Film trailers and their importance for distribution and marketing

Quite simply film trailers ARE the most important part of a marketing campaign undertaken by a film distributor.

The first thing you need to do is establish the type of film trailer you are analysing"

Is it:

a. A teaser?
b. Theatrical trailer?
c. A TV spot advertising the film on release?

You then need to note down answers to the following questions:

What is the film's USP? ( Its unique selling point?) In other words how are the distributors positioning the film in the marketplace?

Which elements in the film's genre is the distributor highlighting which sets the film aside from other films in its genre.

What are the messages in the film's trailer and what do they say about the film?

Remember that the type of release ( wide, limited, universal ) and the date of release will have been carefully planned to maximise potential audiences.

In the exam you need to be able to write a detailed paragraph or two on the posters and trailers of your case study production company's film so you can argue how the distributors tried to market the film to audiences.

Here's a good link to practice with film trailers for films currently on release.
http://uk.filmtrailer.com/cinema/AllCinemaMovies/

How to study film trailers

The link to Frank Baker probably has more information than most students would need for their case studies.
http://www.frankwbaker.com/movie_trailers_as_persuasion.htm