Goosebumps Brand Study Topline

Penn Schoen Berland conducted a franchise and positioning study to evaluate the brand health and essence of Goosebumps and potential interest in a new film. In this study we interviewed:

1200 general moviegoers between the ages of 13-54 (including 300 parents of 6-14 yos)300 kid moviegoers between the ages of 7-12

METHODOLOGY

INITIAL FINDINGSBRAND IS POPULAR: Among comparable book series, Goosebumps has the highest readership (51%) and fanship (23% big fans). Even among kids 7-12, Goosebumps remains popular with only Diary of a Wimpy Kid receiving higher scores. However, while the franchise is still very popular, its power is declining as the brand lacks some relevance today. Due to the non-serial nature of the stories and the fact that there are no consistent characters throughout multiple stories, moviegoers are having some difficulty picturing Goosebumps as a full-length motion picture.

INTEREST IN FILM IS STRONG POST-CONCEPT: After exposure to a concept of the Goosebumps movie, interest is very strong and outperforms the PSB norm among all ages and genders. Interest is highest among kids 7-9 (59%) followed by kids 10-12 (52%). Parents taking their children (49%) also test strongly. Interest among general moviegoers <25 is also relatively strong suggesting a nostalgia factor.

TWISTS DRIVE INTEREST: Interest in seeing surprising twists is the top interest driver (44%) and one of the top testing positioning statements. The twists throughout the story (Shivers is R.L. Stine, Hannah is a ghost) also increase interest. The surprises and twist endings of the Goosebumps novels are one of the key brand pillars, along with the fun scares and variety of storylines and characters.

MONSTERS ESCAPING APPEALS TO ALL AUDIENCES: The classic creatures coming to life out of the Goosebumps novels is the top testing positioning statement and one of the highest interest drivers (40%). Moviegoers are interested in seeing how the monsters will look as well as the different variety of characters. Among readers, there are many favorite characters so they like that they are all included.

R.L. STINE IS THE CENTRAL CHARACTER: Among those who have read the novels, 6 in 10 name R.L. Stine as the author of the series. Due to this high awareness, having R.L. Stine as an actual character is appealing and moviegoers are drawn to the positioning that focuses on R.L. Stine facing his creations.

SCARY FEEL IS GOOD, BUT ALSO NEED TO BE FAMILY-FRIENDLY: While kids 7-12 and parents describe Goosebumps as scary in a good way, they are less likely to see it as family-friendly. Being too scary is the number one holdback among kids 7-9, but less so for parents. While scares are the key element that differentiates Goosebumps from its competition, we still need to communicate that the film will be ok for younger audiences.

LESS INTEREST IN TEENAGE CHARACTERS: The story feeling too childish is the top holdback (25%) among moviegoers 13-54. Moviegoers are less interested in the teenage characters such as Zach and Duncan and the positionings that revolve around them, such as Zach moving and the two saving the day. Moviegoers would prefer Goosebumps to focus more on the monsters and the character of R.L. Stine.

FRANCHISE EVALUATION

Seen this film/films

Goosebumps Brand Study Topline

51

45

39

35

32

28

23

22

16

14

11

12

47

56

42

44

37

39

28

28

12

10

10

7

11

12

5

6

4

4

38

55

60

63

64

64

Readership Big Fan Def interest in new movie*

Data Ranked by Overall

*Among those aware

FRANCHISE EVALUATION

Seen this film/films

Goosebumps Brand Study Topline

79

59

50

42

28

25

54

29

20

17

13

11

73

59

52

44

55

56

23

22

17

9

7

4

11

9

9

4

3

2

54

55

70

73

75

68

Readership Big Fan Def interest in new movie*

Data Ranked by Kids 7-12

*Among those aware

All M<25 M25+ F<25 F25+ Kids 7-9 Kids 10-12 Parents Take Child 6-14

Goosebumps Readers

39 3835 35

32

59

5249

52

Seen this film/films I am a Big Fan* Story Has More Left to Explore*

READERSHIP BY DEMOGRAPHICS

Goosebumps Brand Study Topline

DEFINITE INTEREST IN SEEING A GOOSEBUMPS MOVIEIN THEATERS BASED ON A CONCEPT DESCRIPTION

General Norm =

29*

Kid Norm = 40

*Norm represents average definite interest among general moviegoers 13-49 based on a long-form concept

