The Purpose of Marketing - 7/06/2011

Marketing is essential in bringing in proffit for both conglomerate and small media companies.

Film Trailers
Of the 10 billion videos watched annually online, film trailers rank 3rd after the news and user-created vidoes as the most-watched videos. Trailers condense 2 hours of a movie into just 2 minutes, and give a brief account of what the movie is all about. Trailers often show the more dramatic moments of a film, with explosions and big fight-scenes in the case of many blockbusters. The purpose of trailers is to give the audience an insight into a movie without revealling too much, and making the movie appeal to the widest audience possible in order to generate a high revenue when the film is released at the cinema.

For example, the Terminator Salvation (link below) illustrates how the main, most explosive points of a 2 hour film can be condensed into 2 minutes and still tell the audience what the film is all about.

Film Magazine Front Covers
Film magazine front covers create a hype about a movie - dramatic-looking imagery with well-known actors on the front cover will entice an audience to want to know more about it. Front covers will often contain positive quotes about the film or quotes from the actors in it, which further creates a interest and brings in a wider audience.

This Total Film magazine front cover was obviously designed to market Tron.



Film Posters
Every media company releases at least one poster relating to their movie - it is a marketing technique that is sure to be seen by everyone on billboards, at bus stops and at the cinema. Posters convey the genre of the film - whether it be action, romance, horror or drama - and what to expect from it. The names or pictures of the main actors/actresses will be on the poster to create more of a hype about the film if the actor is recognisable. Posters are crucial in conveying the release date of a film and the rating - although the imagery will often reflect the rating and attract the appropiate audience.

Due to this Sweeney Todd poster, it is clear that the film will be off a high rating (18) due to the dark colours and blood-stained imagery. The release date is also made obvious by the "THIS CHRISTMAS" text in bold white letters, and the text "JOHNNY DEPP IS SWEENEY TODD" entices the reader since Depp is a widley-known actor.