Marketing Campaigns for upcoming films

If you walk down most streets you are almost guarenteed to see some form of advertising for upcoming films. These adverts can come in made different shapes and sizes.

These are some examples of what you are likely to see:

This is a good example of advertising out and about on the street. I photographed this in Harrow at a bus stop. This would have been seen by thousands of people daily while either walking or driving by.

Another example of seeing advertising on a daily basis is in newspapers.

These are all examples i found within the same newspaper which was the metro. All of these are placed in the same place and on the same side. Normally in magazines the best placement's are either on the back cover or right side of the page.
By not having these adverts placed on this better side it could suggest that these posters aren't as important as advertising, more just filler for the newspaper. These slots would also be cheaper to purchase meaning the advertising company would not have to spend as much money on advertising yet still get the advert out to the public.

All of these posters have the same layout as well, using the same setting for most things. The first of these being the awards, these posters all display the nominations on the top of the poster. This would be the first thing seen by the viewer and seeing nominations and other successes might pursuade the reader to think this is a good film.
Going further down we seen either a picture of the main cast or the name of the film, this should be the centre of attention and by placing these here they should be focused on.
Finally placed right at the bottom in the same place for all three is the when the film is going to be released.
One other thing shown very heavily is reviews and star ratings by the critics, these might also pursuade the audience to see the film more.

Another way of reaching the public is through TV talk shows, these allow the actors/ directors of film to publicize the film just before release and keep it in the public's eye for longer. Shows like Graham Norton and Johnathon Ross get actors on to talk about the film.

You will also find advertising for upcoming films on the internet. Here are afew examples:

Masthead- This being the banner placed on top of a website, it would be the first thing seen by the user as the page loads meaning they might actually look at it and find out that the film advertised is coming out.



Youtube also includes short adverts before videos, this allows some content creators to make some money and a product/service get some publicity. Normally these are short 10-20 second adverts showing off a shortened version of a film trailer giving a simple overview of the film showing the main characters, possible plot and release date.

Another popularly used one is a side of websites. These are effective as they can be positioned to be stationary so that when the viewer scrolls down the page the advert remains there.

Case Study: Dredd

Judge Dredd (1995)

Distributed by Guild. This distribution company is in charge of the marketing campgain for the film. They must then distribute the film to cinemas and after releases like DVD/Blu-ray and streaming sites.
This specific company normally works for smaller international films which are more aimed at target audiences instead of the mass public.

The distributors job starts at the script stage of actual developemnt, this gives the distribution company a good amount of time to come up with ideas for marketing the film.

Back in 1995 (pre-internet) the main means of advertising would have been. Posters, Trailers and Magazines. These would have been the most accessible fors available to the majority of the public. 

Here is an example of this. This would have been a teaser poster for the film. This poster is very simple and gives two pieces of information. The first being that the film Judge Dredd is being made and the second that the character is being played by Silvester Stallone.

This was a trailer for the film which would have been played before films in the cinema and shortened versions on TV during the adverts.

Different forms of marketing.

Advertising
This is normally the most expensive form of marketing, this will have the most effort put into it out of the three. This money will be put towards getting trailers shown on TV/ in cinems's and getting posters put up in various places including billboards and in magazines.

Publicity
Normally below the line cost and not as focused on. For Judge Dredd this would have been getting the stars on talk shows, get articles writen in magazines and other various things about the film out in the open. The use of stars especially the lead (Silvester Stallone) to publicise the film by having him appear in the publics eye before the release of the film.

Promotion
Again normally below the line cost, this involves using one company to promote another. This partnership means that one product will promote another. For example some films will use the music from the films to promote the film as well as the artist, one of these being Skyfall using the song by Adele to promote the film along with the song.
Judge Dredd would have used Stallone to promote the film as the actor is renound for action films.


Dredd (2012)

This reboot of the popular comic character Judge Dredd. The film takes a bit of a different approach from the 1995 film which flopped due to many reasons, despite good marketing the film itself didn't live up to expectations and lost a lot of money.

Dredd had the advantage of the internet to help promote the film and keep it in the publics eye for longer than the 1995 film, by using websites like Youtube to show off its trailers it means that the public can access this 24/7 instead of just having the trailer being shown during TV adverts or at cinema's.
The internet also allows for the film to be shared a lot more rapidly by a new form of word of mouth where one simple thing said can be read by thousands of others meaning the message is put across a lot faster and is more effective.

Of course this film had posters which would have been displayed in public places where it would have been observed by many people daily just like on the internet.

This is a teaser poster which includes very little but also quite a lot. Although little actual information is shown off visually what there is can say a lot, by including the badge and part of the helmet it is easily identifiable that this there is going to be a new Judge Dredd film, the term "judgement is coming" simple created anticipation which could also mean keep a look out for more coming soon. The trailer created good hype for the upcoming film.

