Exam question - Market and distribution

Evaluate how different media institutions market and distribute products in the media area you have studied.

In today’s media landscape, institutions often use many different effective ways of marketing and distributing media products to attract and maintain audiences. We have studied two films made my different institutions, one being Star Wars made by Disney and the other being A Field In England made by Film 4 productions. The two institutions that created these films are different due to one being an independent production company and Disney being a major studio.

 

Both of the institutions use a wide range of marketing strategies to target a fragmented audience, for example,  Disney use a Multimedia Interactive App, this is effective because it allows the audience to be engaged. It is convenient due to a smart phone being a convergent device. Convergence means ‘coming together of different equipment and tools for producing and distributing news’. Using technological convergence means that it is easier for people to access different media platforms on one device. For example, on the Star Wars app people had access to posting on social media, playing games, viewing the weather, taking photos and much more. It allows the audience to interact by taking selfies with filters of Star Wars themes on them, and encourages them to share them on social media virally, making Star Wars more aware to the targeted audience and maybe interests more people, to create a wider target audience.

 

Another strategy used by Disney is that the trailer was premiered on ESPN, a channel that is owned by Disney. This is an example of synergy. The premiere of the trailer was shown on Monday night which is a popular time for football; this means that there was a large audience engaging with the channel which meant that lots of people were able to watch the screening of the premiere.

 

Furthermore, Disney also used social media to create hashtags on Facebook and Twitter. An example hashtag is; #ForceFriday. This encouraged the audience to help with the marketing as they were sharing with their friends. This created an organic and viral spreading of content. By using a hashtag also created a ‘event’ feeling with the #ForceFriday hashtags. Twitter help Disney majorly as they can advertise on their own page for free and their millions of followers.

 

Disney used a day and date worldwide release throughout multiple cinema formats. This is known as a saturation release which is a traditional release that starts at cinema and continues onto VOD/DVD and further to streaming and TV. This was effective because it created an event for the viewers to look forward to and encouraged repeated viewings in different format. Film4 Productions used the strategy of a simultaneous released which is when the film is released on all platforms in one day. This allowed all fans to see it regardless of geography or obstacles such as being a stay at home mum. Film4 productions took advantage of convergent devices by allowing anyone to watch the film anywhere. This also created a big event as A Field In England was the first UK film to be released simultaneously.