Why is movie marketing a risky business?
Because it is very expensive to make and promote a movie. A movie is a product with a limited shelf life.
Why do movies usually have to be a hit on their opening weekend?
If not they will tend to disappear very quickly, and the studio will make a loss on their investment.
Why are sequels, remakes and reboots so popular?
These blockbuster movies already have an audience. The studio has greenlit a huge budget for the movie because they already know people will go and see it - often because it is based on a media text that already has an audience.
Original movies like INCEPTION and AVATAR represent a huge risk for the studio backing them. Studios have a huge operating overhead, and put out a lot of flops that make no money at all, so they need a guarantee that a blockbuster movie is going to be make a comfortable profit. After spending $100 million dollars on a movie they can spend 50% as much again (or more) on marketing.
Why spend so much on marketing a movie?
Most cinema tickets are one-off purchases: there is no brand loyalty. Your decision to buy is based on the marketing you have seen for that movie. With each new movie release, a studio has to create a new brand.
What two strategies do studios use to get around this?
Studios like genre movies (romantic comedies, horror) that already have a form of brand identity, as they can market them to a specific audience. This is also why they like sequels and franchises so much — a string of movies all based around the same brand are easy to market.
Why can movie Stars also be considered as brands?
Audiences feel comfortable going to see a movie starring Jason Statham because they know that they are going to get a specific sort of action movie (lots of fighting, not much talking). People may be fans of an individual actor and will go to see a movie because he or she is in it.
Why is this a double edged sword? (i.e. Why does this have benefits and drawbacks?)
Because Stars as brands go stale after a while, audiences tire of actors doing the same thing over and over again. Actors do not like to be restricted in their choice of scripts, otherwise they will quickly become typecast. Just consider the variety of movies that Johnny Depp has done.
Why is timing so important for a movie's release?
Films have a limited distribution window (they may play in cinemas for as long as six months, sometimes only for a week). Movie marketing needs to get audiences into cinemas, and keep them coming. The movie studio may begin marketing a movie as long as six to eight months before the release date, especially to create anticipation for an event movie, using teasers.
What is a teaser?
Enigmatic posters or short viral videos designed to get people talking about the movie long before release.
How far in advance does the full-on marketing campaign start?
Most movie campaigns begin two to three months prior to release. However, a marketing campaign may build for as long as it takes to make a film (and keep changing, once it becomes clear how different audience segments are responding to the message).
Why are they over once the movie has been released?
Films can only be marketed effectively prior to their release. Once they have been shown in cinemas, word-of-mouth takes over from the marketing department in persuading audiences to go and see a film. Some movies screen at festivals for select audiences before they are released and are often re-edited between a poor festival reaction and the actual release date.
Why is word-of-mouth so important nowadays?
Social networking. People tweet, post status updates and blog reviews as soon as they leave the cinema, and their reactions spread globally and instantly. If the consensus spreads that a movie is bad, it can have an immediate impact on ticket sales, even for screenings later that same day.
What is Twitter Bombing?
BRUNO was the first movie to suffer this phenomenon - early screenings were booked out, thanks to the success of BORAT. Ticket sales took a nose dive once the first audiences tweeted their negative reaction. Equally, positive tweets and social network comments can promote a movie - for free - by building up buzz.
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