This poster shows off all the necessary information for the film. It includes a film title, release date and any other necessary information. It also had the same "judgement is coming" caption which was used in the teaser poster to say that it isn't here yet and will be on the way. The main character depicted is placed in the center of the frame and this time shows the whole of the character. When compared to the teaser this seems like the character is emerging from the darkness in this image, returning to a corrupt world where judgement is needed.

Here we have a teaser trail for Dredd, this trailer gives necessary information to create anticipation for the film and also a setting but doesn't go as far as to give away too much of the story.

After the teaser trailer came the actual film trailer which shows off a lot more of the story and information about the film. Again this will be used to create anticipation for the film, hyping up its release.

Case Study: Robocop

Robocop

The reboot for the 1987 classic has just released, the film using the same basis of the original to reboot for a newer younger audience this time around.

I have been on the look out for advertising of this film for the past month or so leading up to its release earlier in February. Films these days don't just advertise on the street but on the internet, finding new ways of getting their film noticed in the fast moving cycle of popularity on the internet where one day something is in and the next it is forgotten.

In the past films like Prometheus have used Youtube to promote their film in different ways which haven't been seen before.

 Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures. These are two big distribution companies that have distributed some of the biggest films meaning they have a good idea of how to get a film known to the public, this process normally begins about 6 weeks before release, sometimes even longer where trailers will be released onto the internet to get the public hyped for the upcoming film. 

Trailers

This teaser trailer was unveiled in 2013 and doesn't mention Robocop but instead hints at the film with the inclusion of Omnicorp the company in the original film as well as stating that something is coming that is of great importance again hinting at the release of the film. 

In November last year this trailer was released showing the plot of setting for the film, it gives a good look at what is to be expected of the film. It includes a colour change of Robocop which was met with some controversy where some hardcore fans won't like how the film is being remade.

A great way of getting the message across that a film is coming is by getting the stars on talk shows just before or as the film is coming out. This keeps the idea of the film in mind in the publics eye up to its release. One example of this for Robocop is with the BBC talk show Graham Norton. Here is a clip which aired n 7th of February. 

Posters

This is a poster I found in Harrow next to a bus stop. These posters are a great way of advertising the film as they will be seen by thousands of people daily as they walk or drive by. The poster contains all necessary information for the film. 

Viral Video

Viral Videos

Youtube has allowed for viral videos to be created which gain publicity and are aimed towards a film without actually mentioning the film.
Not only YouTube by other social media websites like Facebook and Twitter have also allowed advertising companies to put across their film to the public in order to allow it to gain popularity in order to make more people want to go and see the film.


This is an example of a viral video which has been created to tease at a film being created.

A weird viral video in which an ape is given an AK-47 by a gang of milita to which the ape starts shooting at them. This is actaully promotion for the Rise of the planet of the apes film.

This is publicity. It uses itself to draw in an audience and then waits for them to discover more about the video and that it was made as publicity drawing interest to the film its promoting. This video would have been shared around by members of the public as a simple funny video which implants the idea in the publics mind before the film even is released.

Here is another example of publicity, this time as a DVD extra but still a means of publicising the movie. It could be considered a form of synergy where the uploader of the video gets popularity and the film gets publicity as the video itself might make the viewer want to see the film.





An example of Synergy. The Simpsons in every episode include a couch gag. The Simpsons creators worked with the design team for the Hobbit to create a couch gag revolved around the Hobbit. This is a great example of synergy where both the Simpsons and the Hobbit get promotion through the video.

This is promotion for both the film the Hobbit as well as the Simpsons. With this one is only possible with the other.

Viral videos can help promote a film through what the video is about. Here is a very reccent example which within 5 days recieved over 35 million views and with a simple advert placed at the end for the film means that over 35 million people will know that this film is happening and this could help the company who are distributing the film to get a much wider audience than previously thought.

This would be a form of publicity as the publicity of the video draws the audience in with a well placed trailer at the end of the video for the film to publicise that the film is happening. The film itself might not have been as popular or have gained as much popularity through conventional means of advertising so by doing this the film gains publicity which might convince the public to go and watch the film.





Introduction

Film Marketing

The way films are marketed has changed over the past few year, this is mainly due to the internet allowing for new forms of advertising, including free advertising which is done by the public sharing the news that the film is coming out alongside trailers and images of the film.

Here are some examples of this:

Here is some of the advertising for the movie Dredd (2012)

Teaser poster- (normally advertised before the first trailer is released, but can also be done in the form of a teaser trailer)

Sales display poster- (used in cinemas to promote the film, also shown at bus stops)



Trailer- (full length version shown on youtube and in cinema's. a cut down version is shown on TV to advertise the film also)