The Power of Promotion: The Marketing Director’s Role in the Film Industry

Isabel Hay, University of Bristol, Film and Theatre BA, Year 2
Screen Industries, summative essay, awarded 73/100 first class.

Introduction

This report examines the role of the marketing director in the film industry, exploring their responsibilities, challenges, and creative opportunities. The research draws on various methodologies, including theoretical frameworks, surveys, case study analysis, industry reports, and interviews to investigate how marketing strategies have evolved and the key factors which shape the marketing director’s role. Ultimately, it offers a comprehensive insight into how the marketing director navigates the creative and ethical landscapes of the contemporary film industry.

Behind the Campaign: Understanding the Film Marketing Director’s Role

Valo (2018, pp. 6-7) pinpoints 1895 as ‘the first big breakthrough in motion picture’ and notes that the film industry had gained significant momentum by the 1920s, leading to the ‘golden age of Hollywood’ shortly after the Second World War. Alongside the film industry emerged the role of the film marketing director. Valo highlights their importance, explaining that ‘even if the most amazing film was made and screening in the cinema, it still doesn’t guarantee that people will go see the film if they are not aware of it.’

The American Marketing Association (AMA, n.d., cited in Kerrigan, 2017, p. 16) defines marketing as ‘the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.’ Kerrigan (2017) specifies that, in the film industry, the marketing director’s role involves managing activities designed to promote a film, engage its target audience and encourage consumption. Valo (p. 3) further emphasises that, due to the shortening of theatrical release windows which is now typically to six to eight weeks, it is even more important for a film’s marketing campaign to capture audience attention and drive them to cinemas quickly. The marketing director plays a pivotal role in success of studios, production companies, and streaming platforms as they are responsible for managing audiences’ initial impressions. Their influence thus extends beyond immediate profit from sales, contributing to brand-building across all sectors in the screen industries.

The role of a film marketing director has evolved significantly since the industry was established. Initially, the focus was on selling the experience of attending a movie theatre. However, by 1915 the novelty of cinema had worn off, and new routine marketing procedures had been established where each film was marketed specifically and competitively against others in distribution (Staiger, 1990, p. 6). Robert Cochrane (1927, cited in Staiger, 1990 p. 6), vice president of Universal, explained ‘we cannot standardize our pictures as a soap manufacturer standardizes his soap. They must all be different. So must all our advertisements.’ Direct and indirect methods of marketing were employed to promote a film. Direct methods first included traditional media like posters and handbills, later expanding to trailers and digital campaigns. Indirect methods ‘general human interest appeal’ (p. 10), often by promoting stars and using tie-ins, such as adapting popular material into films.

Staiger (pp. 7-16) suggest a core development in film marketing occurred after the distribution system stabilised in 1909. Marketing was initially managed by local exhibitors, but by this point production companies began providing materials. Eventually, by 1930, marketing became standardised and regulated, with major film production companies taking control and overseeing marketing efforts. These firms vertically integrated, which Hesmondhalgh (2007, p. 35) defines as buying ‘other companies involved in different stages of the process of production and circulation’ to keep profits within the company. Vertical integration also allowed firms to have full control in protecting the image of the company and ‘prevent any public disapproval aroused by misleading or salacious advertising’ (Staiger, 1990, p. 14). These factors resulted in the producer-distributor gaining near-total control over marketing, making in-house marketing departments the norm (p. 7). Occasionally, creative agencies were outsourced to bring in ‘fresh ideas’ and ‘develop advertising materials’ (Scott, 2017), but the overall strategy remained under the control of the production companies

The next major key shift in the marketing director’s role occurred when campaigns moved from targeting mass audiences to focusing on specific ones, driven by post-1960s psychological research highlighting the importance of attracting not just any consumers, but the right ones (Staiger, 1990, p. 17). Modern film marketing directors now draw upon concepts from the wider marketing industry with focus on audience motivations. For example, the AIDA model (Hanlon, 2023) is a framework which proposes how marketers can guide consumers to purchase. It begins with capturing attention through brand awareness, followed by generating interest through highlighting the product’s benefits. Next marketers aim to focus on fostering desire by building an emotional connection with the consumer before driving them to take action and complete the purchase. Film marketing directors leverage frameworks like this to craft campaigns to transition target audiences into ticket buyers or movie streamers.

