Film distribution and marketing

1. Film
Distribution
and Marketing

2. Film Distribution
– Film distribution is done by either a group of individual who is responsible for
the marketing of the film. The marketing includes advertising and release of the
film. The distributions job is to reveal the film to the public to increase the
chances of the film being successful and to make as much profit as possible.

3. Film Distributors Role
– The film distributor decides how the film will be available to the public by DVD,
tv, download etc. and they may set the release date. The film distributor will
create a campaign to promote the film as best as possible. Advertising is a key
way to make sure the public knows about the film, by advertising in a specific
area to reach the target audience or they could advertise to all audiences to try
and entice more people to see the film.

4. The Reach
– Reach relates to film distribution as the size of the reach can depend on whether the
film is successful or not. Having a bigger reach, meaning they are advertising to a
bigger audience and therefore they could have more views for the film, it could
promote the film more however it would cost more. With the reach being bigger
there is risk that the film is not as popular and therefore makes a loss/smaller profit
than expected. Two examples of this would be The Green Lantern where the film
distributor decided to have a massive reach however the critics of the film gave
negative reviews causing the popularity of the film to decrease. Even though they
had used Ryan Reynolds who is a big star the film should have been successful
although it wasn’t. Another example is The Woman in black which had a huge reach
but it was successful because David Radcliffe was promoting the film and having
effective advertising.

5. Marketing Plan
– Marketing plan is a plan that includes the marketing objectives set by the company
to be achieved within a certain time. These objectives may include creating visibility,
awareness and encourage interest of the film. To start with marketing distribution
must identify what the consumers want by market research and an analysis of the
current market situation. Ways to market the film include posters, trailers, online
and mobile apps in order for the film to be successful. Critics could also be a
potential boost the films popular as if they get a good review more people will most
likely go and watch it. The last way that the film could be promoted is social media
which is a big target audience to use as once one person starts talking about it more
people will talk/post/tweet about it the more people may go and see it. Social
networking site to advertise could include Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram etc.

6. Distribution Plan
– Distribution plan is created by the management team they transfer their
product to retailers and then to consumers. An example of this is that they may
decide the release date so it will appeal to consumers. For example releasing a
Halloween film around Halloween will target the appropriate audience the
team can therefore advertise through products and various services that appeal
to the target audience. The distribution plan also must include the budget for
distributing, if the budget is low then they won’t be able to spend lots of money
on promoting the film for the appropriate target audience. However if the
budget is high the team are able to spend a lot on advertising and promotion
and may even be able to aim at other audiences not just their target audience.
The distributor will sign a contract that allows them to promote the film.

7. Advertising, Publicity and
Promotion
– Advertising is when materials are created and can advertise in magazines,
newspapers, radio or television. The company will pick the best advertising
method they think is the most effective way to attract the target audience.
– Publicity is what gains the public’s attention such as premieres, interviews and
actors appearing on tv shows to promote their latest film to the public.
– Promotion raises awareness of the film, this can be done by selling merchandise
a t-shirt, mug with the film’s title on it or the actors on it to promote the film.