Film Distribution and Marketing

Film Distribution and Marketing

·       What is meant by the term film distribution?

Film distribution is the process of making a film accessible and available to be viewed through exhibits like cinemas, DVDs, downloads, and streaming by target audience members. The distributor obtains the right to the film to release to the public, and market the film.

·       What does a film distributor do?

A film distributor is responsible for the marketing of a film in order to create a revenue. They have the task of identifying and delivering the widest audience for every film, as well as thinking about why they’d go and see the film. After estimating the revenue potential of the film’s release, the film distributor then has to develop the plans and partnerships in order to build interest in the film. One of the most important jobs is getting the audience so interested in the film that they want to go and see it when it’s released in the cinema. Along with this, film distributors have to persuade cinema operators to actually play the film. Overall, film distributors are in charge of gaining the largest audience possible, and using things like advertisements to promote the film. They have to make sure that they will make a profit after paying for advertisements. A film distributor does their best to make the film as successful as it can be.

·       How does reach relate to film distribution?

The reach refers to the total number of different people exposed to the medium, and who have an opportunity to see/hear the ad during a certain time period. Reach may be represented as an absolute number or as a fraction of a given population (e.g. ‘men’ or ‘those aged 25-35’). I think reach relates to film distribution a lot, especially when it comes to age. If a film is targeted at teenagers and young adults, the advertisements and promotions would be plastered on social networks online because that’s where that specific target audience would be most likely to see it. Whereas, if the target audience was adults aged 30-50, then the advertisement would be more likely to be on billboards, and bus ads because that’s where the TA would be most likely to be exposed to the medium. Most of the time, it’s better to have a larger reach because you want as many people being exposed to your medium as possible. This is why it’s also important to have primary and secondary audiences because it allows you to focus on the main target audience, whilst still attracting other groups of people.

·       What is meant by the distribution plan?

A distribution plan is created by the film distributors to outline how they plan to make the film available to audiences and how they plan for the film to become successful. This includes when to release the film, the teasers and trailers, and where to advertise and release the film to gain the optimum success. They use statistical research and marketing knowledge to plan the audience for the film and set targets for the film’s release. The distributors will estimate how much the film will cost to make and then will have a budget to work with and make sure a profit is made. Most films don’t make a profit from cinema releases alone, but make most of their profit from DVDs and streaming. Therefore, it’s the distributors job to make sure these things are released perfectly.

·       What is meant by the marketing plan?

The marketing objective is to create visibility and awareness whilst engaging people’s interest. Distributors must compete with other films and products to gain a significant marketing space. It’s important that people see the film advertised in lots of different places because it then raises the question of ‘why was this film picked to be advertised on that one billboard?’, and it sparks more interest in the film. Since we, as humans, are very easily persuaded by peers, the word of mouth is a very important part of marketing. A personal recommendation from a friend can be one of the most powerful reasons for wanting to see a film in cinema. Distributors must aim to reach as much of their target audience as frequently but cost-effectively as possible. This gets people talking about it, and that’s how word of mouth recommendations start. It has to appeal to a large group of people in the first place. Obviously posters and trailers are the two most important forms of advertisements for films. People are stimulated most by visual concepts. A lot of the time people determine how good a film will be by the trailers and posters, which is why it’s important for these things to be of a high quality. Over the past decade, online services have become more important in marketing. Most films now have official websites which show the trailers, stills galleries, production information and behind-the-scenes footage which really keeps audiences engaged. The use of the internet allows audiences to feel more part of the film, and a lot of films now offer small video clips as the film is being made. This is a way to keep the film in people’s minds, and keep reminding people when the film is going to be released. Merchandising is also a large part of marketing, and tends to create a large profit. It’s particularly successful with family film. Preview screenings are used as a way to satisfy the demand to see a film as soon as possible and boost the opening box-office. All of these elements together complete the marketing plan, which is very important in creating a successful outcome of a film.

·       What is the difference between advertising, publicity, and promotion?

All three of these things work together to market the film in the best possible way to make the biggest profit. Though, these things are all very different ideas. Advertisement is getting the film out there for the audience to view. Publicity is something the distributors have no control over because it’s how the public/audience react to the advertisements put out. And promotion is to pull even more people in and increase the public awareness of the film. All three of these things work together to market the film in the best way possible.

·       Find a teaser poster, teaser trailer, main poster and main trailer for a horror film. 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?

Animated Teaser poster:

Teaser trailer:

Main movie poster:

Official red-band movie trailer:

The US distributor for Green Room (2015) was A24, and the UK distributor was Altitude/Picturehouse. On the weekend of release, it was shown on 3 screens in the USA and made around $87,000. By the 5th weekend it was shown on 777 screens in the USA and had made around $411,000.