Serena Watson (n.d.), a digital marketing specialist at Sony Pictures, works closely with the production team, including designers, developers, social media and copywriters, to ensure that campaigns are ‘on schedule, on strategy and on budget’. She notes that a marketing director will often manage 10 to 20 projects at a time for their distributor. An anonymous marketing expert, interviewed by Scott Myers (2009), outlines the specific roles and responsibilities within film marketing: ‘publicity teams are responsible for generating and managing publicity for each film (…) creative teams are responsible for creating TV spots, radio spots, trailers, one sheets, print ads, outdoor campaigns, etc (…) media teams are responsible for all aspects of paid advertising for a film.’ It is the marketing director’s role to oversee these departments, developing strategy and effective collaboration to execute a successful marketing campaign.

To better situate the role of the marketing director within the broader context of the film industry, it is important to understand the key activities and challenges that drive this industry. As Kerrigan (2017, p. 6) points out, the three main activities in the film industry are production, distribution, and exhibition. These interconnected stages form the foundation for how films are made, delivered to audiences, and presented in theatres or on other platforms. The marketing director functions predominantly in promotion during the distribution and exhibition stages. Hesmondhalgh (2007, p. 37) highlights a unique challenge of the film industry is ‘the problem of knowing what text will be like’. This involves the difficulty audiences face in anticipating the ‘pleasure, rewards, and satisfactions’ they will gain from a film before watching it. To mitigate this challenge, the concept of formatting is used, which involves promoting familiar elements to reduce audience uncertainty. These elements often include stars, genres, scripts and plots, serials and sequels, and age classifications (Hesmondhalgh, 2007; Kerrigan, 2017; Staiger, 1990), and the marketing director will often capitalise on these recognisable features to minimise consumer uncertainty. Kerrigan (p.2) emphasises how consumers ‘interpret marketing messages’ significantly ‘influences selection and enjoyment of film’. This highlights the critical role of marketing in shaping audience perceptions – a responsibility that becomes even more complex when navigating the numerous challenges faced by marketing director.

Marketing Influence: Ethical Challenges for Film Marketing Directors

A marketing director’s responsibilities extend beyond audience engagement and includes addressing societal and ethical considerations. Staiger (1990, p. 3) describes how ‘advertising and its related practices of publicity and exploitation have been considered capable of influencing people not only to buy the movie show but also the lifestyles and ideologies represented in the films.’ This means that film marketing directors must be aware of their influence and make ethical, responsible choices in both what and how they advertise. Armstrong and Kolter (2000, cited in Kerrigan, 2017, p. 149) layout the social marketing framework which emphasises balancing ‘consumers’ wants, human welfare of society and company profit’ to create a ‘win–win’ scenario that benefits both consumers and society by being aware of both ‘ short-term wants and long-term welfare issues’. However, striking this balance can be a challenge and when marketing campaigns are poorly received, controversy begins to overshadow the film.

