1. How effective is the
combination of the main product
and ancillary text

2. Introduction
Looking back at the three products that we have produced as part of our horror film
promotional pack , I feel that they are very successful and effective in collectively working
together to promote our horror film ‘The Devil’s Notebook’. This is due to the fact that, as
part of our research & planning, we have examined and analysed the codes & conventions
of films within the supernatural sub-genre and the marketing campaigns used to promote
them. Furthermore, we did a lot of research into our target audience in order to find out
exactly what they think a successful promotional package of a supernatural horror film
should be like and what they expect to see/encounter. We also looked at existing media
texts so that our own promotional pack would also be to an industry standard.
Scene from our trailer

3. Cross Media Marketing (Promoting)
Often in a marketing campaign the piece would be promoted across a range of forms
and platforms in order to expose the piece of media to as wide an audience as possible
and in order to strengthen the messages being communicated to the audience. We
have created a promotional package consisting of a poster, magazine front cover and a
trailer. This immediately will allow the audience to be exposed more consistently to our
film and to have a better understanding of its narrative .
When designing our three pieces, we knew that it is very important to make sure that
there would be a strong symbiotic link shared between them. We were aware that if
the continuity and brand identity was maintained, this would help the film to be a
success and would enable us to draw in our audience more efficiently. In the next few
slides I will be discussing more about how we achieved this symbioses, thus
establishing the brand identity and maintaining the continuity.

4. Brand Identity and Symbiotic Link
Brand Identity is maintained through a consistency of either design, colour
scheme or values. When producing our horror film promotional package we had
to think of how to create a successful symbiotic link and maintain the brand
identity between each piece that we produced (film poster, magazine and trailer),
so that when the audience would see one they would be immediately reminded
of the other product that also promotes ‘The Devil’s Notebook’ film. This in turn
would mean that the audience will gain more awareness of the new film being
released and would be more likely to go and watch it. Furthermore, another
advantage of achieving a symbiosis is the fact that it ties the tree product together
and promote one another. We have achieved this in a number of effective ways.
For example, we have featured the same protagonist in all the three pieces , used
the same font for the title in each piece, the same tagline on the film poster and
film trailer, etc. By doing so we have tied each product together so they would
support and compliment each other, which, in turn, will make it more memorable
for the target audience .

5. Branding & Symbiotic Link: Font
As I have mention briefly on a previous slide, we have decided to maintain the
same font throughout our main product and two ancillary texts, as through our
research we have found out that this is what seems to be the case throughout
marketing campaigns for most horror films. For example below, you can see how
the film ‘Insidious’ is being promoted on three different platforms, with the film
title remaining consistent (the font and the colour is kept consistent). This drives
home the meaning the title presents more powerfully.

6. Branding & Symbiotic Link: Font
Having been greatly influenced by the ‘Insidious’ promotion pack, we have also
decided to make sure that we used the same typography and the colour for our film
title throughout all three pieces. This in turn meant that the meaning that devil's
notebook is an ancient book (this type of typography was more commonly used in
the past) and it plays an important role within the narrative of the film has come
through more forcefully because of this repeated use of typography.

7. Branding & Symbiotic Link: Image
Another way that we made sure that there was a consistency within our main product
and ancillary text was through the use of the same protagonist. We thought that it
will be an excellent way to relate all three products together and tell the audience
exactly who the narrative will revolve around. Through featuring a female protagonist,
this could clearly signal to the audience that a supernatural horror is being promoted,
as female protagonists are most commonly used in this type of media as audiences
will accept a terrified female more readily than a terrified male. This clear signal will
draw in fans of this sub-genre, helping the film to be more successful. Furthermore, in
order to signal to the audience that we are promoting a horror film of a supernatural
sub-genre, we decided to show the protagonist looking normal, yet with slight
deformities showing i.e. The bruises on the arm in trailer and magazine front cover
and the cracked faces, with the devil showing through, on the poster. Her haunted
expression, maintained throughout all three pieces, also indicates a haunted soul,
common in such films.
Scene from a trailerPosterMagazine front cover

8. Branding & Symbiotic Link: Colour
Throughout our main product and ancillary tasks we have predominantly used red, black,
white(a typical colour scheme of a supernatural horror film) and gold colours, in order to signal
to the audience which sub-genre of film it promotes and in order to allow the three pieces to
complement each other and appear more professional as components of the same promotional
package. In the trailer, the protagonist is constantly wearing dark costume, which symbolises her
now dark nature (on the poster she is also wearing a black top). Furthermore, on both print
products black is a dominant colour, which is used in order to make the pale skin and red scars
and cracked face grab attention even more. Again the repeated use of black and red against
paler colours could be said to represent the binary opposites of good and evil that feature in all
horror films. The use of the gold colour for the title in all three products creates a very strong
symbiotic link and make it instantly noticeable in comparison to the dark colours, which in turn
makes it successful and effective in drawing attention to and promoting the film’s name.
Red represents blood, gore. A
typical colour for the horror
genre.
White can represent the soul or
ghosts. It is also the cold colour
that can represent death
Black represents the darkness , fear
and anticipation. A Typical colour for
the horror film.
Gold is a colour of value,
symbolising the value of life of
the protagonist.

9. Appealing to the Target Audience
I feel that our main product and two ancillary texts are very success at appealing to our
target audience, as, throughout the project, we have constantly referred to our target
audience profile and our focus group in order to ensure that our three products are
appropriate and include everything that our target demographic expect to see. In our
trailer we have featured a number of thrilling scenes in order to get create the
adrenaline rush that they would expect from a supernatural horror film; this is
something the audience claimed to desire, as made apparent in both the results of the
questionnaire and focus group . Furthermore, we have also considered the fact that our
target audience have the fear of being possessed and supernatural entities and we,
therefore, included the image of a devil showing through in our poster and horrendous
scars on the girl’s arm. This clearly signals the presence of a dark and evil presence in the
life of the protagonist. As the audience crave a scare, and this is promised through all
three pieces in the campaign though this suggestion of an evil supernatural force, they
will be drawn to watch the film. This also reflects well the supernatural sub-genre of
horror that our film celebrates.
Scenesfrom the trailer

10. Communicating the Same Narrative
The three pieces that I have produced all communicate the same narrative and in
order to achieve that I had to choose an appropriate image and text on all three
pieces. The fact that there is the same girl featured in all the three pieces straight
away make the audience realise that the narrative of the film would centre around
her. The appearance of the devils notebook within the trailer and the magazine
front cover, also gives audience a hint that this book plays an important role in the
film. Moreover, the fact that in all three pieces the protagonist have some sort of
deformation (i.e. on the poster it is the crack on her face and in the trailer and on
the magazine front cover it is the scars on the girls arms) clearly indicate that there
is something wrong with a girl and that she is being possessed. This idea of the girl
being possessed is then reinforced through the featuring of the devil both within
the trailer and the poster. This clear signalling of the narrative will, therefore, draw
my target audience to watch the film.

11. Mise-En-Scene
• Discuss your consistent use of mise-en-scene to reflect genre.
• It’s worth even talking about the actual name of the film being repeatedly
used to drum it into the mind of the audience. Talk about how the name is
effective in itself; how the name creates a scare and suggests narrative and
sub-genre and how the repeated use of it will drive this further forward.
• Explain how it is more powerful to have the film promoted across different
media, as this will mean it will reach out to a wider audience.