The document summarizes the marketing campaign for the 2011 psychological horror film Insidious. A promotional clip was released in early September to generate initial interest. By December, an image/poster was released along with details about the film. In late January, a teaser trailer was released, followed by the official trailer a month later, building anticipation. The film's marketing utilized trailers, posters featuring the main character in different formats, a website and social media presence to promote the film and its sequel to a wide audience.

1. Promotional Package!

2. The film I have chosen to investigate into its marketing campaign is the 2011 Psychological Horror film,
Insidious. I decided to use this film as it was released two years ago so it is quite recent for the
genre it occupies and because the genre matches the one I am aiming to produce.
INTRO

3. On the film's Wikipedia page, (see here), it states the small amount of marketing that was done for the film. On the earlier
September, a promotional clip was released to generate a starting interest into the film before releasing any official
trailers.
An image/poster was released by that December by a production company called IM Global so that any interested
individuals would be able to see more information about the film such as the release date, director, cast etc.
By late January, a teaser trailer was released by FilmDistrict, (see here).
Around a month later, the official trailer was released online for viewing. By releasing a teaser trailer before the full-length
theatrical release trailer, it enables more 'hype' to be built up in the audience the film is targetted at (see here) which is
mainly teenagers under 18 for both genders quite equally. The fact that it is mainly teenagers who are more engaged in
the film is that teenagers generally have more time to go to the cinema and see the film as well as the film being a
certificate 15 which would appeal to people 15 years old and up.
What can be found online now is multiple clips (see here) as well as trailers. The film has also grown increasingly popular
since it's release which brought in over $90 million as there is a sequel which has seen teaser trailers being released (
see here).
For the film's promotion, a free screening of the film was held at the Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles followed by an
interactive Q&A with director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell the day before the film was released on
DVD and BluRay. Also, the film was shown at two film festivals, Toronto International Film Festival and South by
Southwest within six months of each other.
OVERVIEW

4. The trailers released online of the film vary between teaser trailers around 45 seconds and full-length trailers around 1.30 to
2.30 minutes. For example, the main teaser trailer that was released is 52 seconds long and contains mainly three
things; the most likely scariest parts of the film where the 'paranormal' activity is at its most intense, the eerie non-
diegetic sound to increase the creepy vibe and intertitles to tell the audience of who is involved with the film, a vague
narration for what occurs in the film as well as the last intertitle showing the date in which the film is released in
cinemas for viewing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfxpvRRpyzE&feature=player_embedded
In comparison, the official full-length trailer is 1.51 minutes and contains intertitles, similar non-diegetic sound to the teaser
trailer but involves more introduction to the lead characters in the film as well as following along a linear narrative
structure throughout. Instead of the teaser trailer's apparent "throw-in" to the short second length clips of what
happens, the theatrical trailer allows the audience to be involved in the steady build-up to the paranormal activity which
occurs. This therefore allows more information to be included with the theatrical trailer so the audience can be more
satisfied than watching a teaser trailer that was released earlier on in the lead up to the film's release.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E1YbOMDI59k
Included with the film's IMDb page (see here), several other trailers that appear to be in different language which shows that
the film has reached a global market either before, during or after the film was fully released in the U.S.
TRAILERS

5. The posters released for the film began with this poster which is a portrait view of the character
the film surrounds, the family's son Dalton, in front of the new house they have just moved
into. This official poster includes credits of the makers of the film which is also included in
both the teaser and official theatrical trailer, creating a noticeable house style. This
theatrical release poster also includes credit information, typically located at the bottom of
the poster with the name of the film, 'Insidious', located sideways in the centre of the poster
showing that this information is the most important. However, other posters show this
poster in similar formats with the title font/size changed or in a different position. The
character himself appears to be completely shadowed in children's pyjamas and there also
seems to be something odd with his left eye.
Completely different posters can also be seen on the film's poster page (see here) that could
either be official versions of skilled fan-made versions of people who enjoyed the film.
Another poster of the film that is circulated online is this one which is a landscape view instead of
the previous portrait, with the same boy featured in the centre at a MCU shot instead of a
MS. In comparison to the previous poster, the introduction to the makers of the film is
located at the top in bigger font so it essentially is the first thing the viewers will see/read as
the human eye reads from top left to bottom right going from left to right. The house in the
background seems more forefront in the poster, possibly symbolising it's importance more.
The name of the film is also in different format, size and typography, still remaining centred
however. The credit information has also remained on this poster, still located at the bottom
like the previous. However, on this poster, the boy appears to have his eyes completely
'scratched out' creating a more sinister effect and we can see it better as the image is much
more zoomed in than on the previous poster. The slogan still remains too although it has
been enlarged and centred in a different format on this poster alongside quoted rating
information, allowing the audience to see some feedback for the film from credible
people/companies. Also, comparing between the two, the first includes the date for the
film's release whereas the second one doesn't however a theatrical release poster always
includes this feature.
By using different shapes, i.e. portrait and landscape view, it allows the posters to be featured in
multiple places. For example, portrait posters are more likely to featured on walls and inside
bus stops etc whereas landscape posters can be featured in public billboards on
motorways, on buses etc.
POSTERS

