Chris's A2 Media Blog

It is the task of distributors to find out what audience will want to see the film the most and attract the biggest audience. Of course the film industry is product driven as in if people don't want to see the film marketing is unlikely to persuade them see it, in this respect it is important that distributors check out if a film has a audience that will be able to create enough revenue. A distributor will usually have talks with the filmmakers and producers (that will of thought a lot about who the film is aimed and how it will look before shooting), the exhibitors (whether they will play it or not) when deciding whether to take on a film but will talk to a lot of other people e.g. publicists and advertising agencies throughout. Another aspect they consider when deciding to distribute is if it has any imaginative ideas or a 'hook that could be worked around to generate a marketing campaign.

Star power, name directors, being an event film can all work as marketing 'hooks'. Films 'marketability' will also play a key role in deciding the marketing strategies with any target audience being thought out and trying to discover the best way to speak to them. As well as the theatrical release there are a few other areas in which the film can generate revenue that the distributors will need to think of such as: DVDs, pay/subscription television and free-to-air television. Some films end up getting most of their revenue from this area. The marketing has to be almost perfect to convince the audience to see their film with over 500 films released a year, there’s a lot of competition for the public to choose between. There are numerous ways to make a film seem more appealing such as displaying any awards it receives, displaying critic’s ratings, sequel or franchised story. The marketing objective of any film is to create visibility, raise awareness and engage interest more than the other films being advertised.
There are a few ways of reaching the consumer such as posters, online and mobile, trailers, media advertising and publicity.

The most effective is trailers as they make the viewers want to see more and let them see the good elements. This is the common way for the distributor to advertise in cinemas, advertising on TV is often very costly and the expected return cannot always justify it.