This marketing strategy document outlines plans for releasing a new horror/thriller student film. It recommends releasing the film in October to capitalize on Halloween season interest. The film will premiere in Birmingham cinemas and release widely in UK independent cinemas. It will be distributed on DVD and Blu-Ray after the cinema run. Unique selling points include new characters, a complicated dual genre story, and horror/thriller mixing. The film follows a student who wakes from a coma to find herself trapped in her home by a serial killer. It aims for a 15 certificate rating for its violence and threats.

1. Marketing strategy
By Myrah and Maysoona

2. Release date
• From our research we have found that most horror/thriller movies are
released around October time. The reason of this is because October is
Halloween time and more people want to go with their friends to watch
a scary movie or with their family to spend time on Halloween as this is a
good event for watching a scary movie and having a good time. This is
perfect timing for out movie release because the month represents
Halloween and there is a high number of people who would go to the
cinemas to watch a Halloween movie with their family and friends.
•

3. Type of release
• The release will be first through cinemas where it will have its
first premier in Birmingham and then it straight to all cinemas
around the UK. It will not be in every cinema but the
independent high class cinemas. It will first release as a
premier in Star City with all the stars and people who in the
movie.

4. Format for release
• The format for release will be a movie but will later print in
DVD for people to buy. This will also be released on Blu-Ray
which will make people want to buy the Blu-Ray and the DVD.

5. USP (Unique selling point)
• The unique selling point for our movie will be that there will
be new characters in the movie which will make the audience
want to watch and see the new characters in the movie.
• Our movie is a complicated story as there is two genres and a
lot of mix which goes on in the movie which will grab the
audiences attention and want to know all about the story.
• In the movie, there will be lots of horror mixed with thriller
which will make it exciting as there is a combination which
sounds very interesting.
• This story has a serial killer who has trapped Melissa which
makes it seem very appealing and fascinating.
• Another USP of this movie would be that this movie is
produced and made by students which is something different
and no-one has seen a movie made by students.

6. Blurb
• The blurb of the movie is a working class student of University. On her way to a
lecture, Melissa is involved in a car crash. The car crash had caused Melissa to
fall into coma for 3 months. She enters her house after a long time, and she
feels that the house is different and more eary. As she walks towards her
bathroom, inside on the mirror is a message in red lipstick "Why won't you
die?". Melissa gets shocked and tries to escape from her house but all the doors
are locked and the windows are sealed, locking her in. A screeching sound from
the stair walls and loud footsteps of someone coming up the stairs. Her name is
said many times with a menacing laugh. The killer plays a game of hide and
chase with Melissa. The killer finally gets his chance to sneak behind Melissa
and taps her shoulder, she turns and screams, but suddenly police raid the
house and arrest the serial killer.

7. Similar titles
• Halloween
• Hell Raiser
• Hell High
• House of wax
• Hollow man
• Hit and Run

8. Casting
•
•
•
•
Melissa: Rishika
Serial killer: Abu-Huzaifa
Friend: Abu-Ubaida
Mum: Pending

9. BBFC certificates and the
requirements to get that
• For 15, the requirements are that no one under the age of 15
can watch a 15 certificate movie as they are too young. This
allows that no children are accepted to watch a 15 certificate
movie. 15 is much stronger than 12 or 12A because it has
strong violence, frequent strong language (f****), there are
portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex,
sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal
references to sexual violence, discriminatory language or
behaviour and drug taking. This is a very strong certification as
it can include racism, suicide, murder and all sorts of issues
resembling this.

10. Certificate
The certificate we have decided to give our film will be 15 based
on what type of movie we will be doing. We have looked at what
movies include in a 15.
In our film, there will be signs of strong violence and action
where effective detail will be shown and not too close but some
sorts of detail is shown. 15 is not for children but for teenagers
above 15 and adults. There will be violence and sexual reference
shown so this movie has been rated 15 due to the frightening
and terrifying bits of the movie. There is some sort of strong
threat and menace which cannot have too much sadistic and
sexualised.

11. How you made these decisions
• We decided to release our film for Halloween as there will be more
audience where lots of family and friends will go to watch the movie
as this is a horror/thriller which will be scary but also some thriller
that includes the film to terrify the audience to make the movie
seem frightening. It will release in cinemas but with a premier in
Star City and we made this decision as this will make the movie
seem more exciting to watch when it is released after the premier.
We also decided we need to make sure it releases on DVD later after
it has been released in cinemas as many people will want to buy the
DVD itself to keep the movie as a memory and may watch it with
their loved ones when they are at home and we also thought that
we should make a Blu-Ray copy as many people like to watch a
movie in Blu-ray. We decided that that the unique selling point of
our movie would be that there are new characters in our movie and
this will attract the audience into watching our movie as there are
new characters and people will want to see who the new ones are
and may be interested. The movie has also a really good
combination of the story which is the girl being trapped but also a
serial killer trying to kill the girl.