Film Promotion and Marketing (Film Studies)

Targeting American Women: Middle-Class Female Audiences, Marketing, and the Women-in-Danger Pictures of 1978-84

by Richard Nowell

(Forthcoming)

By invoking the figure of the working-class male spectator, cultural elites and film scholars have tended historically... more By invoking the figure of the working-class male spectator, cultural elites and film scholars have tended historically to reduce so-called “women-in-danger” films to sinister fantasies celebrating the most sadistic, brutal, and depraved of responses to second-wave feminism and to those American women seen to benefit from the social and economic upward mobility it facilitated. In contrast, this article reveals the extent to which films like Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Dressed to Kill (1980), and Visiting Hours (1982) were actually framed to appear relevant and of interest to middle-class thirty-something-plus women, particularly those who held, or envisaged themselves holding, positions of professional influence. Cultivating this potentially lucrative audience, it is argued, involved spotlighting sympathetic female protagonists, high-end fashion, heterosexual romance, female participation in the culture industries, and gender relations discourse. Accordingly, the article reveals that what are often deplored as the most misogynist films in American history were in fact framed contemporaneously in the US public-sphere as in part glossy, topical dramas warning middle-class women of a misogynist seem running deep in American society – in short as cautionary tales of a purported backlash.

Fake and fan film trailers as incarnations of audience anticipation and desire

by Kathleen (Amy) Williams

published in 'Transformative Works and Cultures', 2012.

In the lead-up to the release of some feature films, fake and fan trailers are created by users and uploaded to... more In the lead-up to the release of some feature films, fake and fan trailers are created by users and uploaded to YouTube and other Web sites. These trailers demonstrate that users are literate not only in the form of the trailer itself, but also in the Hollywood system and how it markets products to audiences. Circulating in a networked environment online, these texts, which play with the form of the trailer, perform and embody users' and fans' desire to see not just the feature film but also the official trailer itself. I discuss these fake and fan trailers in relation to cinematic anticipation and describe how they navigate both spatial and temporal bounds. Using the architectural concept of the desire line, I argue that spatial frameworks can be usefully employed to consider how users navigate online spaces, media, and concepts through the form of the trailer.

‘A Kind of Bacall Quality’: Jamie Lee Curtis, Stardom, and Gentrifying Non-Hollywood Horror

by Richard Nowell

Forthcoming

This article offers a radically revised vision of the nascent star personae of quintessential American scream queen... more This article offers a radically revised vision of the nascent star personae of quintessential American scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis (refocusing attention towards her widely circulated credentials as young career woman, Hollywood insider, and self-confident humanist), in order to reveal key ways in which the star personae of on-screen talent are utilized industrially to expand the potential audience of low-cost horror films through the premption of deeply entrenched discourses which historically have framed non-Hollywood horror as sexist, amateurish, male-geared product.

Consideraciones narrativas sobre el falso tráiler. El relato del relato que nunca existió

by Javier Lozano Delmar

Co-authored with Virginia Guarinos, published in Razón y Palabra, nº 78, 2011

El falso tráiler es una forma audiovisual breve que no ha sido estudiada desde el punto de vista de las categorías... more El falso tráiler es una forma audiovisual breve que no ha sido estudiada desde el punto de vista de las categorías narrativas que entran en funcionamiento para constituirlo. Este trabajo analiza las dos caras de este tipo de producciones audiovisuales: como relato de ficción y como texto publicitario. A partir de la elaboración de un método de análisis sobre el corpus se concluye en que no existen fórmulas narrativas específicas que lo distingan como género audiovisual distinto del trailer no falso.

“Private Sch♥♥l … For Girls: Young Female Theatergoes, Early-80s Teen Sex Comedies, and the "Make-out Movie”

by Richard Nowell

Forthcoming

This essay counters the prevailing notions that teenaged males were targeted at the expense of other audiences during... more This essay counters the prevailing notions that teenaged males were targeted at the expense of other audiences during the "New Hollywood" years of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and that the commercial potential of young female Americans was only fully recognized by the culture industries in the mid-90s, by showing that, in terms of production, content, and promotion, the New Hollywood youth market was so heavily underwritten by a date-movie mentality that even the period's sexually explicit R-rated teenpics - notably raucious teen sex comedies and melodramatic tales of adolescent sexual awakening - were conceived for and pitched aggressively at teenage girls and young women.

Promoting Lost: New Strategies and Tools of Commercial Communication

by Marina Ramos

RAMOS, Marina y LOZANO, Javier (2012): “Promoting Lost. New Strategies and Tools of Commercial Communication”, en PÉREZ, Miguel A. (Ed.): Previously on: estudios interdisciplinarios sobre la ficción televisiva en la Tercera Edad de Oro de la Televisión, Biblioteca de la Facultad de Comunicación de la Universidad de Sevilla, pp. 421-432.

co-author: Javier Lozano
Editor: Miguel A. Pérez

The main goal of this article is the analysis of new strategies and communication tools used in the promotion of TV... more The main goal of this article is the analysis of new strategies and communication tools used in the promotion of TV shows. The TV show Lost (ABC, 2004-2010), which has revolutionized the way in which the audience relates to the fictional TV products and which has modified the way that TV is conceived, is the starting point of this study. Episode discussion, the elaboration of theories, and the consumption of spoilers show evidence of a new way of consuming cultural products which has modified existing promotional strategies.

