Movie studios spend millions marketing their films to make audiences aware within a limited window. Marketing elements include the product or film's genre, stars, and story. Placement involves strategic release dates to avoid competition. Promotion uses various techniques like advertising, trailers, merchandising, and generating publicity through star interviews and premieres. The goal is to effectively promote films before release when word-of-mouth and reviews spread, after which marketing efforts cannot influence audiences as much.

1. A2 MEDIA
MOVIE MARKETING

2. An Expensive Business
• Movie studios spend
millions marketing their
movies.
• Making their target
audience aware of the
movie.
• But the movie has a limited
shelf life.
• Huge losses if the movie
fails.
• Event or tent pole movies
rarely spend less the $150m

3. Brand Identity
• Movie tickets are one-off
purchases and unlike most other
purchases where customers go
back again.
• Base decision on marketing.
• Each movie has to create a brand.
• Studios prefer genre movies as
they already have a brand identity.
• They also like sequels and
franchises - Harry Potter
franchise benefitted further from
being an established book.
• Harry Potter typography was a key
component as protagonist was no
well known.

4. Movie Stars
• Stars have brand
identity, particularly if
they are associated with
one type of movie.
• Jason Statham – action
(lots of fighting/not
much talking)
• Stars bring a fan base
with them that can help
the marketing of a
movie.

5. Limited Shelf Life
• Films have a limited distribution
window, and therefore a limited
shelf-life.
• They may play in cinemas for as
long as six months, sometimes
only for a week.
• The movie studio may begin
marketing a movie as long as six
to eight months before the release
date, using teasers (enigmatic
posters, short viral videos).
• Most movie campaigns begin two
to three months prior to release.
• Films can only be marketed
effectively prior to their release.
Once they have been shown in
cinemas, the cat is out of the bag,
and word-of-mouth takes over.
• What happens to a movie
after it leaves the cinema?

6. Word of Mouth
• Word-of-mouth has always been a
factor in a movie's success or favour,
but in today's socially networked
world, it has become vitally
important.
• People tweet, post status updates and
blog reviews as soon as they leave
the theatre, and their reactions spread
globally and instantly.
• BRUNO (2009) was the first movie
to suffer this phenomenon (known as
Twitter bombing) - early screenings
were booked out, thanks to the buzz
created by the studio and the success
of Sacha Baron Cohen's previous
movie, BORAT (2006), but ticket
sales took a nose dive once the first
audiences tweeted their negative
reaction.

7. Marketing Mix
• What are the main elements of the Marketing Mix?

8. Marketing Mix
• You may be familiar already
with the 4 Ps of marketing,
which are Product Price
Placing Promotion.
• Price aside (the price of a
cinema ticket varies between
movie theatres, not necessarily
films), the other three are all
vital elements of a film
marketing campaign.
• It is possible to add in publicity
to a film marketing campaign
although this is technically a
part of promotion which is not
the direct result of a financial
deal made by the studio,
although money may change
hands...

9. Product
• A film needs to be
clearly identifiable in
its marketing — genre,
stars, story, special
effects, style all need to
be presented to the
audience so they can
select the film on the
basis of content

10. Placing
• A film has to have the right
release date — Christmas for a
Christmas movie etc.
• Its release date will also
depend on what else is being
released at the same time.
• It would be pointless releasing
any big action adventure movie
the same weekend as another
one simply because cinema
goers would choose between it
and the competition, thus
halving the box office takings.
• It makes more sense to put a
romantic comedy in that
release slot, to mop up the
movie-goers who are not
interested in big screen action

11. Promotion
• How can a movie studio promote a movie?
Write down the different ways a studio can
promote a movie.

12. Promotion
• Promotion for films takes
many forms:
• Print advertising (posters + ads
in newspapers & magazines)
• Trailers (screened at cinemas +
on TV/radio)
• Internet sites (including
Facebook 'fan' pages)
• Viral Videos
• Merchandising — the list is
endless books, t-shirts, food,
soundtrack CDs, computer
games, toys, cars, mobile
phones, anything that can be
associated with the brand of
the movie

13. Publicity
• The publicity department of a
studio can use the talent
(actors, director, screenwriter)
attached to a movie (they have
contractual obligations to do
what the studio asks) and will
try to gain maximum benefit
from the following:
• Star Interviews — in print,
online and broadcast media
• 'Making Of' documentaries, set
reports and viral videos add to
the hype
• Gala Premieres — who's
wearing what frock
• Reviews and profiles —
Empire front cover anyone?
• News stories - who did what
on set and what records has
this movie broken?

14. Resources
• “Movie marketing” from
mediaknowall.com/gcse/bbustermovies (Last accessed -
19th June 2017).
• Variety (March 8th 2016 issue): “The Perils of Promotion:
Pricey TV Campaigns, Fear of Change Shackles Movie
Spending”, an article on movie marketing costs by James
Rainey.