In order to understand what distributors do and why they are so important to make a film a sucess I visited the Film distributors association website. Here i was able to read information and research on what is the job of a distributor and the ways in which they try to distribute and promote films sucessfully, either through print, television or social media.
I watched several video which were very helpful and provided me with alot of useful information.
On how a distributor (Sara Frain) approaches a marketing plan:
Play clip >
UK film distributors invest around £170m a year in media advertising alone to launch and sustain their releases. Television and outdoor, taken together, typically account for 70% of expenditure. Entertainment companies as a whole spend more than half a billion pounds on advertising each year.
Word of mouth
Social recommendation is key - a personal recommendation from a friend, colleague or relative can be the most powerful trigger for a cinema visit. Pre-requisite for favourable 'word of mouth' are high levels of awareness and strong interest. Negative word of mouth is extremely difficult to overcome. Post-release, hopefully, a combination of good word of mouth and further advertising will combine to give the film 'legs'.
Social recommendation is key - a personal recommendation from a friend, colleague or relative can be the most powerful trigger for a cinema visit. Pre-requisite for favourable 'word of mouth' are high levels of awareness and strong interest. Negative word of mouth is extremely difficult to overcome. Post-release, hopefully, a combination of good word of mouth and further advertising will combine to give the film 'legs'.
Poster
The main image distilling the appeal of the film - its stars, theme/genre, credits and often a tagline to whet audiences' appetites. With sometimes a dozen or more different posters on display in a cinema foyer at any one time, distributors and their designers must work hard to make each one stand out.
Online and Mobile
Fizzing with networks of film fans, the internet plays a pivotal role in shaping many cinemagoers' perceptions of new releases. Most films have an official website (examples below) or perhaps a UK site hosted by a partner company, offering trailers, production information, galleries of stills and behind-thescenes footage, and more.
The internet helps distributors to start building awareness of a new film at a very early stage. Even before principal photography begins, they may release news snippets or teaser images online, seeding interest among fans. During shooting, they may gradually accelerate the dripfeed with video diaries and blogs posted from the set, aiming to engage the core audience more fully.
Media advertising
The cost of advertising placed on broadcast channels, outdoor sites and in the press is usually the largest expenditure item in a P&A budget.
Media costs rise and fall according to market conditions during the year. Terrestrial television is traditionally the most effective visual means of reaching a mass audience. But the cost of TV advertising, running into many hundreds of thousands of pounds or more for a package of spots in all regions, is prohibitive for most film releases given their potential returns. Event films/blockbusters with top stars need heavyweight advertising to support their wide releases.
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