Marketing is an important aspect throughout all stages of
making a film. When it comes to trailers and physical posters released before a
movie’s release or the merchandise such as kids’ toys based around the movie
after its release, both play an important role in terms of the audience. Forms
of marketing not only bring more profit for the movie, but also increase
awareness of the movie, allowing more audiences to become interested watching
sed film.
One important role that is played in the marketing process is
synergy. In Beauty and the Beast, synergy was exercised through Disney hosting
a special edition of ‘The Bachelor’ which aired on ABC to promote the upcoming
release of the film. Through synergy, the conglomerate can easily market their
movie to a broader audience, whom may not have been exposed to much of the film
previously before. In this example, Beauty and the Beast is a movie targeted
towards younger audiences; however, it can also now become more exposed to an
older audience of adults, garnering more attention for this audience to watch
this movie. Not only does the film therefore gain more recognition, but the
conglomerate also saves money by keeping marketing production in house. And in
this case, the marketing may bring out a nostalgia towards this group of
adults, further attracting them to watching this film. Synergy is an easy way
for companies like Disney or Universal to spread awareness of their movie
without having to spend a big budget on it either.
Marketing is also important for a film in terms of
merchandise. One example of
merchandising in a film can be seen throughout the movie Jurassic World. Before
the movie was even released, posters for the movie were made following the
announcement of the movie; some of which were made limited edition. This
entices the audience to pay more attention into the movie’s release as it
places a ‘limited’ quantity into the product. Moreover, throughout the movie’s
production video games, toys, and candies were created. Again, this further
garners the attention of people as these kinds of advertisements can be
commonly found in many stores. Following the movie’s release, the merchandising
became an even bigger aspect as Lego sets, DVD’s, and more video games were
released. Though Jurassic World made 1.67 billion USD in box office earnings,
the film continued to make more profit as it earned over 100 million USD in DVD
and Blu-ray sales. Not only is merchandising important in the marketing aspects
because it attracts more viewers, but it can also increase the longevity of a
film. This in the long run creates a much more successful film that can be
therefore made into a larger sequel or franchise.
Cross media promotion is also a marketing strategy that is
important towards bringing wider attention to a movie. One highly anticipated
movie of the year 2018 was Black Panther. This movie shows exactly how
important cross media promotion can be towards marketing a film. The film not
only reached out to audiences through TV and radio broadcasts, but it also had
exclusive magazines and a soundtrack made specifically for the movie’s release.
Though I personally had no original intention in watching this movie, after
hearing the soundtrack curated by Kendrick Lamar which spent weeks on the
Billboard 200 chart, I gained interest and eventually watched the movie for
myself. This proves that cross media promotion can garner attention towards a
film and connect with an audience who may not have been the exact target
demographic. By working with an artist such as Kendrick Lamar, the movie
automatically opens the door and garners a new audience of music listeners,
whom may not have had the intention of watching the movie in the first place. The
movie proves to be successful throughout all its marketing strategies as it
gained over 1 billion dollars in box office earnings.
Though marketing may be the key to success for many movies,
for some films it may still fall short for its general audience, As stated by
Adam Fogelson, “seventy-five per cent of a movie’s success is due to its
marketing and its marketability.” Thus, he put together over 100 promotional
partners to promote the movie UglyDolls. Some of these partners which included
big brand names like McDonald’s, Walmart, Hasbro, and Pez Candy. Yet, with all
these marketing partners, UglyDolls proved to be a failure as earned about $8.5
million upon its release. Considering how extensively the movie was marketed,
these numbers prove to show that the movie had a disastrous start. UglyDolls demonstrates
that although a company may have the prefect marketing strategy towards
releasing a film, it does not guarantee a hit in the box office.
Aspects of marketing can be important towards every step of
the way when making a film. The success of a film is almost always determined
by the audience, making marketing an incredibly important aspect in film. There
have been many successful films who have been perfectly marketed and reached
out towards audiences of all kinds. Yet, there have also been some failures as
well. Although heavily marketed, some films may not meet the mark they intended
to hit or even break-even sometimes. Proving that although marketing hugely
plays a part in gaining attention towards a movie, it is not always the key to
success.
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