The Role Of The Distributor.

Distribution Plan.

It is the role of the distributor to make a distribution plan for a film. Every film must have a distribution plan in order to get the product to the target audience and to ensure success.

The distributor must make decisions on how and where to release the film in order to maximise sales.

The distributor takes into account:
- Statistical research
- Commercial experience
- Market knowledge
These collectively help to process the distribution plan.

When preparing the budget for which the distributors have they have to know what the film is most likely to earn i.e low/medium/high. Every film and its advertising, marketing, promoting team need to look at the costs and make sure they can make a profit.





The distributor must focus on the audience and find a detailed analysis, including age group and gender, lifestyle, media consumption, social networks. Audience profiling must be carried out so that the distributor knows more about it's target audience. They can find out how the audience normally receive information about films and what form of media is most commonly used. This will then let the distributor know where and how to launch the film in order to get it successfully to it's audience.

Audience's taste can change and vary dramatically and traditional patterns may not always be correct so it is so important to research the films target audience in order to see how to promote and market it.

Test screenings can be made and aafter this the audience will take a questionnaire and this will let the distributor know more about the audience or the box-office prospects.

"It is clear to me that films only achieve their extraordinary potential when they are able to reach global audiences, week in, week out." Lord Richared Attenborough CBE. - Taken from Film Distributor's Association.

The release date is also an important factor when releasing the film to it's audience. There is a lot of competition (as with any other business). The film company must find out when other films are going to be released at any particular time, week or in the following weeks to come and also to the same or similar target audience. There must be space in the market for the film to be successful. Release dates can often change where distributors compete for top position week by week.

When thinking about releasing the film, the distributors may also think about holiday periods where school holidays dates will be different around the country or other countries around the world.

There also may be a real hype for the film already, for example where the stars within the film may have been marketing themselves already in terms of TV screenings or book releases. This will therefore create a better success and profit for the film where the audience will know more about the films actors or makers. 

Film Marketing.

When marketing a film, the main objective is to raise awareness about the film and engage interest.
The distributor for the film must also compete against their rival distributors but not only that, compete against the audience's interests in leisure activities in and out of home. 

Poster/Billboards- A common way of promoting the film, where it shows the title, the film's stars, genre, credits and sometimes a tag line. Months before the release of the film, a teaser poster can be created to make the audience aware that a film is coming soon. Distributors may also use displays in cinema foyers such as a cardboard standees, mini-posters, banners, window clings. 





Trailers- Distributors have to produce a trailer and will be given a range of content from the film to play with. The trailer includes short clips from the film. Trailers are the most cost-effective marketing technique.

Online- Most films will have an official website where they will show the film trailer, production information, stills from the movie and much more. The online network will help to build awareness of the new film before it is released and offer information about the film in order to tease the audience and wet their appetite.

Publicity
The distributors publicity team will arrange media interviews with some of the film's cast. Also, many channels now on TV will show entertainment news. The publicists will arrange press kits for the journalists where they share the names of the cast and crew members. They will give facts about the movie and it's production and also a synopsis of it. 

There are screenings for national critics before the film is fully released to it's audience. The critics will then make reviews about the film and this will then publicise and promote the film (not always in a positive way however). 

Film sets will normally be restricted from the public, however distributors sometimes have the chance to visit the set alongside journalists, exhibitors or marketing partners. 

Promotion
The distributor also has the job of lining up promotional partnerships.
These tie-ins create displays for the film in places where the conventional type of advertising does not reach. For example, shops, restaurants.

There may also be competitions that customers can enter and they therefore can interact with the film characters. 

Another marketing strategy is film festivals. These can happen world wide and are attended by film buyers, sells and also journalists.