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Marketing

 

According to economists S.M. Brewer, J.M. Kelley and J.J. Jozefowicz in an article published in Applied Economics (2009) entitled A blueprint for success in the US filmy industry, the “demand side of the film exhibition industry is more powerful than [the] supply because the consumer dictates the market” (Brewer et al., 590). That being the case, studios continue to develop marketing strategies based on the determinants of commercial film success. As films have been described as infinitely variant (Walls, 2004; cited by Brewer et al., 589-590), so producers must identify what the consumers want to pay to see in order to reduce industry uncertainty. As such, these “industry practitioners [have also become] consumers: their actions are unavoidably informed by their experience as viewers, listeners and readers” (John Caldwell, 2006: 112; cited by Cameron et al., 96). Therefore, the media industry has grown accustomed to critical self-analysis as a result of marketing and promotion (Cameron et al., 96), and films are now considered “market-driven…[since they have become] responsive to the investment decisions of distributors [and] sales agents” (Court, personal communication, 12 April 2010; cited by Burns et al., 106). Similarly, marketing essentially concerns its target audience because “films are expensive to make and if the public do not buy tickets at the box office to see the film, a lot of money will be lost” (Film Education, 2003).

“When Australians attend a cultural event or venue, cinemas are the most popular destination” (ABS, 2007; cited by Burns et al., 103). However, due to low marketing and production budgets, the perceived failures of the Australian film industry to create box office products reflect the struggle of Australian cinema to attract local audiences (Burns et al., 104, 111). Lynden Barber (2009) offers one explanation for this as she claims “many of the failures of the local [Australian] industry have been the result of commercial misjudgments” (Burns et al., 109). However, Screen Australia insists “Australian films have performed relatively well given their release strategies” (Screen Australia, 2009; cited by Burns et al., 104). This may be true when considering films such as Happy Feet (2006), Australia (2008), Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010), and The Sapphires (2012). Despite achieving domestic success according to Screen Australia statistics, and with the exception of Happy Feet, these films performed less well overseas, which argues against the Pearson correlation that indicates “domestic success is a strong indication of foreign success” (Brewer et al., 591). In an interview with founder of the Made In Melbourne Film Festival Ivan Malekin, he suggests:

"The rhetoric seems to be that the Australian Film Industry is constantly struggling.  I’m not sure about that.  We have a comparatively small population, small market, and small industry. Perhaps we produce the expected amount of successful films given these factors?  With that said, I have seen some terrific independent films which deserve a bigger audience than they are likely to ever find because they simply don’t have the marketing budget and means of something like ‘Happy Feet’ for example.”

 

- Ivan Malekin, director of Made In Melbourne Film Festival

This element is most often used to target the mainstream audience. It refers to the film being high concept in nature, which also alludes to the the overall cost of the film. This may include special effects, a critically acclaimed cast and crew, and expensive equipments, sets, costumes, and props. Economic theory indicates that a higher income may result in increased consumption of normal goods (Brewer et al., 593) since "production budget has the ability to raise the minimum revenue that a movie might earn" (Brewer et al., 597).

 

Avatar (2009) directed by James Cameron is considered one of the most expensive films ever produced and was officially budgeted at $237 million while an estimate of $150 million was spent on promotion. It became the highest grossing film of all time and the first film to gross more than $2 billion.

Production value

Genre or narrative can also be used to target mass consumers because genre or story conventions are easy to recognise and can consequently prepare consumers with certain built-in expectations that may function to motivate them to watch the film. Brewer et al. report that a genre may be more commercially viable than another due to the "size, location and leisure preferences of the different target audience" (592). This is why narrative and genre can sometimes be directed towards a niche audience, such as horror.

 

After the release of Saw (2004) directed by James Wan, the story has expanded to five more films. As a result, its attached cult has transformed the film into a popular franchise that is now regarded as the fifth highest grossing horror franchise in the US at $457.4 million.

Narrative/Genre

Consequently, since different cultures and languages separate markets, studios tend to invest more generously in promoting films across a global scale (Morawetz et al., 427, 439). This is because “greater budgets also need to be recouped at the box office and therefore the ideal film project for a film fund is high concept in nature, aimed at international audiences and features a bankable…star to attract attention” (Morawetz et al., 435). This is apparent in the recent increase of co-production activity within the film industry. Thus, “studios often exploit the ‘blockbuster strategy’ in an attempt to persuade theater owners to book the film and consumers to attend the showings” (Brewer et al., 591). This strategy commonly refers to the promoting of a combination of several of the components listed previously in the form of flooding the general public with television advertisements, social media, posters, publicity stunts, merchandise, radio appearances, magazine interviews, and so forth.

 

However, the location and availability of a film are also important contributing factors in marketing since films have a limited shelf life on the screen. Hence, studios must rely heavily on the opening day or weekend of a film to determine whether they have made a profit or loss on their investment (Mediaknowall) since "film performance is very sensitive to the peak number of screens, on which it plays" (Brewer et al., 600). This is why film distributors frequently seek high demand periods when choosing a date to release their films (De Vany and Walls, 1997; cited by Brewer et al., 593).

 

Story consultant Karina Wilson from Mediaknowall reiterates the four principle Ps of marketing, which are Product, Placing, Promotion, and Publicity. The table below has been taken from her website and summarises these processes:

1. Product

A film needs to be clearly identifiable in its marketing — genre, stars, story, special effects, style all need to be presented to the audience so they can select the film on the basis of content.

