1. Unit 26: Film Studies
MARKETING & PROMOTING A FILM

2. UNIT 26 : FILM STUDIES
Learning Outcome 3: Understand the
relationship between producers and
audiences
 This will be a key source of information as
you tackle Task 2 of Assignment 1
 For this task you will be building a plan for
the marketing of a forthcoming film
 You will need to demonstrate in your report
on the plan why you have made the choices
you have and this will be influenced by this


3. WHY DO FILMS NEED TO BE MARKETED?
Creators may want as many people to see
them
 On-screen Talent and ‘creatives’ may want to
be nominated / win awards for their work.
 Most crucially, in order to be deemed a
commercial success, films need to make a
profit because of

 High
cost of original production
 Profits will go to help fund future projects
 Capitalist system – investors want their money
back with interest

4. ‘STAKEHOLDERS’ IN FILM
Stakeholders are those with a financial
interest in the film making money
 Money is made for producers and
distributors through:

 Ticket
sales at cinemas / broadcast rights
 DVD / Blu-ray sales
 Merchandise
 Product placement / endorsement
 Other linked media products through synergy
(remember our music video unit last year)

5. ‘STAKEHOLDERS’

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Studio / Film Council / Investor – those who paid for
the original film to be made
Distributors – those who organise the promotion and
distribution of the film to the public (eg. marketing
campaign, release dates, DVD packaging and
release)
Exhibitors – cinemas and those who screen the film
to an audience (including broadcasters)

6. ‘SECONDARY STAKEHOLDERS’

Those who also have an interest in the
success of a film

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On-screen talent – their profile, awards
success and subsequent rate of pay for
future jobs improves in in successful
films
Director and crew – having a
successful film on a CV improves
employment chances and rate of pay
demanded
Companies that have been ‘product
placed’ – link to a successful product
increases sales
Any synergy partners eg. Bands
whose music features

7. MARKETING A FILM
Raise audience awareness
 Widen industry awareness
 Raise profile of On-screen
Talent, Director, crew etc.
 Ensure awards committees are aware of the
work
 Ultimately ensure commercial success of the
film


8. KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE
Target audience is key as ever
 Knowing who your target audience is will
allow you to make more precise judges of
how and where to market films
 This trailer is a spoof but it can demonstrate
what might happen if you decide to market a
film at the wrong audience: Shining
 Defining how to reach your target audience
will influence your choices greatly.


9. MARKETING AND TARGET AUDIENCE VIEWS

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Twelve Monkeys (1995) is dystopian sci-fi
thriller starring Bruce Willis, Madeline Stowe
and Brad Pitt, directed by Terry Gilliam
Gilliam is renowned for his artistic and
challenging film style which has won him many
awards and plaudits from critics.
However, his work is not always so
commercially successful.
A test screening of the film highlighted some
potential problems with the audience’s
understanding of the film.
We will watch a segment of a documentary all
about the making of this film called ‘The
Hamster Factor’ that shows the process of
poster design as well as footage from a test
screening.

10. TEST SCREENINGS AND FOCUS GROUPS

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These give vital information on the audience
perception of a film and its potential success
Stakeholders put a lot of emphasis on their findings
Blade Runner (1982) was significantly changed in the
initial edit due to test screening responses
The failure of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003) is
thought to be partly due to the fact that test
screenings were not conducted
Films that are thought to be VERY poor often aren’t
screened for fear of losing the few unsuspecting
audience members that may hear about it from tests.

11. YOUR ASSIGNMENT
You will need to consider how you might
gather feedback from your potential audience
within your report
 It might be useful to consider including a plan
for a test screening or focus groups in this.


12. POTENTIAL COMPONENTS OF A CAMPAIGN
Trailers – used in cinemas, on TV, online, on
DVD releases, via mobile phone technology
 ‘Teaser’ trailers – short, less detailed trailers
intended to intrigue audience
 Posters – in magazines, billboards, roadside
ad-shells, outside cinemas, viral and social
media
 Promotional appearances – TV
interviews, radio appearances, red carpet
events
 Television / online / radio advertisements


13. POTENTIAL COMPONENTS OF A CAMPAIGN
Media Synergy – via other media products
linked to the film eg. Games, music featured etc.
 Commercial Synergy- via the promotion of
other products linked through product
placement or sponsorship
 Website – featuring games, information, images
for wallpaper, downloads etc.
 Social media presence – Facebook
pages, related groups or events, Twitter, Onscreen Talent social media take-overs.


14. TEASER TRAILERS
This ‘teaser’ was produced to market a film
‘Cloverfield’ – there were deliberately no
details about this anywhere except a name.
 Cloverfield Teaser
 Worked very effectively in intriguing an
audience largely due to its handheld nature
 Made over $50m – one of the most
commercially successful films of the year


15. VIRAL CAMPAIGNS
To promote Serenity (2005), Joss Whedon, the
film’s director worked on a series of viral videos
released online called ‘The R. Tam Sessions’
 The R. Tam Sessions
 This featured a character known from the TV
series Firefly that the film is based on. There
was no branding or anything to link this to the
film initially.
 It is cited as one of the most effective and
inventive viral adverts – partly due to the nonlinear narrative of the order the clips are
released in.
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16. ‘PLUGGING’ USING ON-SCREEN TALENT
Review the work you did on this in pairs
looking at examples of plugging.
 Consider how you could implement this for
your campaign.

 What
kind of programming would your target
audience watch?
 Which stars would you get in to conduct the
‘plugging’ and what would you suggest to
interviewers they should ask about?
 Skyfall (2012) on Graham Norton Show

17. RESEARCH IS KEY!
A Beautiful Day (2008) was due for screening at
a film festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma
 As part of the promotion the producers made a
video for YouTube and posted it anonymously
saying ‘People of Muskogee. Open your eyes.
April 25th is a day you’ll come to remember.’ and
‘The end is coming’
 This coincided with the High School prom night
and it was interpreted as a terrorist threat –
leading to arrests and the film being taken out of
the festival.


18. POTENTIAL ISSUES
‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ (2008) was
promoted by using ‘viral’ marketing
techniques such as unbranded posters
featuring slogan such as ‘You suck, Sarah
Marshall’ and the following website
http://www.ihatesarahmarshall.com/
 Clever... unless of course you are called
Sarah Marshall – 276 Sarah Marshalls
across the US complained to distributors
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