How Important Is Marketing to a Film's Success

No matter how good a film is, there is more to achieving success than the artistic side of the film. Unless the public is made aware of an up-and –coming film, there will not be a high turnout for the film. A lack of good marketing can cause many problems and stop a film from becoming successful. Similarly, good marketing for a film can boost a film’s success levels hugely. Understandably, the film industry and the studios take it very seriously.
The budget of a film, including the marketing budget, is based on the likely returns. There are three main types of marketing. These are advertising, publicity and promotional deals. Advertising is a paid for and a direct method of encouraging the public to see a film. It includes TV adverts, cinema trailers, posters, billboards, newspaper & magazine adverts, public transport adverts etc. Key demographics are taken into account in advertising, so that they do not waste their money trying to pitch a film to people who are unlikely to watch that type of film. It is important that the target audience of a film are the people who the adverts are aimed at. Trailers are released several weeks before the release of the film. They are released with intention of raising awareness of the film, without making the public put off. These often include short clips of the film, a voice over, and some key details, such as release dates. Poster campaigns are also important. There are three types of poster generally created. Teaser posters are one type, and are released before the film. These are meant to catch the eye, and give away just a few details to create anticipation, by including one picture and a tagline for example. A main poster, with further details, is released to coincide with the release date. This is intended to be the main advert for the film, giving away more details than the teaser to encourage people beyond the key fan base of that type of film. A 3rd poster is released shortly after the film’s release, with