LO3, Task 4: Advertising and distribiution

Hello, and today I am going to talking about the distribution and technological convergence and the way how films are distributed across the globe.

Distribution is about the way the product has been advertised and how it has been promoted to the public, it can be distributed in different ways using old (TV) and new media (streaming online)

Advertising

In regards to advertising examples  TV adverts, online posters, billboards and bus stop posters also are ways of advertising. You will see an advert everyone you look, especially in big cities they will be on every corner you look at, buses, bus stops and bill boards etc. These are all methods of how my film was advertised. The reason for this is due to 20th Century Fox wanting to reach a mass audience through multiple advertising methods in order to make a larger profit. The stars of the film were also used as a way to advertise the film. Academy award winner Tom Hanks, is the main protagonist of the film, therefore he is an advert in himself due to his reputation, but also featured in magazine articles and TV interviews to promote the film.

Distribution

There is a lot of distribution between online and in hard copy, while online the companies like 20th Century Fox  will pay heavily trafficked websites to advertise their film on there. With the film being made in 2000 the internet is not like what it is now, although the film was still advertised by a trailer on TV and a theatrical advert which would be played before films.

The world is open to many different ways that you can watch films. Castaway came out on DVD on the 12th June 2001 and it was available to buy. It was released in cinemas in 2000 across the globe. In current times there are plenty of ways of watching the film. You are able to watch the film via streaming it online on websites such as 'Putlocker', this website provides illegal access to a huge range of films, but there is also legal ways of streaming the film such as Netflix, which in America Cast Away is available to watch. The DVD is still available to buy, also it has been brought out on Blu-Ray as when blu-ray came out it was highly popular and everyone was buying it, this would be seen as a way of making more money off the film. The film was also available to watch via Sky Movies too due to 20th Century Fox and their ability to use horizontal integration to further promote their products. Streaming illegally is free and is good for families that don't have a high disposable income, while the DVD or Blu Ray would be purchased by the the high earning families who have a high disposable income, they could also afford  merchandise from the film and also go to the cinema to see the film.

The budget of Castaway was $90 million and box office figures show that it made $233 million just from cinema sales. Therefore the multiple ways and distribution channels that 20th Century Fox used to distribute and advertise Castaway was successful.