'Do Not Forsake Me': The Ballad of High Noon and the Rise of the Movie Theme Song

by Deborah Allison

Published in Senses of Cinema, issue 28, September-October 2003.

Promoting LOST. New Strategies and Tools of Commercial Communication

by Javier Lozano Delmar

(PLEASE LEAVE A FEEDBACK -jldelmar@us.es- IN CASE OF QUOTE) Co-authored with Marina Ramos. Published in "Previously on" (Edited by Miguel Pérez, 2011)

The main goal of this article is the analysis of new strategies and communication tools used in the promotion of TV... more The main goal of this article is the analysis of new strategies and communication tools used in the promotion of TV shows. The TV show Lost (ABC, 2004-2010), which has revolutionized the way in which the audience relates to the fictional TV products and which has modified the way that TV is conceived, is the starting point of this study. Episode discussion, the elaboration of theories, and the consumption of spoilers show evidence of a new way of consuming cultural products which has modified existing promotional strategies.

Erickson, Mary. (2008). KingKong.com versus LOLTheMovie.com: Toward a framework of corporate and independent online film promotion. In The business of entertainment, vol. 1: Movies. Robert Sickels (Ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger Press.

by Mary Erickson

Erickson, Mary. (2008). Co-opting ‘independence’: Hollywood’s marketing label. In The business of entertainment, vol. 1: Movies. Robert Sickels (Ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger Press.

by Mary Erickson

“'Where nothing is off limits': Genre, Commercial Revitalization, and the Teen Slasher Film Posters of 1982-1984

by Richard Nowell

Post Script, vol. 30. no. 2 (Winter/Spring 2011), pp. 53-68.

Whereas scholars, commentators, and industry-insiders emphasize commercially compromised film-types are re-energized... more Whereas scholars, commentators, and industry-insiders emphasize commercially compromised film-types are re-energized at the level of production (through the mobilization of supposedly innovative content), this article show the extent to which distributors repackage economically weakened product-types by using promotional posters to reposition films generically.

“Between Dreams and Reality”: Genre Personae, Brand Elm Street, and Repackaging the American Teen Slasher Film

by Richard Nowell

Iluminace: The Journal of Film Theory, History, and Aesthetics, vol. 25, no. 3 (Forthcoming, 2012)

This essay calls for the marrying of the hitherto distinct production/content and discourse/reception approaches to... more This essay calls for the marrying of the hitherto distinct production/content and discourse/reception approaches to genre studies by suggesting that only when these approaches are mobilized in combination can scholars reveal the extent to which, and the ways in which, the re-writing of genre history shapes persuasive claims of innovative practice during the promotion and publicity of films; claims which often come to shape and therefore to problematize both popular histories and scholarly historiography alike.

Heaving Cleavages and Fantastic Frock Coats: Gender Fluidity, Celebrity and Tactile Transmediality in Contemporary Costume Cinema.

by Sarah Gilligan

Invited contribution to Film, Fashion and Consumption Journal (Vol 1 Issue 1). Intellect, Feb 2011.
Journal edited by Pamela Church Gibson.

Journal information:
http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=203/

As contemporary cinema intersects with both celebrity (Church Gibson 2011) and convergence culture (Jenkins 2006), it... more As contemporary cinema intersects with both celebrity (Church Gibson 2011) and convergence culture (Jenkins 2006), it is vital that the academic analysis of screen costuming moves beyond the film text to consider the wider institutional processes and consumption practices connected to fashion and spectators. In examining the role of costume and fashion as a source of meaning and pleasure this article forms part of my wider research project, which includes a forthcoming monograph and adopts both textually centred and interdisciplinary cross-media methodological approaches. This methodological shift is reflected in this article – the examination of Shakespeare in Love (Madden 1998) adopts a predominantly textually centred approach focusing on the cinematic representation of Viola / Thomas (Gwyneth Paltrow) in which I argue that costume functions as both a spectacular intervention and a visual narrative of gender transformation and sexual fluidity. In then shifting to a cross-media approach, I will discuss both Gwyneth Paltrow and Keira Knightley in relation to issues of fashion, femininity and celebrity culture. As contemporary popular cinema shifts from character centred narratives to the formation of transmedia worlds existing over multiple media platforms, the text-spectator relationship is one grounded in a participatory convergence culture (Jenkins 2006). In the final section of this article I argue that the meanings and pleasures of cinematic costume are increasingly characterised by what I term ‘tactile transmediality’. Through moving my analysis beyond the film text to explore gaming, cosplay and fashion in relation to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (Verbinski 2003, 2006, 2007, Marshall 2011), I will argue that clothing enables a tactile platform in which the spatial distance between the text and the spectator can be bridged via adornment and touch and thus the processes of identity transformation and performativity can be played out in our everyday lives.

