This document discusses what type of media institutions might distribute a media product and why. It provides examples of major media institutions like CNN International, Columbia, Paramount, Universal, and 20th Century Fox. It then discusses using viral marketing strategies online to promote a film given a small initial audience. Finally, it argues that Columbia would be a suitable institution to partner with because they have experience distributing similar thriller genres without gore or horror elements, which could help reach a wider audience and increase sales.

1. WHAT KIND OF MEDIA
INSTITUTIONS MIGHT
DISTRIBUTEYOUR MEDIA
PRODUCT ANDWHY?
EvaluationQuestion 3

2. What is an institution?
■ An institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media
enterprises.The company then disperses a media product for audience consumption.
■ CNN International
■ Columbia
■ Paramount
■ Universal
■ 20th Century Fox
Examples of media institutions:

3. How it would be viewed?
■ To market our film we should use viral marketing as only a small amount of people will
have heard about my film opening.Therefore we need to find a way of getting my
target audience aware about it.The way I would do this is by sending it virally to
popular and modern sites that my target audience are currently using such as
facebook, email, twitter, youtube. By releasing my film opening to these sites it will
increase my film popularity.
■ An institution would usually disperse a film product to the cinemas either nationally or
internationally and then sold as merchandise through DVDs sold in shops when no
longer showing in cinemas.

4. Columbia
■ After doing research the films ‘Out OfThe Dark’ and ‘The Hidden Face’ were a big
inspiration although they are thriller/horror. Due to these films being quite popular I
would use the same institution which is Columbia.
■ Columbia is an American film production and distribution studio of Sony pictures.The
studio have created lots of thriller movies although their most popular ones are the
bond films, Spiderman and men in black.
■ The studio was founded in 1918 as Cohn-Brandt-Cohn Film Sales by brothers Jack and
Harry Cohn and Jack's best friend Joe Brandt, released its first feature film in August
1922. It adopted the Columbia Pictures name in 1924, and went public two years later.

5. Columbia
■ I think that Columbia institution is suitable for our media product due to them
producing lots of thriller movies in the past. Because of this, this would benefit our film
due to the wider audience range and it may increase sales.
■ When researching the film studio I discovered that they produce more action-based
thrillers rather than gore and horror based thrillers.This is similar to my product
because my film lacks the conventions of gore and horror and incorporates more of a
mystery thriller theme.