Assess the importance of marketing in the media area you have studied.
Marketing plays an essential role when discussing the success and recognition of a film. When I'm introduced to a newly released film it's mainly by the company's marketing strategies. Some of these strategies include commercials, merchandise, cross-promoting, and promoting on social media. Not only do these strategies grasp the attention of many viewers, but it also makes these individuals want to invest in the film.
One commonly used technique that I have recognized in the marketing of films is cross-promotion. The movie is known as “Fantastic Beasts” used cross-promotion in various ways. The Warner Bros. partnered with AT&T to establish the creation of the film for it to be promoted worldwide. This strategy helped boost the recognition and publicity of the film as AT&T displayed posters within many stores and launched a preview on DirecTV. The main reason why I was interested in watching this movie was that I saw a preview for it while watching television. This proves that this is an effective marketing technique as it catches the attention of individuals who may be interested in watching the film like myself. Another way “Fantastic Beasts” established cross-promotion was through partnering with google. Google distributed ads which consisted of specific portions of the trailer to motivate the audience to be interested in the movie. This strategy helped expand the recognition of the movie to audiences worldwide. The last way “Fantastic Beasts” used cross-promotion was the creation of a Harry Potter-themed game that was released days before the movie was released to the public. As a result of the creation of this game, audiences were seen to have a higher interest in watching the movie when it was released. These examples from “Fantastic Beasts” show how cross-promotion is highly beneficial and crucial in the marketing process when promoting a new film.
Another commonly used technique that I have recognized in the marketing of films is the creation of merchandise. The popular movie is known as “Spider-Man: Homecoming” produced a multitude of merchandise to promote the upcoming film. The sales team from Spider-Man: Homecoming used toys and other items as a way to get children to want to watch the film. They were also using the PS4's new Spiderman game to generate excitement for the movie. Before the film came out, to generate publicity for the film, they launched merchandise and when it was released, they had a massive premier. In order to produce a healthy profit, they released the film in all cities worldwide. Spider-Man also partnered with Cinnamon Toast Crunch to give out free water web-shooters with every cereal box. This attracted the attention of the younger audience, one that is more inclined to go watch movies like the aforementioned one. These merchandising techniques increased the public awareness of the film, creating a larger platform and gathered a hefty viewership. Marketing the film this way allows productions like Spider-Man: Homecoming to become well-known and profitable.
Synergy is another commonly used technique in marketing strategies. The production of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 relied heavily on the use of synergy. This movie was produced by Disney, a conglomerate that owns a significant amount of smaller companies and networks. Guardians of the Galaxy used this to their advantage. It was produced by Marvel, a newly bought Disney subsidiary. In order to promote the movie, Marvel created animated features on the ABC network, using the characters from the movie to create suspense about the plot of the movie in these shorts. Disney also owns ESPN, so during the Super Bowl, Marvel released an all-new Guardians of the Galaxy trailer to peak the interest of an entirely different audience. A few days before the release, Marvel released a game online created by Disney Imagineering. This game was created to produce excitement and develop buzz around the movie premiere. Using synergy exposes the movie to a wider fan base and allows the company to save money on marketing, creating a cost-effective strategy that actually works.
The final marketing technique I will be talking about in this essay is cross-media convergence. The movie Furious 7 used two different types of media to promote their movie: print and radio. Many actors from Furious 7 were featured on the covers of Vibe magazine. In their feature, the actors promoted the movie by referring to behind-the-scenes features that were sure to pique the interest of those who were invested in the series from the start. Not only is this sure to recruit old audience members but it will also attract the newer audiences that read the magazines. On the radio, the producers released a certain amount of tickets to be raffled off to select listeners. It is known that people love free things, so using this tactic was to motivate people to call in for tickets, creating invested consumers in the process. There was also a soundtrack released with various artists such as Florida, Prince Royce, Wiz Khalifa, and others. These artists promoted their music on their pages that are highly followed, ensuring that millions of people would hear about the movie. Cross-media convergence works to integrate films into all aspects of a potential audience member’s life.
Companies use these marketing techniques because they are the most proactive and the most efficient. They decrease the need for excessive marketing all the while increasing audience sizes.
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