6. There is no longer an official website for the original Insidious film which was released two years ago. However, it has been
renewed to be the website for the second film with new online interactivity available to audiences for the sequel to the
film, Insidious: Chapter 2 which is set to be released September 13th
, 2013. Therefore, we can guess that the sites etc
they used for this new film is similar to the content they used for its predecessor.
The website for the second chapter (see here) contains social networking site information along with a gallery, multiple
YouTube videos from the film, cast information plus many more features. This allows the audience to possibly find
content on this site that they may not possibly get from other sites before the film is actually released.
Possibly similar to the first film, alongside the basic official website, free social networking sites Facebook (
https://www.facebook.com/InsidiousMovie) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/InsidiousMovie) were also used to spread
the word though the internet. The use of using free sites likes these may be due to the fact that the first Insidious film
was made on a small budget of $1.5 million so alternative and cheaper methods of promotion were most likely sought
out, therefore showing that this might be the case continuing onto the sequel or that the film’s creators are carrying on
with the theme that worked so well for Insidious causing it to be the most profitable film of 2011, (as said here).
The official Facebook profile for the sequel features a photos section which holds a variety of film stills, original photos of
promotion for the new film as well as images with captions quoted from the film. This allows the audience to view this
content they wouldn’t see anywhere else. The profile also includes videos of trailers, teasers, clips and behind the
scene videos as well as personal interviews with the two lead actors, Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson. There is also a
special featurette for the film’s following on Facebook who can watch a question and answer segment with the director
of the first film and the sequel, James Wan. The centre of the profile, however, is so that individuals can comment/post
on the page for the film, allowing a high level of interactivity between stimulus and audience.
This is similar to the film’s Twitter page. It is apparent that content is tweeted alongside the link for the official Facebook
page, the release date of the film and a small summary of the sequel in the profile’s bio. There is also the hashtag for
the film so that altogether people can follow the account (same as the Facebook account), tweet to the profile as well
as tweet with the hashtag so it will still be shown along with the profile when searched for on Twitter.
By using multiple social networking sites, the film can therefore reach a wider audience across the world for maximum
viewers for the film upon release.
WEBSITE/SOCIAL MEDIA

7. The sequel to Insidious was also advertised within an episode of the
American teen drama ‘Pretty Little Liars’ (see here) which saw two
characters watching the promotional clip for Insidious; Chapter 2
and saw then give a praising comment about it. This therefore saw
the audience of this show having seen a form of advertisement for
this film which they may not have heard about otherwise. This is
another technique to broaden the film’s possible audience and raise
its numbers.
An Australian news website and a British production company created a
competition for five sets of Insidious merchandise to be won, (
see here). The different countries involved in this competition allow
the competition to possibly reach a different audience to the typical
American people who will see the film and know of it.
The Horror genre is kept within most of the visual elements of the film’s
promotional package as the colour scheme is kept dark and either
reflects the first film or the sequel. For example, on the official film
website, the colour scheme used for the film which is mainly red and
black is used for the buttons, font, images etc. A house style in more
than one sense is then created.
Overall, the first and second film both focus on the two main unique
selling points; one being the director, James Wan (see image right)
who is always pointed out for his connection for the successful films
Paranormal Activity and Saw so therefore Horror fans can assume
that this may be a successful franchise too and may like his work
and wish to see the films at the cinema with the other being the use
of a pre-release trailer which again allows more time for Horror fans
to hear about the film(s) too.
EXTRAS!