Film distribution and Marketing

‘Film distribution and marketing’

1. What is meant by the term film distribution?

Film distribution is a term used for attracting an audience for an upcoming film release. This can be achieved through different methods; the most effective being advertising. The aim of the advertising is to bring in a large audience, resulting in a successful box office as well as a larger profit.

2. What does a film distributor do?

According to the Film Distributer’s Association guide, the role of a film distributor is to “identify and deliver the largest possible audience for every film”. This means that they are in charge of encouraging the target audience to watch the upcoming film they are publicizing. To do so, they must carry out certain research and provide information in order to entice the audience they are trying to attract. These include:

- Identifying its target audience.

- Considering why they would go and see the film.

- Estimating the revenue potential across all the formats of its release.

- Developing plans and partnerships to build awareness of and interest in the film.

- Getting the target audience interested in visiting the cinema to view the film.

- And most importantly, convincing the cinema operators to play the film.

3. How does reach relate to film distribution?

‘Reach’ is the term for how the distribution actually reaches out to the specific target audience of the film they trying to advertise. This is very important since different film audiences may only relate to certain types of advertising which would not appeal to the other audiences. For example, if the film the distributer was trying to advertise was meant for a younger target audience (e.g. children and teenagers), they would advertise it on channels such as Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, etc.

4. What is meant by the distribution plan?

The distribution plan is a strategy used for when the distributors of an upcoming film are aiming to supply the film to the retailers and eventually the consumers. The details of the plan include considering the budget for the distribution process, defining the film’s genre and what audience it will appeal to, choosing a release date for the film and usually signing a contract with the film’s studio which specifies “the rights they hold in respect for the title”.

5. What is meant by the marketing plan?

As for the marketing plan, it is quite similar to the distribution plan. However, whilst the distribution plan focuses on when and how to release the film, the marketing plan focuses on the film’s advertising as well as how to “create visibility, engage interest and raise awareness”. One of the most effective and simple means of advertising is social recommendation or “word of mouth”, but this is only effective after the initial release of the film or after the advanced screenings for critics. But other pre-release advertising such as teaser trailers and posters are just as effective when trying to promote a film, especially when include a lot of footage which entices the target audience e.g. Avengers: Age of Ultron Teaser Trailer.

6. What is the difference between advertising, publicity and promotion?

Although all these terms are relatable in some way, they actually detail different elements of how to effectively reach out to the target audience and make them want to see the film in question.

1. Advertising: This focuses on publically promoting the product through means such as posters and trailers in order to effectively bring in a target audience.

2. Publicity: This focuses on editorial coverage of the film and is often applicable to journalists. They often receive press kits from the Film Publicists which gives them information on the film’s synopsis, cast and crew, etc. They may also get the chance to have an interview with a main cast member about the film and what they might expect, simultaneously attracting the target audience to their magazine so they can read the exclusive content.

3. Promotion: Publicising = This focuses on products and merchandise released both prior to and to coincide with the film’s initial release. These could include t-shirts or commercial tie-ins e.g. A kids film = a toy in a Happy Meal.

7. Find a teaser poster, teaser trailer, main poster and main trailer for a horror film and put them on your Blog – who was the distributor and in how many countries was it released? Can you find how many screens it was shown in on the opening weekend?

Teaser Poster:

Teaser Trailer:

Main Poster:

Main Trailer:

'The Cabin in the Woods' was distributed in many different countries by many different distribution companies. However, the main distributor of the film (for the UK and US releases) was Lionsgate. Overall, 'The Cabin in the Wood's was released in over thirty countries starting from April 12th 2012 in Russia and ending with 8th November 2013 in Spain for a limited time. I believe that the reason for keeping it in cinemas for this long was due to the critical acclaim the film released as well as the different release dates the distributors had to choose for each international cinema.