Promote a film in the digital age

Promote a film in the digital age

Promoting a movie in the 2000s is n’t as easy as it used to be. Before , in fact, it was very easy and direct: a poster hanging on a wall , or on several walls, and the whole city knew that a new film would be released at the cinema. Then came radio, TV, and new movie promotions became sketches or hosted in major broadcasts. Special festivals have opened preferential channels for cinema marketing . 

But today, in the era in which the cinema is watched sitting on the sofa or on the mobile phone , how can you entice people to spend money on a seat at the cinema? A good promoter has to work on the curiosity of the public. You can also see the film on your mobile, but are you willing to wait a few months when – instead – you could find out sooner and immediately?

The new medium represented by Social

The old dear poster never goes out of style and always makes its effect. So also the ones hosted on radio and TV that reach a “slightly lazier” audience that doesn’t leave the sofa easily. But Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Vimeo and others) are an intelligent way to get the news of the new film to even the most dynamic, or the youngest, or even the most “distracted”.

Attention, however! Never spamming , that is, making references to the film in a continuous and beating way. You risk becoming heavy. Rather, upload mini trailers, videos that say and don’t say . Captivating scenes left halfway, like saying “come to the cinema and see how it ends”. A method that works, especially with the youngest.

Influencers and the ability of a hidden promotion

There are, on Facebook and Instagram in particular, actors or actresses or ordinary citizens who manage to be followed by large numbers of people. These are the “influencers”, people who influence public opinion , in fact. Their ability is to advertise without it appearing as such.

They take a video-selfie while they casually go for a walk with their partner and then, always “casually”, they stop in front of a poster and declare their appreciation for that film. Or they’ll say “I saw a wonderful movie today, that’s what it’s about”. A conversation between friends, apparently very natural and spontaneous, which makes the desire to see that film more intense. It’s hard to resist this kind of promotion.

Address the promotional message well

Whether you use social media, television or the poster, no promotion will ever work if you don’t have a clear audience to get the message to . A film that talks about a certain subject must first involve the public who loves that subject, and only then attract the “laymen” .

An erotic film should not be advertised in the parishes but perhaps in nightclubs or in the suburbs! The film about the life of a young influencer makes no sense if promoted in a nursing home, but it works if you’re targeting a 20-something audience. And so on.

However, it is not said that the topic cannot be of interest to people strangers to those tastes: the recent Bohemian Rhapsody and Joker have shown it, which also impressed people who had never heard of Freddie Mercury or Batman. In that case, the enthusiasm of the target audience also dragged the layman and made those works successes “for everyone”.