Lesson 4. Publicity and Distribution

• In starting to plan a marketing campaign, the film distributor has to decide how it will present a film to a potential audience.

• They need to decide what sets this film apart from all the other films that are released – they look for a film’s ‘unique selling point’ (USP).

• If, for example, the distributor is handling an adventure film, they will need to look for aspects of the film which set it aside from the other action adventure films.

Distribution

• After this they will look at such things as who stars in the film, are there new and spectacular special effects in the film and who is the director?

• Taking all of these into consideration, the distributor will then decide which elements to stress in the marketing campaign (posters, trailers, etc.) i.e. how to position the film in the market place.

Distribution - Marketing

• Marketing is one of the most important aspects of a film’s distribution and there are many different ways to market a film.

• Posters

• Trailers

• Online and mobile content

• Special Screenings/Premieres

• Interviews/ articles

• Merchandising

• Festivals/ Awards

Marketing

• Distribution is concerned with ’getting the film out there’.

• Publicity and Marketing are key features of the distribution process.

Movie marketing is also known as movie advertising and movie promotion

• Every major Hollywood studio and movie distribution company has an internal department devoted to promotion.

• The promotions department is responsible for designing and implementing an effective, cohesive advertising campaign across several different media platforms.

• These include: theatrical movie trailers, newspapers, magazines, television, radio, the Internet and billboards.

The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

• The Film business is cyclical and seasonal by nature.

• Major studio releases are clustered during the summer, Christmas and long holiday weekends like Thanksgiving, Memorial Day and Labour Day.

• Some important films are released in January to coincide with the Oscars.

• With so many high profile movies fighting for the same audience, movie marketers need to figure out how to make their films stand out from the pack.

the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

• In recent years, the general tactic for the major studios has been to "go big.“

• For expensive, blockbuster movies, the marketing campaign alone can cost as much as half of the total production budget. So if a film costs $80 million to make, the distributor might spend $40 million on advertising and promotion.

the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

• The hope, of course, is that all of this marketing money will pay off in ticket sales.

• The first weekend of a film's release is crucial and a direct reflection of how much buzz and excitement has been generated by the promotional campaign.

Different Strategies. the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions

• Every Film is different.

• The marketing department must figure out what type of campaign will be the most effective at reaching the target audience.

• This requires researching the tastes and media-consuming trends of the target audience.

• Based on this research, the marketers decide how much of their budget to spend on each different media outlet.

Print Media. Job Description of a Publicist

• The main responsibility of a publicist is to get positive press coverage for his client.

• To do this, the publicist needs to create and maintain good relationships with journalists by sending them original, insightful, timely story ideas that involve the client in some way.

Print / TV media interviews the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

• Publicists handle all interview requests for the stars of the film – form newspapers, magazines, TV Talk Shows etc.

• To protect the client from any surprises, publicists will ask the journalist exactly what the story is about and what questions s/he plans to ask.

• In some cases, the publicist will ask to be present at the interview to make sure that the client doesn't comment on sensitive issues or make remarks that could look bad in the papers.

Publicist.

• Publicists often organize press tours for actors, celebrities and authors. The publicist makes all the travel arrangements for the client, sets up locations, arranges for press passes and even accompanies the client on the road.

Press Junkets the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

• As the release date of the film draws closer, film’s marketers try to get early favourable press coverage in newspapers, magazines and on entertainment TV shows.

• The main film publicity tactic is a ‘press junket’.

• At a press junket, journalists, entertainment reporters and film critics are flown out to a special location for a day or weekend of interviews with the stars and creators of the film. The actors, directors and screenwriters sit in separate rooms and the reporters are brought in one by one to ask their questions.

Press Junkets the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

• Press junkets are highly controlled environments where interviews are often attended by a publicist, who make sure interviews never veer from positive topics.

• If you've ever seen a TV interview with an actor sitting in front of a poster of their movie, that's from a press junket.

Print Media. Job Description of a Publicist

• The main responsibility of a publicist is to get positive press coverage for his client.

• To do this, the publicist needs to create and maintain good relationships with journalists by sending them original, insightful, timely story ideas that involve the client in some way.

Print / TV media interviews the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

• Publicists handle all interview requests for the stars of the film – form newspapers, magazines, TV Talk Shows etc.

• To protect the client from any surprises, publicists will ask the journalist exactly what the story is about and what questions s/he plans to ask.

• In some cases, the publicist will ask to be present at the interview to make sure that the client doesn't comment on sensitive issues or make remarks that could look bad in the papers.

