDD  has  a  built-in  fan  base  and  recognition within  collecting  communities,  and  the  bespoke costumes and props from the film are exactly the type of pieces that collectors aspire to own. DNA helped  capitalise  on  this  potential  by  providing us with adequate lead time to prepare the assets for  sale,  and  by  making  the  imagery  and  logos available for marketing use.

DREDD’s  performance  within  the  home entertainment market is even more impressive. It was  the  top title during  the week of  its  release, selling  over  650,000  units.  It  was  also  the  top digital  download  the  same  week.    Performance on all home media platforms has remained steady 

Results and Performance

since,  as  the  film  has  received  excellent  buzz via  word  of  mouth.    This  is  exactly  the  type  of excitement and viral marketing that promotional sales generate, and DNA agreed that the DREDD auction delivered beyond all expectations.

Selection of eBay auction results

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[CONTACT INFORMATION]

Contact InformationLondon office

Great House FarmCheniesRickmansworthHertfordshireWD3 6EPUNITED KINGDOM

contAct: Stephen LAne

(e) stephen@propstore.com(t) +44 (0) 1494 766 485(f) +44 (0) 1494 766 487

LoS AngeLeS office

9000 Fullbright AveChatsworthCA 91311USA

contAct: BRAndon ALingeR

(e) brandon@propstore.com(t) +1 818 727 7829(f) +1 818 727 7958