1. A2 MEDIA
MOVIE MARKETING

2. Movie studios spend millions marketing their movies.
Making their target audience aware of the movie.
But the movie has a limited shelf life.
Huge losses if the movie fails.
Event or tent pole movies rarely spend less the $150m
An Expensive Business

3. Movie tickets are one-off purchases and unlike most other purchases where customers go back again.
Base decision on marketing.
Each movie has to create a brand.
Studios prefer genre movies as they already have a brand identity.
They also like sequels and franchises - Harry Potter franchise benefitted further from being an established book.
Harry Potter typography was a key component as protagonist was no well known.
Brand Identity

4. Stars have brand identity, particularly if they are associated with one type of movie.
Jason Statham – action (lots of fighting/not much talking)
Stars bring a fan base with them that can help the marketing of a movie.
Movie Stars

5. Limited Shelf Life What happens to a movie after it leaves the cinema?
Films have a limited distribution window, and therefore a limited shelf-life.
They may play in cinemas for as long as six months, sometimes only for a week.
The movie studio may begin marketing a movie as long as six to eight months before the release date, using teasers (enigmatic posters, short viral videos).
Most movie campaigns begin two to three months prior to release.
Films can only be marketed effectively prior to their release. Once they have been shown in cinemas, the cat is out of the bag, and word-of-mouth takes over.
What happens to a movie after it leaves the cinema?
Limited Shelf Life

6. Word-of-mouth has always been a factor in a movie's success or favour, but in today's socially networked world, it has become vitally important.
People tweet, post status updates and blog reviews as soon as they leave the theatre, and their reactions spread globally and instantly.
BRUNO (2009) was the first movie to suffer this phenomenon (known as Twitter bombing) - early screenings were booked out, thanks to the buzz created by the studio and the success of Sacha Baron Cohen's previous movie, BORAT (2006), but ticket sales took a nose dive once the first audiences tweeted their negative reaction.
Word of Mouth

7. What are the main elements of the Marketing Mix?

8. You may be familiar already with the 4 Ps of marketing, which are Product Price Placing Promotion.
Price aside (the price of a cinema ticket varies between movie theatres, not necessarily films), the other three are all vital elements of a film marketing campaign.
It is possible to add in publicity to a film marketing campaign although this is technically a part of promotion which is not the direct result of a financial deal made by the studio, although money may change hands...
Marketing Mix

9. A film needs to be clearly identifiable in its marketing — genre, stars, story, special effects, style all need to be presented to the audience so they can select the film on the basis of content
Product

10. 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.
It would be pointless releasing any big action adventure movie the same weekend as another one simply because cinema goers would choose between it and the competition, thus halving the box office takings.
It makes more sense to put a romantic comedy in that release slot, to mop up the movie-goers who are not interested in big screen action
Placing

11. How can a movie studio promote a movie
How can a movie studio promote a movie? Write down the different ways a studio can promote a movie.
Promotion

12. Promotion Promotion for films takes many forms:
Print advertising (posters + ads in newspapers & magazines)
Trailers (screened at cinemas + on TV/radio)
Internet sites (including Facebook 'fan' pages)
Viral Videos
Merchandising — the list is endless books, t-shirts, food, soundtrack CDs, computer games, toys, cars, mobile phones, anything that can be associated with the brand of the movie
Promotion

13. The publicity department of a studio can use the talent (actors, director, screenwriter) attached to a movie (they have contractual obligations to do what the studio asks) and will try to gain maximum benefit from the following:
Star Interviews — in print, online and broadcast media
'Making Of' documentaries, set reports and viral videos add to the hype
Gala Premieres — who's wearing what frock
Reviews and profiles —Empire front cover anyone?
News stories - who did what on set and what records has this movie broken?
Publicity

14. “Movie marketing” from mediaknowall
“Movie marketing” from mediaknowall.com/gcse/bbustermovies (Last accessed - 19th June 2017).
Variety (March 8th 2016 issue): “The Perils of Promotion: Pricey TV Campaigns, Fear of Change Shackles Movie Spending”, an article on movie marketing costs by James Rainey.
Resources