Film Promotion - Audience Research

Audience Research

There are seven distinct types of research conducted by film distributors in connection with domestic theatrical releases, according to "Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition." Such audience research can cost $1 million per film, especially when scores of TV advertisements are tested and re-tested. The bulk of research is done by major studios for the roughly 170 major releases they mount each year that are supported by tens of millions of advertising buys for each film. Independent film distributors, which typically spend less than $10 million in media buys per film, don’t have the budget or breadth of advertising materials to analyze, so they spend little or nothing on pre-release audience research. When audience research is conducted for domestic theatrical release, it involves these areas:

• Positioning studies versus other films that will premiere at the same time.
• Test screenings of finished or nearly finished films; this is the most well known.
• Testing of audience response to advertising materials.
• Tracking surveys of audience awareness of a film starting six weeks before premiere.
• Exit surveys questioning film goers about their demographic makeup and effectiveness of marketing.
• Title testing in an early stage.
• Concept testing that would occur in development phase of a film before it is produced.

Marketing can play a big role in whether or not a film gets the green light. Audience research is a strong factor in determining the ability of a film to sell in theaters, which is ultimately how films make their money. As part of a movie's Marketing strategy, audience research comes into account as producers create promotional materials. These promotional materials consistently change and evolve as a direct consequence of audience research up until the film opens in theaters.