Film promotion Film promotion is the practise of promotion specifically in the film industry. As with all business it is an important part of any release because of the inherent high financial risk; film studios will invest in expensive marketing campaigns to maximize revenue early in the release cycle. Marketing budgets tend to equal anywhere between half or three times the production budget. Publicity is generally handled by the distributor and exhibitors.
Techniques
In theaters:
- Trailers are a mainstay of film promotion, because they are delivered directly to movie-goers. They screen in theaters before movie showings. Generally they tell the story of the movie in a highly condensed fashion compressing maximum appeal into two and half minutes.
- Film posters
- Slide shows - stills, trivia, and trivia games from the film, shown between movie showtimes.
- Standees
- Cardboard 3D displays, sometimes producing sound
Television and radio:
- Hollywood movie distributors spend about $4 billion a year to buy paid advertising and over half total is placed on broadcast cable TV, which are the main vehicles for advertising movies to audiences. TV is effective because it is an audio-visual medium - like film - and can deliver a vast audience quickly, which is crucial because films typically don't linger in theaters more than 4-6 weeks, according to Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition.
- Product placement: paid active or passive insertion of film brand in drama or sitcom shows, or as passing mentions in dialogue. For example, 20th century Fox commissioned an I.Robot-themed motorcycle, featured on two episodes of American Chopper. The film Memories of a Geisha was placed throughout an episode of the T.V.show Medium.
- Extended placement: full episodes of television talkshows (Oprah), entertainment news programs (ET), or network news programs (20/20). devoted to compensated exposure of the film, stars, clips, director, etc.
