For & Against: Is Australia getting better at marketing our films?
In this month’s issue of Encore Magazine, we asked: ‘Is Australia getting better at marketing our films?’ to Kathleen Drumm, head of marketing for funding body Screen Australia, and Andrew Traucki, writer, producer, and director of films The Reef and Blackwater.
FOR: Kathleen Drumm, head of marketing for funding body Screen Australia
There’s no doubt marketing local films is challenging. Every week, in almost every major western market, a cluster of big-budget studio films dominate the box office. Big films with big marketing budgets which take advantage of multi-million dollar campaigns coming out of Hollywood. Australian films have to compete in this environment, vying for screens and sessions, as well as media attention. Distributors and producers are required to work creatively, often with limited budgets, to generate excitement for their films – and there’s a lot of evidence to suggest they’re doing a great job.
Red Dog is an example of a film that absolutely connected to its audience, delivering results which were bolstered by an outstanding marketing campaign. The first Australian release of 2012, A Few Best Men, demonstrates the importance of backing an ambitious campaign with sufficient screen space. A wide release on 200-plus screens, the film went out into the market with a solid TV spend, social media, an extensive publicity and talent tour and outdoor advertising. A big component of the campaign is the contribution the filmmakers and talent put into supporting films – surely Red Dog’s Koko was Australia’s hardest working star of 2011.
Knowing how to position a film and having an understanding of its audience is crucial. For example, the producers and distributor of Snowtown, which had its premiere at Cannes, knew their audience and released strategically on around 20 screens, garnering momentum via critical acclaim and word of mouth – earning more than $1 million at the box office.
The two key selling tools for any film remain the trailer and the key art. Professional test screenings can also provide useful information for the direction of the marketing campaign. All of these things are increasingly on Australian producers’ minds as they work to achieve some cut through in a challenging market.
AGAINST: Andrew Traucki, writer, producer and director of The Reef and Blackwater
I don’t think we, as a community, consider marketing. We do it, but in a very old fashioned way. You look at the funding model in this country and there’s plenty in the budget for development and production but there’s really nothing for marketing.
Normally when you push a product out, there’s development, production and marketing. In this country it’s development, production and then God be with you. While there are market forces that will dictate what your film does, relying on that for a film’s success is ultimately quite naive. You look at Hollywood, and anywhere they’ve got it right, they spend a huge amount of money and time on marketing and the marketing people are in from day one.
I don’t know if we’re overwhelmed by the problem but we just don’t seem to ever want to tackle that last part of the pathway.
The argument always is, if you make a good enough film, it will get through – we just have to concentrate on development and production and the rest will take care of itself. While there’s some truth in that, it really isn’t the full story and it’s blind to think that it is.
Why aren’t we, as a community that’s mainly subsidised by government, not actually looking at the final third of the process?
Ultimately, if you land a deal with Hoyts or somebody who’s got the ability to promote your film, then you will get the screens and you will get the publicity. Whether it’s a good film or not, you will at least get that exposure. Obviously, the Madmans and the Hopscotchs know how to do it in the art circuit and what their strategy tends to be is screen the film at Sundance or one of the big festivals then push it out.
That’s definitely a strategy that works in this country but on the whole, the discussion that isn’t had is why we aren’t doing more marketing of our films because there are films that could be doing much better.
- First published in the March issue of Encore Magazine: Subscribe here.
I totally agree about the marketing but sorry, you need a really decent film to market.
We can’t seem to get it right yet when we do we seem to bag the crap out of it.
Red Dog was great but a nice little Aussie story, questions for ben was slick and simple but the Aussie reviewers killed it.
Aussie film commission really need to step back and let the Mapp family go. These guys are solid.
Mike.
User ID not verified.
Know so many talented and learned people in this country who are unemployed and so many people who know how to market themselves to Screen Australia who get funding for films audiences don’t want to see. Its just a sad situation and painful to be around. Bring back supporting the right people for the job. Same goes for AFTRS and NIDA.
User ID not verified.
Here we go again, the voices are always there /here always have been in my lifetime.
I add mine here, again, in support. A couple of things that occur to me. We manage to make a fine drop of wine in this country, the Cab’ Sav’ of the great Coonawarra is as fine as any grown in France or the Napa Valley and in its own way ( here is the rub) better than either and probably than both. We marketed it by variety and it sold to the world and created its own mark and place of distinction. Why did we ever bother to market Sparkling Cuvee under the name Champagne? well we thought it would compete with the product of Rheims, but it didn’t and we were obliged to change the name. Did it then fail in the market place? No it did not, what it did was to find its level and sell on. Why the hell don’t we stop trying to compete and start screening our films. Every film buff in the world knows Fellini, Becker, Bergman, Bertolucci, Reed , Clayton, Ford, blah blah blah. Who knows George Miller? eh? …oh either of them, the Doctor or the warm and highly entertaining one, not to say that the good doctor isn’t.
Enough I’m out of here.
User ID not verified.