Launching a movie successfully

Authors Avatar

Case study: Movie Marketing                                       

1. Executive summary

Movie marketing plays a crucial role in launching movies, although it can be expensive and is often a significant part of the entire movie cost. It is important to understand some insights of movies marketing. In this report, there are five questions to be answered respectively. Firstly, we will identify some key factors in launching a movie successfully. Secondly, the different promotional methods in launching movies will be evaluated and commenting on their efficiency and effectiveness. Thirdly, the role of critics in movie marketing will be discussed. After that, we will discuss the reasons of marketers for investing vast sums of money in movie product placement. Finally, the risks associated with movie product placement will be discussed.

2. Key factors in launching a movie successfully

When a new movie is made, it has to be advertised like any other new product, to attract and encourage people to go to the cinema to see it. The more people go to see it, the more successful the movie is. What are key factors in launching a movie successfully? The answer is creating an effective movie marketing campaign for it. The way in which a film is promoted can have a huge effect on whether or not it is successful (Film Education, 2003). There are several things marketers need to do as follows: identifying target audiences; grassroots marketing, publicity and promotion; building additional marketability into your property; the festival circuit; pitching and working with the media; creating the materials needed to sell and market your film and how to finance and get your project made and distributed.

2.1 Identifying target audiences

When a film is being marketed, researchers need to identify who the film’s target audience is – in other words, which people will particularly enjoy the film. The target audiences for the majority of films are the ‘heavy cinema goers’, i.e. ‘Finding Nemo’ marketing campaign will mainly target 7-15 years old children.

2.2 Publicity

There are four of publicity including poster and artwork, the press kit, star interviews and trailer which play ancillary roles in launching a movie successfully. Firstly, the poster campaign is the primary medium for selling a film, and will generally start in the early stages of a film’s production and continue during the weeks building up to the release. The objective of this is to find a ‘narrative image’ that sums up the film. Secondly, Press kits are sent to journalists all over the country to give them information about forthcoming films. The trailers can be used in the cinema around six weeks before the release of a film shows at the cinema. It aims to: raise audience awareness of a film by logging the film title in their minds; give an overall impression of the film to its potential audience; make sure that the audience is aware of the stars, particularly where their names will help to sell the film (Lukk, 1997)

2.3 Advertising

Newspaper, TV, radio, magazines and the Internet are five main mediums for advertising campaign. An ad of a movie is publicized through these kinds of mediums to spread out in market and attract audiences to see it.

2.4 Promotions

Promotions give added awareness to a film and help reinforce its title. They tend to take the form of joint involvement with another party who will gain from their involvement (Bosko, 2000).

2.5 Timing

A film has to have the right release date — Christmas for a Christmas movie etc. Its release date will also depend on what else is being released at the same time. Films have to fight it out for cinema screens. It would be pointless releasing any big blockbuster movie the same weekend as Lord of the Rings simply because cinema goers would choose between it and the competition, thus halving the box office takings. 

2.6 Packaging

One of the most important parts of making a film is the package. Firstly, it is what a producer will create to present to studios and potential investors in order to raise money to create the film. Secondly, the package is important to the film and its success because it is like the first step with the ideas beginning to take shape and the plans start to get drawn up and go into action.

3. Evaluation of different promotional vehicles in launching movies

3.1 Television advertising, Cinema advertising and Teaser trailer advert

These three typical movie trailers accompanying a movie are used to build up audience interest and anticipation for a movie; generating word of mouth .Trailers can cost huge amounts of money. But spending that type of money does not necessarily guarantee success, as half of those movies promoted were commercial flops.

Join now!

3.1 ‘Making of’ documentaries

Publicity is a huge weapon in the arsenal of a studio’s marketing strategy. The core aim of publicity is getting as much media exposure as possible. Newspapers, magazines and television programmes continually vie for insights into celebrity lifestyles. This progress takes place before and during a film’s release, helping to build awareness of the film. Movie studios strive for publicity, as they do not have to pay for this type of exposure.

3.2 Awards (Oscars, Baftas, Cannes, Vennice, Sundance, etc)

One of the best ways of generating word of mouth, and to gain free ...

This is a preview of the whole essay