A recent example is the marketing campaign for It Ends with Us (2024), which sparked significant controversy and led audiences to view it as unethical, in poor taste, and disconnected from the film’s serious theme of domestic violence. (Collins, 2024; Reynolds 2024a). During the film’s promotion, director, Justin Baldoni, focused on raising awareness about domestic violence, promoting the nonprofit No More, while producer and lead actress, Blake Lively, appeared to frame the film as a light-hearted rom com (Reynolds 2024a). The stars involved in the film bring their own individual marketing power, and thus have agency to influence its promotion; however, the overall approach would have been managed by the marketing director at Sony assigned to the film. It Ends with Us’ promotional tagline ‘grab your friends, wear your florals, and head out to the theatre’ (Itendswithusmovie, 2024) formatted the film within the rom com genre, dampening the serious tone. The marketing campaign also attempted to mimic the Barbenhiemer success by tying in the release of It Ends with Us with Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), starring Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds. For example, a satirical video of Reynolds interviewing Lively’s co-star, Brandon Sklenar, was released via Reynolds’ YouTube channel (Reynold, 2024b). While many comments appreciated the humour in the video, others raised concerns, with one remarking ‘the publicity for Deadpool and Wolverine is genius; it makes you forget this movie is about domestic violence’ (Linethgonzalez5878, 2024). Another commenter (Edgelord3754, 2024) noted, ‘the funny advertising for such a serious movie is interesting,’ while one viewer (Pepperlover1108, 2024) criticised it as being ‘tone deaf.’. A second tie-in involved Lively’s drink brand, in which It Ends with Us themed cocktail recipes were released alongside supporting articles stating ‘what better way to celebrate than to watch the new film whilst sipping on Blake’s own drinks brands’ (The Luxury Report, 2024).

Scott (2017, p. 327) believes ‘publicity is the most cost-effective but is among the least predictable disciplines in film marketing’, lending to the widespread belief that no publicity is bad publicity. I conducted a questionnaire (Hay, 2024) to investigate the response to the It Ends with Us marketing campaign, and the wider social responsibilities of film marketing directors. 34% of respondants believed the controversy decreased interest in the film, with one respondent stating ‘I refuse to watch it ends with us because I don’t agree with the way they promoted the film’. On the other hand, 42% thought the controversy increased interest due to curiosity. Ultimately, the marketing approach was successful as the film grossed $50,016,652 in opening weekend (Box Office Moji, 2024). This reflects the challenge of balancing the ethical considerations of marketing with economic incentives. Of the 76% of participants surveyed who felt they were familiar enough with the It Ends with Us campaign to comment, 84% thought ‘it was misleading to its audiences’. 74% of respondents rated 4 or 5 on how likely they were to feel disappointed after watching a film, if the marketing misrepresents its themes. This means that even if misleading campaigns are successful in driving initial tickets sales, they may not be sustainable to the films longer term success and positive reception. Despite the challenges a film marketing director may face in handling the promotion of films with sensitive issues, 56% of those surveyed felt that addressing social issues and promoting cultural conversations adds value and engagement to marketing campaigns. One response said that the marketing must be handled correctly and should not exploit serious issues for commercial gain. Equally, it is important to not neglect serious topics to make a film appear more palatable, like It Ends with Us did.

Scott (2017) notes that ‘ad messages need to position the film in its appropriate genre so aficionados of that genre can easily find the movie’. However, since the marketing strategy of It Ends with Us positioned the film as a rom com, it risked attracting the wrong audience, potentially people who may be vulnerable to themes within the movie. Similarly, the marketing campaign for 13 Reasons Why (2017–2020), a television show focused on the suicide of a high school student, Hannah Baker,leverage social media to attract a younger, tech-savvy audience.

For example, Instagram accounts were created for each character (clayjensen0713, cheerstojess), some featuring links to their Spotify playlists, which fostered personal identification and encouraged teenagers of the same age to watch the show on Netflix. While the marketing was successful, many questioned the ethics of promoting a show with such sensitive topics to a wide demographic of young people, especially since 75% of views during the first three days of season two’s release came from viewers under 35 (Grant et al., 2020). Rosa et al.’s (2019, cited in Grant et al., 2020) study on ‘the influence of media portrayals of suicide on adolescent’s mood’ revealed that after watching 13 Reasons Why, participants who were unmotivated or had history of suicidal ideation were likely to report declines in mood.Although it could be argued that it is important to allow consumer choice and raise awareness of issues, marketers must ensure their strategy does not trivialise shows with serious topics so that consumers can make informed decisions about the media they consume.

