Audience & Institution (Christmas 50)

To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the area of media you have studied?

Digital distribution affects the marketing and consumption of media products in the film industry as it affects how the film is viewed; whether it be in cinemas or on sites such as Netflix and the internet in general. It also affects the film’s success and the success of the marketing process as it is an easy way of grasping audience attention globally as it can be advertised on more platforms. This means there are many online marketing methods used which helps with the marketing and consumption of media products as more people will see them and have access to sites such as YouTube, which showcases trailers etc, as people nowadays have become so reliant on the internet.

Digital distribution means that films can be distributed over the country to different cinemas digitally using electronic devices such as USBs. Distributing like this is an advantage as films can be distributed digitally and it is quicker to deliver them instead of driving costly film reels around to different places. This saves money and the film can be distributed to more areas at a fast rate as there are more copies available. This means that there is a wider audience as more places are available for showings; enabling the public to have more places to view it. Despite there being many advantages like easy distribution and cost cuts, there are some disadvantages with digital distribution. Nowadays, a lot of people rely on the internet to provide them with access to films on illegal sites where they can download it. This means that as the majority of distribution is done electronically, it has a higher chance of being leaked to these sites; meaning less people will actually go to the cinema to view it or purchasing a DVD- lowering sales and income; leaving companies with less of a profit.  

Digital distribution was used to help advertise Mad Max: Fury Road as it used trailers and adverts which highlighted the fantastic use of visuals and effects which made the film gripping and exhilarating. This gave the audience an insight as to what the film would be like which gave a positive vibe as Mad Max was already a successful franchise. Other advertising methods were used such as posters and online advertisements which helped to gain publicity as more people would see it being advertised online. This added to the awareness globally and not just within the existing Mad Max fan-base. The distributors clearly thought about what would grasp attention quickly and they made the right choice in selecting scenes from the film with incredible effects to highlight the films adrenaline-charged storyline; leaving viewers wanting to see more. Mad Max: Fury Road had a very large budget of $150 million and this meant that a good amount of money could be spent on the marketing side of the production process; gaining more and more publicity. Mad Max was still being shown in cinemas in September which meant that it had a very successful run from its release date in May; this was still going on whilst DVDs were being released and games were introduced to further the profits.

Distribution was an issue for Kill List as it wasn’t marketed as well as the other films. It used methods like trailers and posters to advertise, however the trailer was disappointing and it was evident that there wasn’t a lot of effort put into promoting the film. Kill list was eventually released on DVD, but it wasn’t released in any other format like Blu-Ray. Seeing as the trailer wasn’t very well thought out, it could be the reason that sales were so low as people may have thought they would wait for it to come out on Blu-ray/dvd; limiting audience members as it was dvd only. Kill List was added to online sites like LOVEFILM where more people could view it. This is a good way for companies to further distribute films as it brings in more views; meaning more money made. This has helped Kill List and many other films as, previously mentioned, people nowadays tend to use the internet to access and watch films, so it was a good way for them to bring in views and awareness. Kill list was made on a low budget around $800,000 which meant that it didn’t have a lot of money to spend on both the film and the marketing, which is why it may have been unsuccessful.

Ex_Machina was cleverly planned out. Distributors realised that the film release schedule was busy, so they released the film at different times for different countries for example the UK release date was the 21^st of January 2015 and it was released in the US on the 14^th of March. This meant that it was being viewed at different times so money was coming in at different points. This enabled the distributors to spend money on keeping advertisements going in the countries of which the film hadn’t been released. Ex_Machina was well advertised using trailers, posters and online apps and sites like Tinder; creating a profile for Ava which helped attract attention to her- enabling them to advertise over the app. It was released on DVD, Blu-ray and also in 3D which meant that the film was making money from different digital formats which overall impacted the sales and how successful it was as there were more ways for the film to be consumed by the public. Ex_Machina provided many ways for this which meant it was successful at consuming and distributing as there were ways for all types of viewers; whether it be at the cinema or at home on Blu-ray.  

In conclusion to this, digital distribution defiantly affects the marketing and consumption of media products excessively as the majority of the population would much rather stay at home and watch films on DVD, Blu-ray or through sites such as Netflix etc. This is because it is comforting and there are less expenses involved as you still get the cinema experience, but at a lower cost. Digital Distribution has allowed this to happen as many copies are able to be created, allowing the public to purchase DVDs. This all adds up to the profits made on the film as more money is coming through on a daily basis as DVDs are being bought weeks, months and even years after the film has been released.