Publicist.

• Publicists often organize press tours for actors, celebrities and authors. The publicist makes all the travel arrangements for the client, sets up locations, arranges for press passes and even accompanies the client on the road.

Press Junkets the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

• As the release date of the film draws closer, movie marketers try to get early favourable press coverage in newspapers, magazines and on entertainment TV shows.

• The main movie publicity tactic is something called a press junket.

• At a press junket, journalists, entertainment reporters and movie critics are flown out to a special location for a day or weekend of interviews with the stars and creators of the film. The actors, directors and screenwriters sit in separate rooms and the reporters are brought in one by one to ask their questions.

Press Junkets the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

• Press junkets are highly controlled environments where interviews are often attended by a publicist, who make sure interviews never veer from positive topics.

• If you've ever seen a TV interview with an actor sitting in front of a poster of their movie, that's from a press junket.

Social Media the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

• More than ever, Publicists network with online bloggers and read and respond to comments on popular social networks.

• In addition to a standard press tour, they might arrange for a live, online Q&A session with a popular fan site or interviews with podcasts.

The Trailer. The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions

• The theatrical trailer is often the first chance to promote a movie to its target audience.

• Starting up to a year before the release of a major studio film, distributors run movie trailers that are meticulously edited and audience-tested.

• The idea is to give film goers a taste of the laughs, special effects and plot twists of the studio's upcoming releases, while leaving them wanting more.

• It's an art form that's usually handled by special trailer production houses

Cross media Convergence.

• About the same time that the first trailers hit the theatres, the Film Studio will unveil an Official Web site for the film.

• Typical Web sites allow visitors to:

• view multiple versions of the trailer,

• watch behind-the-scenes interviews and mini-documentaries,

• read plot synopses,

• download cell-phone ringtones and desktop wallpaper,

• play games,

• Chat in forums

• Pre-order tickets. The official movie Web site is only the beginning of a much larger Internet marketing campaign.

• Look up the website for “Iron Man 3” and 4

• http://uk.marvel.com/iron-man-3/#/trailer-4

Cross Media Convergence. Building to a Climax!• Weeks before the film opens nationwide, the promotions department

starts an all-out publicity blitz.

• The idea is to bombard the public with so many images and promos for the film that it becomes a "can't miss" event.

• Film marketers will plaster the sides of buses with huge ads, place billboards all around the city, run tons of teaser trailers on TV, place full-page ads in major newspapers and magazines, and the movie's stars will show up on all of the major talk shows.

Cross media Convergence – The Internet

• The Internet is proving to be a prime spot for publicity blitzes.

• Promoters can place interactive ads on the Web sites most trafficked by their target audience.

• They can also release behind-the-scenes clips, bloopers and other viral videos on video-sharing sites like YouTube.

• Or they can release different media clips and let the fans create their own trailers.

Product ‘Tie ins’.

• Another popular strategy is to use highly visible product tie-ins and corporate partnerships.

• In the weeks leading up to the release of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," images of the green Grinch appeared on packages of Oreos, boxes of Fruit Loops and cans of Sprite.

• Even the United States Postal Service got into the act, stamping letters with special "Happy Who-lidays!" messages.

• For marketing children's movies, the Holy Grail for publicists is getting promotional gifts in McDonald's Happy Meals.

Big Brand Marketingthe issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

• Brand and film partnership marketing seems more integrated than ever before

•Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/227105#ixzz2ryW1VsEx

Big Brandsthe issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

• In many cases, brands are taking on the personalities of the films.

• At the same time, brands are being woven into scripts as vital characters of their own

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/227105#ixzz2ryW8XGkb

Can Iron Man Save a Brand?

• http://gigaom.com/2013/08/12/can-iron-man-save-a-brand-robert-downey-jr-tapped-for-htc-ads/

Publicity Stunts

• One final movie marketing strategy is the publicity stunt, an orchestrated media event where someone does something incredibly silly, dangerous or spectacular to draw further attention to the opening of the film.

• An example is when the promoters of "The Simpsons Movie" transformed dozens of nationwide 7-Eleven convenience stores into replica's of Springfield's own Kwik-E Mart.

Distribution – Marketing a summary

• Marketing is one of the most important aspects of a film’s distribution and there are many different ways to market a film.

• Posters

• Trailers

• Online and mobile content

• Special Screenings/Premieres

• Interviews/ articles

• Merchandising

• Festivals/ Awards