The role of a film marketing director is both complex and pivotal, requiring the delicate balancing of ethical responsibility, audience engagement, and commercial success. The marketing campaigns for It Ends with Us and 13 Reasons Why highlight the influence of promotional strategies on public perception and audience experience. While these campaigns achieved economic success, their approach to addressing sensitive topics drew criticism for being potentially misleading or exploitative. These examples underscore the need for marketing directors to align advertising strategies and audience targeting with the thematic integrity of the content to allow for appropriately informed viewership. Ultimately, the success of a campaign should not be measured solely by box office performance but also by its ability to navigate societal responsibly and contribute to meaningful cultural conversations.

Digital Creativity: Exploring New Opportunities in Film Marketing

Scott (2017, p. 29) says ‘we’re fortunate to be living in this time in history, the time of another important communications revolution.’ As we enter the digital age, the role and capabilities of a film marketer is evolving significantly. Kerrigan (p. 164) believes that as digitalisation continues, film marketing practices will ‘become more innovative and arguably more creative’. PwC (2021) described the UK entertainment and media industry as at the forefront of technological disruption. This has specifically impacted the film industry as, in 2017, 79% of moviegoers owned at least four different types of key technology products, compared to 60% of the total adult population (Motion Picture Association, 2017), highlighting how potential film audiences are more digitalised than the general population. Major players in the industry are increasing their focus on online platforms to reach tech-savvy audiences, such as Sony Pictures significantly boosting its online marketing budget from 10% to 50% (Kapko, 2017).

Digitalisation has opened the door for creative opportunities for marketing directors.  The rise of viral marketing, social media, and transmedia, immersive storytelling has enabled film marketers to create more engaging and innovative campaigns. Murray (1997, cited in Telotte, 2014, p.35) suggests ‘immersion’, the ‘experience of being submerged in the world of the text’, is a key aspect of electronic narrative forms. Because of this, unified storytelling across online platforms can be an effective method to enhance audience engagement. By creatively using these channels synergistically, film marketers can build a more comprehensive narrative around a film, keeping the audience actively involved before, during, and after the film’s release.

The Blair Witch Project (1999), a found-footage horror film, was a pioneer in using the internet for innovative and creative film promotion (Keller, 2000, p. 69). Marketers leveraged the myth of the Blair Witch, transforming it into an online campaign presented as reality. They created a website detailing the mythology and providing backstory for the diegetic filmmakers (web.archive.org, 2021), portraying them as real individuals. The campaign also included releasing missing footage through TV spots to drive traffic to the website, distributing posters of the film’s missing characters (Telotte, 2014, p. 33), and launching a CD featuring music from the missing students’ car (Keller, 2000, p. 71). This intertextual campaign, primarily digital, turned the low-budget film into a cultural phenomenon.

When the campaign launched, many audiences believed it was real, resonating with Baudrillard’s (1994, cited in Kerrigan, 2017, p. 149) postmodern theory of simulacra, which suggests that in today’s media landscape, distinguishing reality from fiction has become increasingly difficult. Although modern audiences are more skilled at differentiating the two, many willingly suspend disbelief to immerse themselves in the intertextual narratives surrounding a film. Film marketers can capitalise on this by crafting multi-layered experiences that extend beyond the film itself and into the wider cyberspace.

In 1991, Meehan (p. 84) examined the Batman product line and predicted that it will eventually be ‘distributed over platforms that have yet to be imagined.’ This foresight is evident in the screen industries today. Scott (2017) describes new media as ‘complicated media’, emphasising that it is ‘multifaceted and fast evolving, unlike traditional analog media.’This unique characteristic means that as new media continues to emerge, increasingly creative approaches to film marketing will develop, leading to ongoing changes in the role of a marketing director as digitalisation continues to reshape the way films are marketed and consumed.

Conclusion

The role of the film marketing director has evolved from promoting cinema’s novelty to navigating the complexities of today’s digital age in order to shape audience perceptions and drive commercial success. Campaigns like It Ends with Us and The Blair Witch Project demonstrate the challenges and opportunities of modern marketing, emphasising the importance of aligning strategies with content themes. As technology advances, the job role will continue to adapt, blending creativity, responsibility, and innovation to connect films with audiences effectively.

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