La metamorfosis publicitaria digital. Nuevas estrategias de promoción en la industria del cine y la televisión a través de internet.

by Javier Lozano Delmar

Co-authored with Alberto Hermida. II CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL AE-IC MALAGA 2010: COMUNICACION Y DESARROLLO EN LA ERA DIGITAL. ISBN: 978-84-614-2818-2

La presente comunicación se centra en el sector de la promoción y marketing de la industria del cine y la televisión.... more La presente comunicación se centra en el sector de la promoción y marketing de la industria del cine y la televisión. De esta forma, se estudia la evolución y modificación que han sufrido formatos relativamente nuevos y recientes como el sitio web promocional. Así, gracias a la interactividad que propone el concepto de web 2.0 y a las nuevas formas de publicidad online, estos soportes publicitarios han evolucionado en sub-formatos completamente diferentes. Tal es el caso, por ejemplo, del sitio web interactivo, en el que el consumidor-usuario puede construir y generar contenidos que tienen que ver con la propia película. Al mismo tiempo, otros formatos clásicos, como el tráiler o el cartel se han transformado, generando, a su vez, otros nuevos modelos. A todo esto se une el fenómeno fan que contribuye a la difusión del mensaje promocional gracias a la utilización de las redes sociales (Facebook) o sitios “contenedores” del tipo Youtube. La promoción de películas y series de televisión se extiende, en definitiva, en un universo digital virtual donde las posibilidades de interacción y creatividad parecen no conocer fin.
Lo que se propone con esta comunicación es, a través de un estudio teórico-práctico, y desde el punto de vista comunicacional, ofrecer un panorama esclarecedor sobre las estrategias actuales de marketing de las que se sirve la industria cultural del cine y la televisión en Internet. De este modo, partiendo del análisis de una serie de ejemplos representativos de varias campañas promocionales online de películas y series de televisión actuales, se pretende dar respuesta a cuestiones tales como: ¿Qué estrategias publicitarias se utilizan, hoy en día, para seducir al espectador?, ¿Cómo han evolucionado los formatos tradicionales de promoción en el mundo online?, ¿Podría establecerse una nueva tipología de formatos promocionales digitales? etc.

La Hibridación Cinematográfica-Publicitaria en el Tráiler

by Javier Lozano Delmar

Published in Martin, M. y Hernández, A.: "Los Limites a la Comunicacion Comercial y la Comunicacion Comercial al Limite. Reflexiones sobre discursos, procesos y experiencias". Universidad de Alicante. Asociación Española de Agencias de Publicidad. 2009. pp. 57-78. ISBN: 978-84-613-3241-0.

La presente propuesta pretende ofrecer una aproximación teórica-práctica sobre el tráiler cinematográfico. El tráiler... more La presente propuesta pretende ofrecer una aproximación teórica-práctica sobre el tráiler cinematográfico. El tráiler es considerado por muchos como una de las herramientas de promoción más importantes y efectivas de la industria cinematográfica. Para otros, traspasa sus propios fundamentos y principios publicitarios convirtiéndose en un texto fílmico en sí mismo. Se trata de una pieza publicitaria pero al mismo tiempo posee todas las cualidades no sólo de la película que promociona sino también del medio cinematográfico en general.

Esta comunicación investiga los elementos y características que convierten al tráiler en un género híbrido que combina a la perfección la persuasión publicitaria con el entretenimiento cinematográfico. Al mismo tiempo, se ofrece un panorama detallado, a través de diversos ejemplos, de las nuevas formas híbridas del tráiler existentes.

Desperate TV. El cuerpo seductor femenino como reclamo publicitario en la promoción de series de televisión

by Javier Lozano Delmar

"published in the book: GUARINOS, V. and GORDILLO, I. (eds.): Todos los cuerpos. El cuerpo en televisión como obsesión hipermoderna"

El objetivo principal de este trabajo es analizar el uso que la televisión hace del cuerpo seductor como principal... more El objetivo principal de este trabajo es analizar el uso que la televisión hace del cuerpo seductor como principal punto de atracción en las campañas publicitarias de series ficcionales norteamericanas. La investigación se centra exclusivamente en el cuerpo de la mujer. El trabajo quedará dividido en tres partes. En la primera, se realiza un breve repaso al análisis del cuerpo femenino, el sexo y el erotismo como reclamos publicitarios ofreciendo, también, una panorámica sobre las investigaciones que se aproximan al objeto de estudio. Tras esto, en una segunda parte, se realiza el análisis en cuestión de los materiales publicitarios de las series de televisión para, en una tercera parte, y gracias a los resultados obtenidos, desarrollar unas conclusiones finales y formular una serie de cuestiones que permitan, en un futuro, preparar el terreno para otras investigaciones.