Last updated on Feb 16, 2024

How can you effectively build awareness for your film?

Making a film is a creative and challenging process, but it is only half the battle. You also need to attract and engage your audience, and make them want to see your film. How can you effectively build awareness for your film? Here are some tips to help you create a strong film brand and identity, and reach your potential viewers.

1 Define your target market

Before you start promoting your film, you need to know who you are making it for. Who are the people who are most likely to be interested in your film, and where can you find them? What are their preferences, needs, and motivations? What are the best ways to communicate with them? By defining your target market, you can tailor your film branding and identity to suit their tastes and expectations, and avoid wasting time and resources on irrelevant or ineffective channels.

Add your perspective

Juan Luis Garcia

Key Art & Movie Posters 🍿🎥 Clients: A24, HBO, Netflix, ESPN, Lionsgate
Report contribution
While you were editing your film, did you consider the audience? If so, were you envisioning a discerning film festival programmer or a young moviegoer out with friends on a Friday night? Depending on whether your work is a short or a feature, your target audience may not be who you initially assume. Defining the core target audience will make the process of developing your film's visual identity through key art that much more impactful.

Like

Unhelpful

2 Develop your film identity

Your film identity is the visual and verbal representation of your film, and it should reflect your film's genre, tone, theme, and message. It includes elements such as your film title, logo, tagline, poster, trailer, website, social media profiles, and press kit. Your film identity should be consistent, memorable, and distinctive, and it should convey your film's unique value proposition. Your film identity should also be adaptable, so that you can use it across different platforms and formats.

Add your perspective

Juan Luis Garcia

Key Art & Movie Posters 🍿🎥 Clients: A24, HBO, Netflix, ESPN, Lionsgate
(edited)
Report contribution
Key art can be considered something like a film's "logo". Not literally a logo logo but it performs a similar function of giving your potential audience a strong first impression along with a memorable visual they can reference in their mind when it comes time to deciding what to watch.

Like

Unhelpful

3 Create a marketing strategy

Your marketing strategy is the plan of action that outlines how you will reach and engage your target market, and persuade them to watch your film. It should include your marketing goals, budget, timeline, and metrics. Your marketing strategy should also specify the marketing mix, which is the combination of the four Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. Your product is your film itself, and how you position it in the market. Your price is the amount you charge for your film, and how you justify it. Your place is the distribution channels you use to deliver your film to your audience, such as theatres, streaming platforms, festivals, or events. Your promotion is the communication tools you use to create awareness and interest for your film, such as advertising, publicity, social media, word-of-mouth, or influencer marketing.

Add your perspective

Load more contributions

4 Execute your marketing tactics

Your marketing tactics are the specific actions you take to implement your marketing strategy, and achieve your marketing goals. They should be aligned with your film identity, and tailored to your target market. Some examples of marketing tactics are: creating a teaser or a trailer that showcases your film's highlights and hooks your audience; launching a website or a landing page that provides more information and a call-to-action for your film; creating a blog or a podcast that shares behind-the-scenes stories and insights from your film; posting engaging and relevant content on social media platforms that builds a community and a conversation around your film; sending press releases or pitches to media outlets that cover your film's genre or topic; organizing contests or giveaways that generate buzz and loyalty for your film; partnering with influencers or organizations that have access to your target market and can endorse or promote your film; hosting screenings or events that create a memorable and immersive experience for your film.

Add your perspective

5 Monitor and evaluate your results

Your results are the outcomes and feedback that you get from your marketing efforts, and they should be measured and analyzed to determine your marketing performance and effectiveness. You should use quantitative and qualitative methods to collect and interpret your results, such as surveys, interviews, reviews, ratings, comments, shares, likes, views, clicks, conversions, sales, or revenue. You should also compare your results with your marketing goals, budget, timeline, and metrics, and identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Based on your results, you should adjust your marketing strategy and tactics accordingly, and keep improving your film branding and identity, and your audience engagement.

Add your perspective

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Add your perspective

How can you effectively build awareness for your film?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Define your target market

2 Develop your film identity

3 Create a marketing strategy

4 Execute your marketing tactics

5 Monitor and evaluate your results

6 Here’s what else to consider

Film Industry

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

More articles on Film Industry

More relevant reading