Distribution

Film distribution involves launching and sustaining films in the marketplace.  Because the film business is product driven, Film Distributors must connect each film they release with the widest possible audience.  As every new title is distinctive and different, Distributors must be strategic and knowledgeable about promotion and publicity in order to entice audiences to see their films, utilising successful film release plans, created in collaboration with film production and/or studio company personnel, marketing teams, publicity departments and exhibitors (cinema operators).

http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/distribution/article_4958_1.asp

Distributors must inform the widest possible audience about the films they release, in order to help filmmakers to realise their full potential. Any Distributor may compete for the rights to release a film, whether for cinema, terrestrial television, satellite, the VHS/DVD market, or another ancillary market.  On each film Distributors liaise with a variety of professionals, including filmmakers and producers, film sales agents, publicists, advertising agencies, graphic artists, etc., to sell the film to the media, marketing partners, exhibitors (cinema operators), and the public.  Distributors must create an entirely new film release plan for each project, as all films are different, and their unique selling points must be maximised.

http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/distribution/article_4157_1.asp

Marketing and Publicity Managers oversee the creation and planning of films’ marketing campaigns, once Distributors have identified the target audiences and potential revenue.  Marketing campaigns should reach target audiences as efficiently and frequently as practicable, both before and during film releases.  Film projects are among the most eagerly anticipated products available to consumers, and as every film is different, every marketing campaign must also be unique.  Big budget films involving top stars usually spend more money on marketing and publicity because they have more production costs to recoup.

http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/distribution/article_4153_1.asp

Film Publicists schedule and oversee press screenings, or press junkets in the case of bigger budget movies, as well as screenings for test audiences.  They must be knowledgeable and strategic; quick to follow-up with opinion makers such as print, TV, radio, and Internet critics; and adept at building the “buzz” surrounding each film while it is in the marketplace.

Smaller niche, art house or ‘indie’ films have less to spend, and must therefore employ considerable ingenuity in order to be noticed.  Work on a film’s marketing campaign may begin over a year prior to its release, but more usually the lead time is several months, during which the Marketing and Publicity Manager must promote the film’s visibility, and stimulate public interest.

http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/distribution/article_4155_1.asp