Question: Assess the importance of marketing in film.
Marketing is an essential key to film for various reasons. This strategy builds an audience for a film. It also allows distributors to target a specific audience. The main goal for a film is exposure and marketing determines just how much exposure a film is able to receive. Marketing also serves as a form of advertisement for film, and assists in keeping fans occupied and keeping the conversation about a film running.
A film is nothing without its viewers. The movie Black Panther, being the first African-American superhero movie, was not only heavily marketed but made approximately $361 million within its first weekend of global release. This film was marketed using cross promotions, special events, media, merchandising, and synergy. The trailer for the film was first launched at an NBA Finals Game with millions of viewers; this cross promotion built a strong foundation for the film’s future audience and greatly assisted in it’s sparking interest. The film was featured throughout different media platforms such as magazines, radio shows, television ads and posters. Each media platform engaged different viewers and spread the word of the up-coming film. The creation of merchandise including clothing and different gadgets kept viewers engaged with the film and also sparked a social media trend which only added to the Black Panther’s exposure. This trend included going to the theaters dressed as a character from the movie; many people even admitted to watching the movie more than once just to participate in the trend. I personally discovered this movie after watching its trailer and decided to watch the actual film because of its trend on social media. Marketing directly builds the audience for a film.
Besides gaining viewers, marketing also attracts a specific audience. The animated film: “The Lego Movie 2” was marketed specifically to attract families, children, and lego-lovers. During a family vacation to LegoLand in late 2018, my family and I came across many posters and billboards advertising the movie in both the theme park as well as our hotel; this cross promotion painted the film as a family-friendly movie. The marketing team even created a video-game based on the movie, this cross-media convergence assisted in spreading knowledge of the film among kids and gamers to catch their attention and increase the potential views of the film.
Marketing also keeps audiences engaged and keeps the conversation of a film running, all creating more profit for distributors. The film “Jurassic World” was advertised through toys, mobile apps, video-games, and even themed candies. There was even an Easter Egg Hunt hosted online as an Easter Holiday marketing strategy. All these components allowed fans and potential film viewers to interact with the movie, gain interest, and keep the conversation running.
Overall, marketing is a key component to film. Not only does it help distributors target specific audiences but it also builds the audience itself. Marketing builds the exposure that a film needs to succeed and make money.
