“Fifty Shades of Grey,” the movie version of the nearly pornographic novel, did poorly at the box office. It posted only $11.7 million in domestic box office sales, which puts it 63rd among all movies this year. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) elected  to use an”unrated”version of the film for $4.99, as part of its “Blockbuster July.” The amount is the price to own the movie. Since the rental price is likely less than the ticket price to get into the movie, the deal is a deal indeed. So, what is the source of the decision?

The first hint about the way the promotion is being used is that it is a sort of flash sale, good only for one day. (It does not cost Apple any more of less to make the same offer for an hour, or a year) Flash sales, at least in retail, are a means to draw in customers for “deals” in the hopes of hanging on to them as future customers. And, Apple makes it clear this sort of deal will be available all month:

Every day this July, we’re picking one of our favorite blockbusters and making it available to own for only $4.99. Check back each day to find out which of these 31 amazing hits you can add to your collection at a special 24-hour price

The “Fifty Shades of Grey” promotion is also a way to get people to shop for other content in the iTunes store. And, for those who do not have an iTunes account, the promotion makes clear the customer needs one to get the movie, yet another marketing benefit for Apple. Apple makes a link to download for iTunes 11 on the “Fifty Shades of Grey” purchase page, this cementing another relationship with Apple.

So, the benefits of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” $4.99 promotion helps Apple in several ways. It sells the movie, more iTunes content, and even iTunes itself for people who do not have it.

Marketing 101.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.