Film marketing

Film promotion is the practice of promotion specifically in the film industry, and usually occurs in coordination with the process of film distribution. Sometimes called the press junket or film junket, film promotion generally includes press releases, advertising campaigns, merchandising, franchising, media and interviews with the key people involved with the making of the film, like actors and directors. As with all business, it is an important part of any release because of the inherent high financial risk; film studios will invest in expensive marketing campaigns to maximize revenue early in the release cycle. Marketing budgets tend to equal about half the production budget. Publicity is generally handled by the distributor and exhibitors.

Film actors, directors, and producers appear for television, cable, radio, print, and online media interviews, which can be conducted in person or remotely. During film production, these can take place on set. After the film's premiere, key personnel make appearances in major market cities or participate remotely via satellite videoconference or telephone. The purpose of interviews is to encourage journalists to publish stories about their "exclusive interviews" with the film's stars, thereby creating "marketing buzz" around the film and stimulating audience interest in watching the film.

When it comes to feature films picked up by a major film studio for international distribution, promotional tours are notoriously grueling. Key cast and crew are often contracted to travel to several major cities around the world to promote the film and sit for dozens of interviews. In every interview they are supposed to stay "on message" by energetically expressing their enthusiasm for the film in a way that appears candid, fun, and fresh, even though it may be their fifth or sixth interview that day. They are expected to disclose just enough juicy "behind-the-scenes" information about the filmmaking process or the filmmakers' artistic vision to make each journalist feel like he or she got a nice scoop, while at the same time tactfully avoiding disclosure of anything truly negative or embarrassing.

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