Film Advert Campaigns: Film Trailers

The main focus of a film's advert campaign is on the film's trailer. A large budget is kept aside specifically for the production, distribution and marketing of the trailer. Often one main trailer is made however, it is becoming increasingly common for multiple trailers to be released to public for contemporary films. An example of this is Batman: The Dark Knight Rises where the production team released a few several-second long trailers that showed very little in the way of narrative, and spread these trailers across an array of months before the release of the actual film. These short trailers gave you a bite-size taste for the upcoming, grungy, film, and left you in awe. Instantly the audience is hooked.



Advert campaigns also involve the release of film posters, internet websites, social networking events and billboards. All of these mediums of advertising often have a shared visual motif and try to 'tell the same story'. The purpose these different advertising mediums serve is the same as the trailer; to hook the target demographic and fill seats in the cinema - this is best done by creating anticipation and hype for the film. Of course selling more DVDs and online copies is beneficial too but the most revenue is made through cinema viewings.

It is also common for film trailers to be released at a particular time of the year; not necessarily governed by how long the producers think the film and advert campaign will take to make.
This is called 'Tent polling'. Tent polling involves basing your film, or trailer, around a certain event or releasing it at a time so the 'tent pole' event supports the film. Classic examples of this are Christmas films and Halloween films, which will be released just before the event. This way people will begin to be engaged in the 'hype' for the tent-pole event, thus making them more likely to see the film.



Film trailers are typically around two minutes long - short enough to keep within a person's attention span whilst still being able to show enough content to hook them.