Distribution and Marketing

Distribution

The distribution plan for a film is extremely important to ensure its success. It is vital that the customer knows that they want to see your film before they have even reached the cinema complex. A distribution company must deliever the highest possible audience for a film, fighting off similar films and companies to become the most desireable product on offer. They have to do this through the use of a clever marketing mix, making use of all conventions of media as a way of getting their product known. With new technology being developed, the ways in which a film can become well known has opened up. The surge in internet use in particular has shown how important it is for distributon companies to keep up to date with current forms of promotion, the web means that they dont have to go looking for their audience as much now, as often their audience will come looking for them. 


Although the process is usually the same, every film has to have its own unique distribution plan. There are several things that a film company must take into consideration:

• Budget and Box Office - It is important that firstly a film distribution company decides what the budget for their film is. To do this they will often have to decide on the potentual Box Office takings for the film, and then catagorise the level of expenditure (high budget/low budget). The idea of doing this is to create a forecast on how much is likely to be made, and how they can maximise the profit made without damaging the product itself.
• The Audience - The distributor must complete audience profiling to make sure that any promotion is aimed at that certain group. They will need to find out their age, gender, lifestyle, social groups etc., whilst some may also choose to find out more qualitative data such as their opinions on certain types of films. The understanding of the target audience is vital, although some attempt must be made to widen this range of viewers to maximise the success. There are usually several types of market research carried out before a film is released. The most common is the use of test screenings followed by audience questionnaires, helping the comapny to gain feedback on areas to improve on.
• Release Date - One of the most important decisons to make for  any distribution company is when to release the film. it is vital that it is released at the optimum time, release it alongside another big blockbuster and you risk having to compete against one another, yet if the film is put out when film sales experience a slump, you risk loosing millions of pounds. Distributors often have to ask themselves the questions such as, Is there any 'star power' behind the film? Is the film based around an event (e.g. The Omen was released on the 06.06.06 for supernatural reasons)? Will it be able to compete against Hollywood films? 
• Analysing existing movies - A distributor may do this to see how other similar movies have done. This may be a case of analysing the statistics of films that already exist, looking at the predicted budgets of similar films that are expected to be released in the future or even looking at previous sequels if another type of the film has already been made.
• Predicted success - The predicted success of a film is important for a distributor to know how much money to spend on advertising. Some films are expected to do well, either they are part of an already strong brand or have other factors such as direcors and acotrs that would influence their audience. Other films are predicted to do well but then 'flop' when they hit the big screen. On the other hand other films are what are known as 'sleeper hits', films that are not expected to do well but then cause a global phenominom (e.g. Slumdog Millionaire).
• Type of release - Another concept that a film distribution company must decide on is the type of release that is suitable for the film. There are three main types of releases that are avaliable to a film distributor. One is a saturated release, where the film is introduced into multi complex cinemas nationwide. This type of release is often reserved for big Hollywood blockbusters. Another is a 'specialised' release, where the film hits smaller 'nice' market cinemas, and therefore have a limited audience. On the other hand some films skip out this stage and are released on DVD as soon as they have been finalised. This is often because the distributor decides somewhere along the market research that there is not enough revenue to be made from a full cinema release.

Marketing


Once the distributor has gained all of the information that it needs to know about the release of its product, it then has the task of choosing the right promotional mix to ensure the films success. It needs to raise awareness of the film and become visible to the target audience.

• Advertising -

1. Posters - The most common form of advertising seen today is the use of movie posters as a way of increasing awareness of the film. They are placed everywhere, on bus shelters, on billboards, some are even promoted through point of sale stands. They often become the main image of the film, helping to give the audience vital information like whos in it? What is the genre? and  why should I see it? Depending on the type of film, a company may choose to edit the posters to suit the location it is being shown in.
2. Trailers -Film trailers will often capture the audiences attention through giving them the chance to see 'snippets' of the film. Often these will be of the most interesting scenes within the film, making the audience think 'if this is what the film is like in 2 minutes, I wonder what it is like in 2 hours?' These are even more cost effective than movie posters are, they will often be shown before other movies, therefore they are capturing this audience for the whole time that their trailer is being shown. There are two types of trailers. Teaser trailers are often released months prior to the films release. They are often short, less than 90 seconds, and help to release a little information and create some form of hype. A successful teaser trailer is one that will leave the audience intriegied and wanting to know more. A company will then relase the theatrical trailer a few weeks before hand, and is shown not only in cinemas but also online and on T.V. Once again this helps to drum up publicity and attention to the films release.
3. Online - It is becoming more and more common nowadays that a distribution company will run viral campaigns over the internet as a way of creating promotion. They are able to do this through a variety of ways. One is through the use of pop up windows, these often are linked to websites that are commonly associated with their intended audience (e.g. an advert for a Fast and Furious film may be linked to a car forum). Another way of doing this is through the establishment of their own webiste. This allows them to fill up a page full of little enticements that will hopefully capture the audiences attention.
4. Merchandising - Merchandising helps to create attention to the film, thorugh also creating demand for other products. Often this is done when the film carries a strong character that people can relate to, and not ony increases publicity but also increases the revenue. Food outlets such as McDonalds has benefited from this is a huge way, the inclusion of toys related to films in their 'Happy Meals' helps them to sell more food.

• Publicity -The aim of publicity is to get the film in the media spotlight, and grab the attention of the general public. This will often include premieres, interviews, reviews and press related promotion.

1. Premieres - Premieres are a good way of attracing the publicity needed. The are often a 'star - studded' event, with both the cast and other celebrities appearing on the red carpet, and attract a lot of free attention from the news.
2. Interviews - Interviews once again help to create awareness of the product. Actors will often appear on a variety of programmes or in a variety of magazines with the purpose of promoting the product.
3. Reviews - Most films are sent out prior to their release for a series of reviews. These are done in the hope that if the critics are posative about the film then they will create a good image.
4. Press related promotion - This could include a variety of different concepts, such as bias towards a certain film company in newspapers (e.g. The company that owns The Sun also owns Fox Studios) or relating the film to a particular news story in a good way.