New knowledge about consumers has really helped guide companies. 29% of cinema audiences are ages 15-25, with more than half of these visiting the cinema more than once a month. That's a massive indication to film industries the types of audiences they should be approaching and trying to appeal to. Similarly the popularity of genres is important, action is the most popular being responsible for 34.5% of Box Office takings, followed by comedy at 17.5%, drama at 14.2%, animation at 12.2%, horror at 4.4% and romcom and only 1%! Often films will have inherited audiences; if films have been popular often companies will do a sequel. Additionally actors and actresses also often bring audiences with them. Lots of people would be encouraged to watch a film if they like the stars in it.
In 2012, 646 films were released in the UK that makes about 12 new releases per week. This means that institutions need to ensure their product is noticed and not forgotten amongst all the others. Release dates are crucial. Saturday is the most popular day regarding cinema visitations taking 24% of profits at the Box Office, Sunday takes 17.6%, Friday takes 16.4%, Wednesday takes 13.5% and the rest take 9.4%. Most companies however will not release on the more popular days, but instead in the middle of the week. This is to allow frontloading, securing the most amounts of profits for the companies. Similarly companies will often do staggered releases, in different countries at different times. This creates anticipation and hype in specific areas at certain times and ensures the excitement continues as each new place prepares for the release.
In the current economic climate, money for most is very tight and industries are struggling as people often spend their disposable income on more important things than "treats". So film institutions have had to improve the quality of the overall experience of film viewing and make it as luxury as possible. Film qualities have improved, and so have the cinemas. On average people will spend 16 minutes in the foyer before seeing a film, and 40% of cinema profits come from refreshments. Cinema going is a definite treat, but through the use of cross media convergence, cinemas and film companies can work with other institutions to make attractive deals for their audiences, for example, Orange Wednesdays. When revising case studies i saw that the film "In Fear" had a deal with E4, and people could win tickets. People are always looking out for ways to make their money go further, so offering luxury experiences for lower prices is hugely enticing to audiences.
But why go to the cinema when it's responsible for just 4% of all film viewing? The simple answer is cinemas protect media ownership. Once a film is released onto DVD, piracy, illegal downloading and streaming happens so the period of time the film is at the cinema, the product is exclusive.
Once films have run their course at cinemas, they are put onto DVD. Media consumption at home is massively popular with the average person watching 4 hours of TV per day. In 2012 BBC iPlayer had 6 million requests per day! The quality of films at home is also increasing with 35% of the TV sets sold in the UK being supersized. In peoples busy lives to have that easy release of stresses and pressures is a hugely appealing thing. Films are now easily accessible at home also, with companies such as Netflix and AppleTV offering new releases as the click of a button; only 14% of retail buyers bought a film they had seen at the cinema, most people tend to watch movies in the comfort of their own home.
The marketing process is a hugely important aspect to the release of a film. Trailers are released, teasers, featurettes, film reviews, premiers, film festivals, interviews with cast and crew, websites, wiki pages, social networking, sound tracks and apps all raise awareness and promote the product making audiences aware of products, and encourage them to see them.
No comments:
Post a Comment