Parent Norm =

38**

**Norm is based on parent interest in taking a child 6-12

Books ALL M<25 M25+ F<25 F25+Kids 7-9

Kids10-12

Parents

Goosebumps 51 59 37 65 46 52 65 48

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 45 46 28 48 32 76 82 45

Nancy Drew 39 18 39 47 59 22 27 58

The Hardy Boys 35 31 54 20 41 19 25 52

The Magic Tree House 32 36 16 39 24 57 44 34

The Babysitters Club 28 9 16 47 42 25 31 37

Adventures of Captain Underpants 28 45 14 34 16 47 36 24

A Series of Unfortunate Events 28 37 19 46 21 17 30 27

Artemis Fowl 12 18 11 15 7 5 13 13

The 39 Clues 10 10 10 6 8 14 20 16

Alex Rider 10 13 10 12 8 4 9 16

The Mortal Instruments 7 7 10 8 6 5 4 12

TOP INTEREST DRIVERS

ALL M<25 M25+ F<25 F25+ Kids 7-9

Kids 10-12

Parents Readers

I want to see the surprise twist at the end 44 44 39 51 41 47 48 43 49

I like that it’s about the Goosebumps monsters escaping from their books

40 38 29 47 37 51 51 35 48

I’m interested in seeing how the monsters will look 38 38 36 40 30 55 40 32 43

I like the story 37 36 31 36 34 49 49 35 43

I like the monsters 33 38 34 30 25 41 41 31 41

I like that there are a lot of different monsters 32 32 27 31 28 40 45 27 38

I like the character of R. L. Stine 30 27 23 37 34 28 27 31 39

I like that Hannah is a ghost 30 24 25 38 30 39 26 26 31

I want to see my favorite Goosebumps come to life 29 35 21 33 26 35 37 27 44

I like that it’s scary 28 26 28 30 22 36 38 27 36

I’m a fan of the Goosebumps series of books

28 29 19 35 26 35 34 27 43

I like that it’s about kids 24 18 17 20 25 46 35 27 26

I like the character of Hannah 23 21 18 25 22 30 28 22 23

I like the character of Zach 20 19 17 20 21 25 25 22 21

I like the friendship between Zach and Duncan 20 16 16 20 24 24 25 21 21

I like that Zach is trying to fit in in a new town 19 17 15 20 21 22 18 18 22

I like the romance between Zach and Hannah 18 16 15 30 20 15 10 18 19

I like the character of Duncan 15 14 14 13 16 19 17 15 17

Goosebumps Brand Study Topline

KEY HOLDBACKS (Among Non-Definites)

Goosebumps Brand Study Topline

ALL M<25 M25+ F<25 F25+Kids 7-9

Kids10-12

Parents Readers

MONSTERS UNLEASHED 130 139 128 128 122 136 135 128 134

TWIST ENDINGS 128 129 124 141 129 113 124 125 132

R.L. STINE 117 114 115 120 125 111 111 114 120

FAN BRAVERY 100 95 94 97 103 117 104 98 97

MONSTER BATTLE 96 104 101 82 84 106 112 94 95

SLAPPY'S REVENGE 96 110 100 96 86 85 97 95 104

ZACH AND HANNAH 89 73 89 106 97 80 80 91 82

SMALL TOWN 88 85 86 85 95 92 80 93 82

OUTCASTS BECOME HEROES 80 74 78 71 86 91 83 87 74

GOOSEBUMPS 76 77 83 75 74 69 74 76 80

POSITIONING SCORES(Among Key Audiences)

ALL M<25 M25+ F<25 F25+Kids 7-9

Kids10-12

Parents Readers

The story feels childish 25 26 28 41 20 1 16 18 28

I am not familiar enough with the Goosebumps stories and characters

14 12 13 14 16 18 9 15 4

I’m am not a fan of the Goosebumps series of books

13 12 14 13 14 13 15 17 5

It feels too similar to other movies/TV shows about monsters

11 11 11 18 9 9 4 10 12

The story doesn’t feel scary enough 11 17 11 17 7 2 4 8 15

The movie has too many characters and too much going on

10 9 9 16 9 12 6 11 14

The story feels boring 10 14 9 14 9 1 4 8 9

The story is too scary 10 3 5 7 10 39 18 10 6

I don’t like that it is about monsters 8 4 4 8 10 16 14 9 4

I do not like the story 7 7 7 7 6 5 6 7 4

POSITIONING STATEMENTS

MONSTERS UNLEASHED

Fiction becomes a terrifying reality when all the monsters from R.L Stine’s novels jump off the page and spring to life. Mummies, zombies, werewolves, evil lawn gnomes and many other creatures are running rampant in a small town, terrorizing residents and attacking the high school.

OUTCASTS BECOME HEROES

Zach and his best-friend Duncan are not the most popular kids in school; in fact, they only have each other. But when monsters attack during the annual Halloween Dance, they know they’re the only ones who can save the faculty and their fellow students.

R.L. STINE

After discovering that the monsters from his horror stories come to life, R.L. Stine swore off writing and moved to a small town. But when all of his monsters are accidently set free on the small town, Stine must face his fears and write his greatest novel ever in order to stop his creations.

SLAPPY’S REVENGE

After being trapped by R.L. Stine for years, the diabolical ventriloquist dummy, Slappy, takes the opportunity for revenge and convinces the other Goosebumps monsters that it’s time to be the winners and defeat the humans for good.

SMALL TOWN

Forced to leave his old life in New York, Zach is not prepared for the quiet town of Normal, Maryland. However, in trying to solve the mystery of the suspicious next door neighbor, Zach accidentally unleashes dangerous monsters and discovers Normal might not be as quiet as he thought.

MONSTER BATTLE

When monsters attack during the annual Halloween dance, the high school students rally and begin an epic battle to defend their school against zombies, mutant insects, deranged scarecrows and other Goosebumps monsters.

ZACH AND HANNAH

Zach starts falling for Hannah, the cute girl next door, but he soon discovers that she’s not your average teen but rather a ghost. When monsters attack, Zach is heartbroken to learn that saving the town may endanger his crush.

GOOSE-BUMPS

Based on the popular children’s book series, the Goosebumps film will feature all of the iconic monsters coming to life as their famous author, R.L. Stine, must figure out a way to rein them in.

FAN BRAVERY

Zach and Duncan grew up loving the Goosebumps novels but never expected they’d face the terrifying monsters in real life. With danger around every corner, they must rely on their knowledge of the monsters’ weaknesses if they’re going to defeat them and save the town.

TWIST ENDINGS

The Goosebumps novels are notorious for their twist endings but their author, R.L. Stine, never imagined he’d be at the mercy of his own unpredictable plot. With time running out and the fate of the town in his hands, he must write for his life and concoct his most inventive ending yet.

Goosebumps Brand Study Topline