5 Essential Film Marketing Strategies

Marketing a film can be a complex and multifaceted process, with each film requiring a unique combination of strategies and tactics to effectively communicate its message to audiences. Distributors, often working in collaboration with producers, are responsible for identifying and implementing these marketing activities. The goal of a distributor is to turn awareness of a film into interest and eventually, a willingness to pay to see it. The following list outlines some common marketing and promotion activities that can be employed to achieve this objective:

1. Posters

Posters are an important way to show off a film's appeal to potential viewers. They should include info about the film's stars, director, theme, genre, tagline, quotes, and any awards it's won. The point is to make a poster that gets the info across effectively, not necessarily one that's super pretty to look at. For example, the style of a poster can remind people of other movies they've seen and make them feel like they know what to expect. This is especially true for certain genres like romantic comedies, where certain visual elements are familiar to audiences and help give them an idea of what the film is all about.

2. Trailers

Trailers are the best marketing tools to convince an audience to buy a film and are very cost effective. A trailer is tailored to tell the story that you want to sell to the audience. It stands or falls on engagement, because the audience should be able to articulate feelings about the film, generate word of mouth and express a desire to see the film. Sometimes studios will release a teaser trailer first to get people interested before the main trailer comes out. Like, for example, with the new Marvel movie "Black Widow," they released a short teaser a few months before the full trailer dropped to get people hyped.

3. Media Advertising

Media advertising can be a pretty expensive way to promote a film, but it can also be super effective at getting the word out. You can advertise on TV to reach a big audience, or on the radio, especially during the summer when more people are driving around with their windows down. You can also advertise on billboards or in newspapers and magazines. These days, you can also advertise online, like on social media sites like Facebook, where you can target your ads to specific groups of people. It's all about getting your message in front of as many people as possible and hoping it sticks.

4. Publicity

Publicity is all about getting the word out about your film through the media. This can include things like editorials, reviews, and other coverage in print and online. You can also do special press screenings, sneak previews, junkets, and have big fancy premieres to drum up interest.

Another way to get some free publicity is to team up with a company or organization for some mutually beneficial promotional activities. For example, in the UK there's this group called ElevenFifyFive that helps connect films with brands for these kinds of partnerships. It's a way to get your film in front of new audiences and get some extra exposure.

5. Digital

Digital is the most important avenue these days and can be a great way to reach your target audience directly. There are lots of different digital marketing activities you can do, like blogging, using social media, partnering with related websites, and doing search engine optimization (SEO). It's important to choose the right spaces online to reach your audience, so do some research to find out where they spend their time.

Tools like Google Analytics and the data you can get from social media platforms can help you see how your marketing campaign is performing. For example, Facebook can give you an idea of how big your potential audience is, and Twitter can show you how much buzz there is around your film.

But don't get too caught up in the numbers. It's important to focus on building a fanbase that's really engaged with your project, not just one that's super big. The quality of your fanbase matters more than the quantity, because it's all about the relationship they have with your film and the message you're trying to communicate.

To wrap things up, film marketing is all about getting the word out about your film and convincing people to go see it. There are lots of different tools and tactics you can use, like posters, trailers, media advertising, and digital marketing. The key is to choose the right mix of activities and channels that will reach your target audience and get them excited about your film. Don't forget to keep track of how your marketing campaign is performing and don't be afraid to try new things and be creative. Ultimately, the goal is to turn awareness into interest and interest into ticket sales.