Katelyn Benschoter-

When creating a film, one may think its possible success lies in the film itself. Aspects such as the quality of acting, the set design, etc., are important, but the key to a film being successful is in the marketing. This is not to say that the only good films are the successful ones. However, when looking at the numbers, they are successful. However, when looking at films from a numerical (monetary) point of view, the ones with the most revenue are considered successful. Directors want their films to be successful. There are many aspects of marketing that go into a film’s marketing, and the main one is the target audience. Today, I am going to look at examples of films that had both good and poor marketing efforts and exactly why marketing matters. 

Marketing is the process of making something sellable; it is convincing someone why your product is worth buying more than the other options. There is not a single resource, product, or place that does not use marketing in some way. Films are no different. While films are considered to be an art form, they are made to earn money. Therefore, the marketing can make or break the film’s success. The marketing process ranges from the film poster to ads, interviews to signage, and especially events. The possibilities are quite endless. Yet, sometimes a film does every one of those things, and they still fall short. How? Well, this is almost always a mistake of not knowing the target audience. A target audience is the group of people that the thing you are selling is aimed at. In the marketing process, you would lay out who you think would enjoy your product and why. Then, taking those results, you would market towards those people. But sometimes, films simply miss the mark. One example of this may be when films are marketed as horror/scary but are not. Or when social media is used in the movie, but the target audience of the film would not use said social media. If you’re marketing a film, you must think to yourself: “What would my audience see, appreciate, and then consider buying?” To find your target audience, it is important to know at the core what kind of film it is. If you know your film is a tearjerker rom-com, then tell that to the audience. People want to know what they are spending their money on.

When I think of some of the most effective marketing for a film, all I can think of is the summer of 2023 when everything was pink. That’s right; I am talking about none other than the Barbie movie. This film was massively successful and brought so many people to theaters who hadn’t been in years. I attribute this to, firstly, an all-around great film, but also the amazing marketing that was at play. The overarching key to the marketing of the Barbie movie is its recognizability. From start to finish, the branding was unapologetically pink. This makes it memorable and easy to surround your audience with. But the true genius in the Barbie marketing was in the nostalgia it created. It gave nods to so many songs and outfits over the span of Barbie’s existence. From viewers young to old, there was an aspect of the Barbie movie marketing that instilled the feeling of nostalgia in you. My personal favorite part of the Barbie marketing plan was Margot Robbie’s wardrobe at every press event. Robbie was styled in memorable and famous outfits that a Barbie doll had once worn throughout the decades. From “The Solo in the Spotlight Barbie” look to “Totally Hair Barbie”, she wore dozens of recognizable looks. What a star wears at an interview or carpet is such a small detail, and the fact that the Barbie marketing team took the time to handcraft iconic looks shows how much thought was put into its marketing. Now, you may be thinking: “The plot of the Barbie movie was genius; it would have done well regardless!” While that could be true, there is clear evidence that the marketing was carefully thought through. 

Now that we have discussed a spectacular example of marketing, there was a movie that came out in proximity to Barbie that crumbled due to its poor marketing strategy. That would be no other than the 2024 Mean Girls movie musical. This film failed massively in the box office and struggled to get its target audience to the theaters. The key aspect of the 2024 rendition of Mean Girls is that it is based on the Broadway show Mean Girls, not the original 2004 film. Hence, there are many aspects of the story that are unique to the Broadway version. The biggest difference is that there are songs and musical numbers. Where the marketing team failed was leaving this important detail out of their trailers. If you were to watch the 2024 trailer for Mean Girls with no prior knowledge, you would never assume it was musical. It was instead advertised as “This isn’t your mother’s Mean Girls.” This was a mistake on many levels. First, people who grew up with the original Mean Girls are most likely not moms yet. Second of all, the trailer attracted people who were looking to watch a teen comedy, not a musical. The 2024 Mean Girls movie did not appeal to their target audience of musical theater kids. As someone who saw the film in theaters, I can attest it is not a great movie. If I had to give one suggestion to the marketing team, it would be to embrace the theater kid element of the film. Not only did the marketing neglect the theatrical side of the film, but the songs themself were also changed. Songs such as “Stupid with Love” were “popified” and lost the original sound completely. Just because your target audience is not the general public does not mean you should ignore your smaller audience. This team simply chose to neglect them. Therefore, the film did crumble in theaters.

In order for a film to be good, there are many components at play, but in order for your film to be successful, you must have a good marketing strategy. I find the overlooked aspects of the film industry –like the movie posters and what stars wear to interviews– fascinating. These aspects of the film are just as critical to the success as the acting or the set design and deserve to be recognized. As I have discussed, it can be the differentiator between an okay film and a blockbuster hit. Next time you see a film trailer or a film poster, take a second to think about it and the work that was put into it. Think, “why did this draw me in, am I the target audience for this?”