Presentation that outlines the basic idea of film marketting

1. Movie Marketing
The Art and Science of convincing
you to ‘buy’ movies.

2. A Few Interesting Facts
• Hollywood movies grossed $26.7 b in 2007
(more than any other form of entertainment)
• Very few movies actually make a profit and
the conglomerates rely on only a few films to
generate profit for the company.
• Average marketing budget was $35.9 m in
2007

3. What techniques can be used to
market a film?

4. The Basics
• Every major Hollywood studio/distribution has an
internal department for promotion and the
resources to promote (TV, Magazines, Radio)
• The marketing campaign will be cohesive across
all media platforms
• Most common forms are teaser trailers, trailers,
Adverts in News papers and Magazines,
Television spots, Radio promo, internet (official
websites, viral sites, social networking) and
billboards

5. The Basics
• In recent years the general tactic has been to
‘go big’
• The movie business is cyclical and seasonal
– Summer
– Christmas
– Long holiday weekends (USA)
• In recent years the general tactic has been to
‘go big’

6. How do they measure success?
• Gross box office sales from the first weekend
– Direct reflection of the buzz/excitement generated
– 40% of gross profit can happen in this time
– Can mean that even a ‘stink’ film will make a small
profit (before word spreads0
– Hulk (dir Ang Lee made 47% of its profit in the first
week, 69% less in the second week)
Avatar Harry Potter The King’s Speech

7. Where is the money spent?
• Newspapers: 10.1%
• Network TV: 21.6%
• Spot TV (individual stations) 13.9%
• Internet: 4.4%
• Theatrical Trailers: 4.2%
• Other media (cable TV, radio, mags,
billboards):24%
• Other non media (market research,
promotion/publicity, creative services): 21.8%

8. The Traditional Campaign
• Teaser Trailer – very little info but ‘cool’ looking
• Theatrical Trailer – done by specialist production
houses
• Official Website (with the Trailer), builds as release
date gets closes and is only the start of the internet
campaign
• Press Junket
• A few weeks before release - Publicity Blitz (esp
internet)
• Product tie-ins and corporate partnerships (Happy
Meal)
• Publicity Stunt (The Dark Knight, The Simpsons
Movie)

9. Marketing Problems
• Over done so need to be creative
• Can make the film even more costly (but they are
already really costly)
• Big Budget movies have the widest target
audience which means that the campaign could
lack focus)
• Nichebuster – smaller movies marketed heavily to
a highly specific target audience
• Moviegoers are more media savvy and don’t
believe the hype
• Negative power of the internet (social networks
esp Twitter and film blogs)

10. Essay Question
• How important is marketing in influence
people to watch films both at the cinema and
on DVD?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows P1
Avatar