Article:

Marketing as a Vital Part of Film Production
By: Rianne Hill Soriano

    After making a film, it doesn't end there. You don't shell out hundreds of thousands and even millions just to let the film bury itself inside the can. Whether you intend to let the film be watched for commercial reasons or you want the film to be seen and touch lives of people for non-commercial consumption, you need to let the people know that there is something to watch out for. And here's where marketing comes in.

    You can be as creative as you can when it comes to marketing. From PR materials to merchandising items, they are all part of making the film better known – while actually earning additional money from sales through branded materials. A good example of this is the recently shown Hollywood offer "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" which also has the hardbound "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" novel by James Rollins now available at National Book Store branches.

    Other classic examples of merchandising items include shirts, button pins, bookmarks, keychains, bags, caps, paperweights, and school supplies (especially for child-friendly movies) where the title of the film or a sample art work relating to it is branded into the items. Sponsors also receive product placements in films and their logos and contact details are placed at the credits. The major ones are even placed in ads and write-ups in newspapers and magazines and the film's poster. Events and advanced screenings (to further create a buzz about the film) also become sources of sponsorship goods. Press people are invited to press conferences and press screenings and given printed and digital copies of the press kit containing publicity photos, production notes, film poster, bonus articles about the film, and its trailer for media purposes. There are also fun stuff sold to a number of stores and internet sites where, more than just the merchandising materials, the actual props used in the film are sold or auctioned. Sponsorships and x-deals on children's films are also common in fast food chains where fun stuff are sold or even given for free.

    Marketing sounds quite commercial. But even independent films practice marketing in one way or another. It is quite clear how the marketing arm of a mainstream production goes. So let's take the idea of marketing in an indie production: a person talks about the film to friends, then friends-of-friends, and so on. The filmmaker and his/her team build a social networking site, a website, or a blog for the film, put trailers on Youtube, and even collaborate with musicians for the scoring and coming out of music videos. A film poster is also made. People are invited to watch the film via text brigade and film e-groups.

    A film also clings on to reviews and words from those who just finished watching. If the film is really good, people will start talking about it. From Hollywood productions and independently- produced international films such as ""Little Miss Sunshine" and "Once," to Pinoy offers such as the indie film "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros" of Cinemalaya, words coming out from those who initially saw the films affect the their box office power.

    The main difference between the foreign films and most local films is how the value of marketing is being practiced and taken into account. To compare, it's still Hollywood and developed countries (with film industries greatly supported by their governments) that have ample budget to market their films effectively. However, this doesn't mean that Filipinos should hamper their creativity in marketing strategies. Being creative and resourceful people, Filipinos (whether involved in commercial or independent films) can come up with great ideas and innovations on how to go about it. In fact, by this time and age, basic marketing strategies abound with or without a big budget. In this era of fast-growing communication and information technology reaching the greatest number of people through the internet, marketing the film is just a matter of setting priorities and putting effort into it.

    It's as simple as: "If you have a film, you have to let other people know about it." You have to reach out and let the people share their thoughts about the film – on the positive side, inspire, judge, or recommend on the film. It's a storytelling medium anyway… just tell them you have a story that they may just want to check out.

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