Talk Show Appearances May Be Time Honored Way to Promote a Movie, But Does it Work? Horton Hears the How Well.

In the weeks before the release of Horton Hears a Who the voice stars of the animated movie were all over the TV talk shows. Stars Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, and Carol Burnett appeared on shows like Oprah, The Today Show, and Live with Regis and Kelly.

Using their cell phone technology to track which panel members experienced these talk show appearances, and whether they then went to the movie, IMMI can measure the effectiveness of this personal appearance promotion.

Of the panel members who saw at least one talk show appearance promoting Horton: Four percent went to see the movie. Multiple exposure didn’t seem to be effective. In fact, of the panel members who saw exactly one appearance, 5.6% went to the movie.

And which star seemed to have the biggest effect on movie attendance? The results for Jim Carrey and Carol Burnett were inconclusive, but Steve Carell delivered more than just chat.