Film Distribution

Audience.
The task of the distributor is to identify and deliver the largest possible audience for every film. This is a highly competitive busisness and a very important job and determines the amount of recognition that that film recieves. For each of the films brought out the distributor needs to know the age group, gender, lifestyle, social networks and media consumption pattern of the target audience to promote the film in the best way. This helps to determine when to release the film and where to place the advertising for the film etc. For example, if the film was aimed at children aged 6 - 12 then the best time to show their film in the cinemas would be in the school holidays when their parents are able to take them.

Competition and Budgeting.
As well as working around the target audience, they also have to take the competition of similar films on the market into consideration and plan a good release date to receive full viewing potential from their audience to gain the biggest profit possible. If there are a lot of popular films on around a certain time, this may not be the best time to show your film as there is maximum competition at this time. Taking into account the cast, director and whether it is from a book can also help to judge how big a hype the film will receive as well known actors and directors can attract an audience and can give an indication of how popular the film may be. If the film is a sequel this is also very useful as the audience is already apparent. As well asusing these factors to distinguish themselves from the competition, the distributor can also draw up a budget that covers both the launch of the film and sustains the post-release.

Marketing.

With this estimated budget, the company can begin to prepare the marketing plans that will help with the popularity of the film before it is released, hoping to attract a wide audience resulting in good sales at the box office. The posters and trailer are the most important things to think about first, as it's these that are noticed first by the public. They should stand out against the other competing films and usually show the main protagonist on the poster, and the best highlights of the film during the trailer without giving too much away. Before a full theatrical trailer, a shorter teaser trailer is usually produced. They may then move onto advertising online because it is so widely used by the public, and therefore is able to build awareness of the film at an early stage. Creating tie-in merchandise is also a popular way to promote the film, especially with childrens films.