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MOVIES SELLING
STRATEGIES
 The 3 rules of marketing
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About getting an audience to buy your product with

IMPATIENCE
Is it still art or is it commerce ?
Can marketing sell a bad product ?
How important was marketing of Titanic?
Rule 1 : positioning and targeting
Rule 2 : communicate that positioning
Rule 3 : the most important….………….
 Positioning
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The positioning is written by the movie itself….

But the desirable positioning builds on the values
you identify as the movie strongest selling
arguments
Something unique to your movie
Something that qualifies it into a genre
The result of a unique combination of talents
 Positioning
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10 movies open the same day:

why should they come and see yours?
How come the admissions figures of your first
show are exactly in line with the final career?
How do kids know ahead that they will like the
movie?
What makes buzz grow? (internet, word of mouth)
 Proper audience targeting gets you to success
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Targeting the right audience ($)

Males, females or… both
how old are they, what do they like, read, buy, play
with, listen to, where do they go
What movies will they like, did they like
Which other actors, directors do they like
 Positioning +Targeting +Dating...
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After you finished your homework

Positioning
Targeting
Dating

Don’t change anything and begin the real promotion

work
 Testing
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Tests to help make the right decisions

 potential

 strategy

 tools : posters, trailers, title

Screening tests with Holy NRG one company does it

all around the world : 15 000 $
 The poster

Obligations: billing block, above title, order and

colours, logos, legal, censorship
A strong title : compare the size with commercial ads
Codes
Quotes as a substitute to obligations
Quotes as a media endorsement
 A powerful poster
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Teasing
Adapt to the format : bus flank or tails : talk to the
cars ; twin sites teaser /revealing
Select the media that allow most impact
Show the audience that the poster is alive
Think about timing summer, revealing...
Remember that it is an element that the audience
must appropriate and buy
Poster in theatres may be different
 Poster
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Information retention
Give the promotional partners visibility
Pictures or illustrations
Elements from the film are not always available

A job for professionals you must trust

 A good trailer
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A true trailer, true to the movie ambience, dialogue,

humour, effects
A trailer that will stay young and evolves
It will give progressive perspectives
And focus (early source of word of mouth)
It should not reveal everything of the movie
(keep a few surprises for the longer version)
Explain the title when it needs to
 Trailering strategy
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Role of length to ensure your position ?

Targeting the movies and the theatres it
should play into
Buy the space where you cannot get it
Organise deals to get more : contests...
Play the music video on screen
Play in the lobby video monitors
Tie in with programming
Attach to another movie
Technical Dolby, rotation,
 In theatres material
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Standees
Postering starting as early as you may (10 max !)
different sizes
Lobby display £;$… and front house
Pictures
Leaflets, magazine special, postcards, stickers,
tattoos etc
Quotes reproductions : they can read !
Volume 3D material
Movie theatre magazines
 Trade Marketing
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 Advertise the date and campaign in the trade press

 Use the conventions to show your trailer film marketing
plans...
 Involve the circuits and the exhibitors in the marketing
 Menus
 Exhibitions of pictures props
 Debates with the audience
 Bring them the cast
 Organise contests (sleepless in Seattle, Id4…give them
prizes)
 A striking radio campaign
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A world apart from commercial radio campaigns

A special tone that tells “MOVIE”
Bring variety : the cast, the story, the angles, the
experience the viewer will live
Use crowd reactions or quotes
The only medium where you can play with the movie
 Media Tie Ins
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Radio sponsorships : when, which one

Negotiation process
Groups
Logos value.
More ad space, editorial
Contests : write, call and win T shirts, spend a night
in count Dracula castle, free tickets, premieres and
parties, interview Tom Hanks
 Media Tie Ins
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Contests goodies : piece of ID4 mother ship T2

pinball, books, video games, trips…
Gifts as a way to get more space or communicate
your target and positioning (kids media)
Contests as a way to exist in the media when they are
reluctant to review the movie
 Screening the picture
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Work on opinion leaders to make your movie the talk

in town
Senate, parliament, ministers, President, princes,
key journalist or media
Jet set and marketing community
Let those do the PR job and exploit it (radio
interviews, quotes and sell for 2M $ a year)
 Screening to public audience
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Get advance word of mouth and awareness when you

trust the movie to be n°1 salesman
A few cases : the truth about cats and dogs Sleepless
 How wide
 Different ways of selling tickets
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The price as marketing element is solely in

exhibitor hands
Eventful : premiere strategy day before morning,
night…
Pre selling as a concert : Evita
Pre selling as a product : Star Wars re issue
A ticket for 2 romantic movies
A ticket for the pregnant look who’s talking
A ticket to donate to charities : Philadelphia
Work with the exhibitor
 Buzz with @ ?
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Create a site for your movie and talk to your

audience.
60 000 new webers a day in the states
How, how much
Make sure you communicate about it online and
with main media
Feed the beast web cam, live interview, contests,
gather all your partners
 Publicity
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 The N°1 marketing tool

 Publicity strategy and media planning : comedy, romantic,
kids
 The media interest : journalist, promotion and advertising
 The standard tools : press kit, EPK, APK, pictures selection,
clips and excerpts
 Feeding the media with relevant unique angles : the true
story, the place, the sociological, the figures, yourself as a
spokesman...
 Co produce the TV show
 Work with talent
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 On location publicity for early breaks

 Set visit (Hook) and interviews
 International press junkets
 Talent touring blood sweat and …coverage
 Exclusivity, one to one, press conference, national
vs..regional
 Can you bring them to the crowds and in the province Jane
Fonda or Mr X?
 Handling the Go Between
 The 10 000 $ suite
 The Film festivals
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Cannes
Deauville
Venice
Berlin
Costs and stress : mostly both
Be ready for the race for publicity
World-wide benefits : Boyz n the hood 20 M$,
Cliffhanger, LAH
 THE END
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

And good luck to you all