• by Aaron Baar , December 10, 2015

The saga of Star Wars may be about Luke Skywalker and his extended family, but the story — from a business point of view anyway — is about marketing and sales. As the frenzy increases in advance of the premiere of the latest installment, “The Force Awakens,” the brands that have linked themselves with the franchise are finding themselves in a most favorable position.

According to Nielsen, the movie and its partners have a lot of factors going for them. First, the actors from the original trilogy (Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, who all appear in the new movie) have higher than average N-scores (a measure of endorsement potential). "Star Wars" fans are also 9% more likely to be part of households with more than $70,000 in annual income than average Americans. They’re also more likely to be a part of Generation X, and are passing their passion on to their children.

“When it comes to something like this, it’s about the passion of a movie or franchise,” Graham Gee, general manager of home entertainment for Nielsen, tells Marketing Daily. “You have a property that people care about, and if you do the research properly, there’s real opportunity.” 

The upcoming "Star Wars" movie has official brand sponsors ranging in categories such as cars (Fiat Chrysler), telecommunications (Verizon), makeup (CoverGirl), fast food (Subway) and food (General Mills). While some might see that many sponsors as overkill, there is some logic behind it, Gee says. On average, "Star Wars" fans spend about $200 more a year on personal care, food, auto and technology products than the average moviegoer. They also spend more on candy, graham crackers, dried fruit snacks, cereal and adhesive bandages than the average moviegoer (probably because of the propensity for there to be young children in those households).

To the marketers, the value in those deals comes from knowing what they want to get out of the partnership, Gee says. For some, increased brand penetration may be enough, while others may want to take advantage of reach a broader demographic than they normally would. 

“When you understand the objectives, it makes more sense,” Gee says. “If you’re smart and do the research you can use that to reach an engaged audience.”