2. Placing

3. Promotion

4. Publicity

Works Referenced:

 

  1. Brewer, SM, Kelley, JM, Jozefowicz, JJ 2009, ‘A blueprint for success in the US film industry’, Applied Economics, vo. 41, pp. 589-606

  2. Morawetz, N, Hardy J, Haslam, C, Randle, K 2007, ‘Finance, Policy and Industrial Dynamics – The Rise of Co-productions in the Film Industry’, Industry and Innovation, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 421-443

  3. Burns, A, Eltham, B 2010, ‘Boom and Bust in Australian Screen Policy: 10BA, the Film Finance Corporation and Hollywood’s Race to the Bottom’, Media International Australia, no. 136, pp. 103-117

  4. Cameron, A, Verhoeven, D, Court, D 2010, ‘Above the Bottom Line: Understanding Australian Screen Producers’, Media International Australia, no. 136, pp. 90-102

  5. Film Education 2003, 'Teaching Trailers: Touching the Void', viewed May 29 2014, <http://www.filmeducation.org/pdf/film/TouchingTheVoid.pdf>

  6. Rousseau, J 2013, 'Planning a film marketing campaign', How Moving Marketing Works, weblog, May 30, viewed May 29 2014, <http://howmoviemarketingworks.com/2013/05/30/planning-film-marketing>

  7. Shankar, A 2014, 'How Has Movie Marketing And Distribution Evolved Over Time?', Forbes, February 11, viewed May 29 2014, <http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2014/02/11/how-has-movie-marketing-and-distribution-evolved-over-time>

  8. George, S 2011, 'Marketing Australian Films - it's a dog's life', National Film & Sound Arhive, weblog, September 15, viewed May 29 2014, <http://www.nfsa.gov.au/blog/2011/09/15/marketing-australian-films>

  9. Dallas, S 2012, 'Audience Testing: why it works', IF, 24 July, viewed May 29 2014, <http://if.com.au/marketing/index.php>

  10. Karina Wilson 2000-2013, 'Movie Marketing', Mediaknowall GCSE, Los Angeles, viewed May 29 2014, <http://www.mediaknowall.com/gcse/bbustermovies/movies.php?pageID=market>

  11. Movie Marketing Madness 2013, 'Proven techniques of marketing', Movie Marketing Madness, March 28, viewed May 29 2014, <http://www.moviemarketingmadness.com/2013/03/28/proven-techniques-of-marketing-the-movies>

  12. Sebastian, J 2014, 'Movie marketing moves into the digital age', Marketing Week, February 25, viewed June 2 2014, <http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/sectors/media/news/movie-marketing-moves-into-the-digital-age/4009597.article>

  13. Film Victoria, 'Australian Films at the Australian Box Office', viewed June 2 2014, <http://www.film.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/967/AA4_Aust_Box_office_report.pdf>

  14. Screen Australia, 'Australian Content: Box Office', viewed June 2 2014, <http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/research/statistics/mrboxaust.aspx>

  15. Jericho, G 2013, 'Grab some popcorn, we're doing fine', The Drum, January 30, viewed June 2 2014, <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-30/jericho-aussie-film/4489102>

A film has to have the right release date — Christmas for a Christmas movie etc. Its release date will also depend on what else is being released at the same time - films have to fight it out for cinema screens. It would be pointless releasing any big action adventure movie the same weekend as another one simply because cinema goers would choose between it and the competition, thus halving the box office takings. It makes more sense to put a romantic comedy in that release slot, to mop up the movie-goers who are not interested in big screen action

Promotion for films takes many forms:

  • Print advertising (posters + ads in newspapers & magazines)

  • Trailers (screened at cinemas + on TV/radio)

  • Internet sites (including Facebook 'fan' pages)

  • Viral Videos

Merchandising — the list is endless books, t-shirts, food, soundtrack CDs, computer games, toys, cars, mobile phones, anything that can be associated with the brand of the movie.

The publicity department of a studio can use the talent (actors, director, screenwriter) attached to a movie (they have contractual obligations to do what the studio asks) and will try to gain maximum benefit from the following:

  • Star Interviews — in print, online and broadcast media

  • 'Making Of' documentaries, set reports and viral videos add to the hype

  • Gala Premieres — who's wearing what frock

  • Reviews and profiles —Empire front cover anyone?

News stories - who did what on set and what records has this movie broken?

Media consultant Jeon-Francois Rousseau claims, “The [film] marketing objective is to create visibility, raise movie awareness and engage interest” (How Movie Marketing Works, 2013). In their research, Brewer et al. have likewise investigated the particular elements in film that appeal to consumers, which producers then draw from in order to generate the most effective marketing strategy. Some of these film components include:

Sequels, remakes and adaptations are generally popular in the film industry because they already have a" built-in audience from a pre-existing fan base" (Brewer et al., 592). Furthermore, sequels are often made to successful films in order to recreate its initial success, though sequels "usually earn only a fraction of the gross of the original film" (Brewer et al., 598).

 

A recent example is The Avengers (2012), which is based on a popular Marvel comic by the same name, featuring characters from other separate Marvel comics and films. According to Sophie Woodrooffe from Sparksheet, the film earned $700 million in its opening weekend as a result of a successful marketing campaign based on brand recognition.

Existing property

This is why government support insitutions in Australia have turned to commercially driven practices within the film industry. Therefore, “in order to qualify for subsidies film producers who applied for public money often had to prove that their film was not too commercial, as commercial films should find finance through the market” (Morawetz et al., 428). Independent filmmakers generally flock to film festivals to build connections, find finance, and develop business relationships with producers and distributors. Yet the increase of new and available technology has also granted independent filmmakers an opportunity to market their films through online distribution.

 

Written by Julia Tran

The promotional animated video above from Screen Australia describes the newly developed marketing strategies from Australia's government film support insitution.

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