The Role Of The Distributor.

The role of the distributor is to make a distribution plan for the film. This is vital to the overall success of the product, and most importantly this should make the product even more appealing for the target audience. In order for this to be successful the distributor has to make decisions on where it will be released and in which media format it will be released, this will maximise profits, boost sales and increase the films popularity. When doing this it is important that the distributor thinks about specific things, market knowledge, commercial experience and statistical research. The distributors look at what they believe the film will likely make, and always have a budget plan. 

The distributor must perform audience profiling, specifically looking at age group, gender, lifestyle, media consumption and social networking, this helps the distributor learn a lot more about the audience, it also shows the distributor the different forms in which the audience are consuming the media, telling the distributor where when and how to launch the film, in the way that it will be most successful. One problem that the distributor faces is the ever changing taste of the audience, it changes with technology and other things, suggesting that traditional methods don't always work, to counteract this further research must be done so that the film is promoted and marketed in the bet ways possible. Competition has a big effect on the release date of the film, because there will be several films released at the same time, and within quick succession of each other, some may be completely different genres, but other could be the same, and be targeting the same target audience as the distributors film. Another factor that effects the release date of the film will be holidays, school ones, and religious ones, but most importantly holidays that effect the lives of their target audience. The distributor will be looking for space within the media market, a time which will allow the success of the film.
  

Distributors produce a trailer for the film, this is the most cost effective marketing technique, and generates the most interest for the film out of all the marketing techniques, therefore it extremely important that it is done well. They will do this after being given content from the film itself, they can then use this to make the best trailer possible, it must make the audience want to see the film, and also film marketing raises awareness of the film, it creates interest in it and attracts the target audience. Distributors have to complete against other distributors for popularity of their film. 

 

As well as the trailer the film will be promoted by using posters and billboards. Posters are sometimes brought about before anything else, these are called teaser posters, these let the audience no that the film is coming soon, and this will create excitement in the target audience before the film is released. Posters usually include the film title, name of the stars, an image that relates to the film and genre, a tag line and names of everyone involved in it which make up the billing block. The most effective things about posters are all the places they can appear in, for example in cinemas, this is part of expanding the audience, so that it does not just include the target audience, because people going to see other films could see that poster and then go and see that film at a later date. This is why posters are so common when it comes to marketing. On the online website for the film will be the trailer, information about it's production, exclusive stills, interviews with the actors/actresses, and other things. All of this contributes to the online awareness of the film, this is another way in which the audience are excited by the distributor. The distributor has a publicity team, they arrange interviews with the cast and crew that were involved in the film, making up press kits, these are done for the journalists, and give facts and the movie itself and how it was produced. Film festivals are held world wide, and are very popular events. Journalists and film buyers and sellers attend them, which means that marketing here is very important in promoting the film. 

The distributor is responsible for putting together promotional partnerships, allowing the film to be displayed in places that it wouldn't reach through conventional marketing alone e.g. shop. Competitions are a common thing that are used to help gain interest in the film, they are effective because they allow the audience to interact with characters from the film.