Movie marketing
Encyclopedia
Film promotion is the practice of promotion
specifically in the film industry
. As with all business it is an important part of any release because of the inherent high financial risk; film studio
s will invest in expensive marketing
campaigns to maximize revenue early in the release cycle. Marketing budgets tend to equal anywhere between half or three times the production budget. Publicity is generally handled by the distributor and exhibitors.
Print
When audience research is conducted for domestic theatrical release, it involves these areas:
Promotion (marketing)
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
specifically in the film industry
Film industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
. As with all business it is an important part of any release because of the inherent high financial risk; film studio
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
s will invest in expensive marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
campaigns to maximize revenue early in the release cycle. Marketing budgets tend to equal anywhere between half or three times the production budget. Publicity is generally handled by the distributor and exhibitors.
In theaters
- Trailers are a mainstay of film promotion, because they are delivered directly to movie-goers. They screen in theatres before movie showings. Generally they tell the story of the movie in a highly condensed fashion compressing maximum appeal into two and half minutes.
- Film posters
- SlideshowSlideshowA slide show is a display of a series of chosen information or pictures, done for artistic or instructional purposes. Slide shows are conducted by a presenter using an apparatus, such as a carousel slide projector, an overhead projector or in more recent years, a computer running presentation...
s - stills, trivia, and trivia games from the film, shown between movie showtimes.
- StandeeStandeeA theatrical standee is a large self-standing display promoting a movie, product or event. They are typically made of cardboard, and may range from large self-standing posters to three-dimensional devices with moving parts and lights....
s (freestanding paperboard life-size images of figures from the film)
- Cardboard 3D displays, sometimes producing sound
Television and radio
- Hollywood movie distributors spend about $4 billion a year to buy paid advertising (30-second TV commercials, newspaper ads, etc.) and over half that total is placed on broadcast and cable TV, which are the main vehicles for advertising movies to audiences. TV is effective because it is an audio-visual medium – like film – and can deliver a vast audience quickly, which is crucial because films typically don’t linger in theaters more than 4–6 weeks, according to Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition.
- Product placement: paid active or passive insertion (as on-set posters, and action figureAction figureAn action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s) of film brand in drama or sitcom shows, or as passing mentions in dialogue. For example, 20th Century Fox20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
commissioned an I, RobotI, Robot (film)I, Robot is a 2004 science-fiction action film directed by Alex Proyas. The screenplay was written by Jeff Vintar, Akiva Goldsman and Hillary Seitz, and is very loosely based on Isaac Asimov's short-story collection of the same name. Will Smith stars in the lead role of the film as Detective Del...
-themed motorcycle, featured on two episodes (2:17, 2:18) of American ChopperAmerican ChopperAmerican Chopper is a reality television series that airs on Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television. The series centers on Paul Teutul, Sr. and his son Paul Teutul, Jr. , who manufacture custom motorcycles. Orange County Choppers is in Newburgh, New York...
. The film Memoirs of a GeishaMemoirs of a GeishaMemoirs of a Geisha is a novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the fictional story of a geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, before and after World War II...
was placed throughout an episode of the T.V. show MediumMedium (TV series)Medium is an American television drama series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005, and ended on CBS on January 21, 2011. Themed on supernatural gifts, its lead character, Allison DuBois , is a medium employed as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
.
- Extended placement: full episodes of television talkshows (OprahThe Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
), entertainment news programs (ETEntertainment TonightEntertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
), or network news programs (20/20), devoted to compensated exposure of the film, stars, clips, director, etc.- In addition, interviews with actors and directors which are filmed en masse at a hotel with local and national entertainment reporters which are featured on local newsLocal newsIn journalism, local news refers to news coverage of events in a local context which would not normally be of interest to those of other localities, or otherwise be of national or international scope.-Television:...
shows, programs on cable networks, and series such as Byron AllenByron AllenByron Allen is an American comedian. He is the head of Entertainment Studios, a broadcast syndication company responsible for producing and distributing several television shows pertaining to stand-up comedy and the entertainment industry. Allen also hosts some of the shows himself.-Early...
's series of entertainment series like Entertainment StudiosEntertainment StudiosEntertainers with Byron Allen is a television magazine interview series hosted by Byron Allen which usually airs in low-profile weekend timeslots in syndication, such as early afternoons against competing sports events on other stations a television station knows they will not compete well...
.
- In addition, interviews with actors and directors which are filmed en masse at a hotel with local and national entertainment reporters which are featured on local news
- Production and paid broadcast of behind-the-scenes documentary-style shows, the type of which are mainly produced for HBO, Showtime and Starz.
- Advance trailers, longer previews, or behind-the-scenes footage on rental videos and DVDs.
Internet
- Creation of standalone studio-sponsored per-film websites such as "example-the-movie.com".
- Viral marketingViral marketingViral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
: free distribution of trailers on movie-oriented websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s and video user-generated-content websites, and rapid dissemination of links to this content by email and blogs. Includes alleged leakage of supposed "rushes" and "early trailers" of film scenes. - Creation of Internet Marketing campaign using Paid Advertisement and Social Media Marketing
- Paid advertisement in newspapers, magazines, and inserts in books.
- Cross-promotion of original book or novelization, including special printings, or new cover jackets ("Now a major motion picture.")
- Comic special editions or special episodes
Merchandising
- Paid co-branding (EragonEragonEragon is the first book in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, who began writing at the age of 15. After writing the first draft for a year, he spent a second year rewriting it and fleshing out the story and characters. Paolini's parents saw the final manuscript and decided to...
in American ChopperAmerican ChopperAmerican Chopper is a reality television series that airs on Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television. The series centers on Paul Teutul, Sr. and his son Paul Teutul, Jr. , who manufacture custom motorcycles. Orange County Choppers is in Newburgh, New York...
-two episodes), or co-advertising (Aston Martin and James Bond films) of a product with the film.
- Promotional giveaways: branded drink cups, toys, or food combinations, at fast food chains.
Promotional tour
- Film actors, directors, and producers appear for television, radio, and print media interviews, sometimes showing a clip from the film or an outtake. Interviews are conducted in person or remotely. During film production, these can take place on set. After film release, key personnel make appearances in major market cities, or participate remotely via "satellite" or telephone.
Audience research
There are seven distinct types of research conducted by film distributors in connection with domestic theatrical releases, according to "Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition." Such audience research can cost $1 million per film, especially when scores of TV advertisements are tested and re-tested. The bulk of research is done by major studios for the roughly 170 major releases they mount each year that are supported by tens of millions of advertising buys for each film. Independent film distributors, which typically spend less than $10 million in media buys per film, don’t have the budget or breadth of advertising materials to analyze, so they spend little or nothing on pre-release audience research.When audience research is conducted for domestic theatrical release, it involves these areas:
- Positioning studies versus other films that will premiere at the same time.
- Test screenings of finished or nearly finished films; this is the most well known.
- Testing of audience response to advertising materials.
- Tracking surveys of audience awareness of a film starting six weeks before premiere.
- Exit surveys questioning film goers about their demographic makeup and effectiveness of marketing.
- Title testing in an early stage.
- Concept testing that would occur in development phase of a film before it is produced.
External links
- Movie Wars: How Hollywood and the Media Limit What Films We Can See, excerpt Chicago Reader. Jonathan Rosenbaum, 2002.
- Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition Academic/business book covers major studios and independents, 2009.