In starting to plan a marketing campaign, the film distributor has to decide how it will present a film to a potential audience. They need to decide what sets this film apart from all the other films that are released – they look for a film’s ‘unique selling point’ (USP). If, for example, the distributor is handling an adventure film, they will need to look for aspects of the film which set it aside from the other action adventure films. What is its “wow” factor? What makes it unique?
In deciding what the USP of a film is, the distributor will first look at the storyline to see how this differs from the other films and what the key elements of the story are. After this they will look at such things as who stars in the film, are there new and spectacular special effects in the film and who is the director? Taking all of these into consideration, the distributor will then decide which elements to stress in the marketing campaign (posters, trailers, etc.) i.e. how to position the film in the market place.
The USP of a film will help potential audiences come to an understanding of what they might expect when they go to see a film. The visual campaign – posters, trailers, etc. will stress the USP and give the audience a ‘narrative image’ (an idea of the story) of the film. We, the spectators, are consumers as well as fans of particular stars, for example, the films we watch are products and generated to reach an audience. The film industry uses elements of the film to encourage the potential audience to go to the cinema and see the film.
- How do you find out about a film?
- What makes you want to see a film?
- How do you know what to expect from a film?
- What are you paying for when you buy a cinema ticket or buy/rent a DVD?
- Where do you watch films? At home? At the cinema?
- Do you think that there are differences between watching a film in a cinema and watching it at home on a DVD? If you think there are, then what are they?
- Are there some films that you HAVE to see at the cinema or doesn’t it matter?
The Hunger Games was originally shown in the cinema and was a “blockbuster” because it was so successful. They had further sales through DVD sales and merchandising of posters, clothing and other items.
- What would have made this film better if you saw it at the cinema?
- What would make it better to own the DVD instead?
- Would you have wanted only one of these experiences or both?
- Are some films good enough to watch over and over?
- Are some films good enough to want to watch the sequels?
