How are film/artists promoted? How has this changed in recent years?
In the contemporary market, films are usually promoted through forms of visual media. This includes film trailers on sites such as Youtube and through forms of social media. Films have not always been promoted in this fashion however. For example films used to be advertised a lot more heavily on the radio than it is today. People would read film advertisements in the newspaper or on other forms of print media, such as billboards and physical posters. Even TV advertisements are not strong in the contemporary market anymore. This is because the "digital era" is taking over and more and more people are using the Internet and digital devices over watching the TV. Saying this, some forms of physical advertisement are more popular now than they used to be, for example advertisements on the side of buses and in train stations etc.
Old form of advertising vs new form of advertising
What different forms of marketing do we see?
In the media currently, the forms of Media we generally see are films trailers on the Internet instead of on TV or in newspapers. This is due to the proliferation of hardware and content that has taken place within the media, with the rise of sites such as Youtube and Twitter, which help promote films that are being released. However films are still advertised in newspapers and on the TV, at a higher frequency than before even, however the rapid increase of digital technology/ social media means a higher percentage of people are consuming this type of marketing as opposed to the former.
Logos for Youtube and Twitter
Innovative example of promotion
When Toy Story 3 was released in 2010, an advert was released on Youtube featuring a 1983 dated bear, appearing to be filmed on VHS tape. It was uploaded to a Youtube channel that, beforehand, uploaded videos of real adverts of toys in the 80's. People soon began to realise that the bear in the trailer was one of the new characters being introduced in Toy Story 3, and the video soon gathered over a million views. Later on, leaflets were handed out to students advertising for jobs at "Pizza Planet," which is a fictional venue from the first movie. There was a link on the leaflet which led people to a Facebook event page, inviting them to a special screening of the film at their respective universities. This is an example of how Disney are making use of rapidly growing social media sites such as YouTube and Facebook, in order to attract as many people as possible.
How is digital technology being used to promote films?
In the contemporary market, digital technology is often used in order to promote films. Three ways that films are often digitally promoted include viral marketing, cross media convergence and through forms of social media. Viral marketing is simply marketing that is spread over the Internet through word of mouth. For example advertisements that display on the side of websites or adverts that exploit social media and encourage people to share with others.
Promotion of films through social media means people will share their thoughts on movies that they have seen through the form of a social media, such as Facebook or Twitter. This is often a successful form of marketing, as so many people can be exposed to the information about the films.
The final main form of digital technology is cross media convergence. Cross media convergence is the combing of two or more mediums, for example TV and film or radio and the Internet. Digital technology often uses cross media convergence because of the proliferation of hardware and content, meaning we now have more options than ever before to use converged technology in order to promote films.
An example that can be used to show the success of digital technology is Star Wars 7. There was a trailer for Star Wars 7 which was released on Youtube 2 months before the films release (exploiting the social media promotion), a Google tie-in (exploiting social media and cross media convergence), and a Spotify convergence which linked your music choices to the franchise. These examples show that digital technology was used a lot in order to promote the film. The movie was huge box office success, making 238 million dollars within the opening weekend.
What is the future of film promotion?
I believe that as the film industry grows and the proliferation of hardware and content continues to grow, films will more and more frequently be promoted through an online format. This is evident through Star Wars 7. This is because it is a fairly recent film, and was more heavily marketed on the Internet than any other Disney film to date. I think that films will rely more heavily on promotion mediums such as apps, subscription platforms such as Netflix and social media sites such as Youtube. Here, I am referring to the distribution cycle and the number of different ways that films can be promoted under the category of "Internet."
From the distribution cycle, I can also infer that older methods of promotion (looking under the category of "physical") include posters and print, books, comics and through other physical items such as clothing and toys.
Ad something more on digital: Star Wars based on your experience in AS, or Dark Knight to conclude viral, social media and cross media convergence?
ReplyDeleteGood. Perhaps, add a few links to older types of promotion. Include the film distribution cycle given in class. Add a comment on where you see it going?
ReplyDeleteNow complete
Delete