Marketing and Distribution Homework

1) What is the vertical distribution system?
Vertical distribution is where one company produces and distributes its own films.


2) How does this affect control of the film industry?
This indicates that large companies and corporations will continue to dominate the film industry and smaller, independent companies will struggle to compete.


3) How does a recent Disney film benefit from this?
Disney is currently owned by a company called General Electric, which is one of the 'Big Six' media companies in the world, and is dominant in the film industry. This company is so diverse that it also builds engines for Airliners and fighter jets. One of Disney's recent films like The Princess and the Frog would have a major advantage over independent companies due to the already well-established connections General Electric have for distribution. This enables them to distribute large quantities of items over a large area, at a rapid speed. Continued repetition of this method will ensure future Disney films they will be allowed the same advertisements. 


4) Which media companies do General Electric own?
General Electric own the following companies: 80% of NBC Universal; Universal Picture, Focus Features and Rogue Pictures. General Electric has production agreements with: Imagine Entertainment, Jersey Films, Tribeca Films, Shady Acres, the Kennedy/Marshall Company, Playtone Company, Strike Entertainment, Type A Films, Depth of Field, Stephen Sommers and Working Title Films (Europe).


5) What manufacturing facility do they own which supports the vertical distribution system?
The facility which supports the vertical distribution system is Universal Studios Home Entertainment.


6) Look back at the previous 2 answers. How then, do companies owned by General Electric benefit from their vertical distribution system?
Other companies owned by General Electric benefit due to the already established and sterling relationships and connections General Electric currently have concerning distribution.


7) Compared to the production cost of a film, how much does marketing and distribution cost?
No information available, marketing and distribution budgets are difficult to research.


8) Who do Working Title Primarily market their film towards?
Working Title primarily market their films dependant on the genre of the film. Films such as Paul, and Johnny English are generally marketed towards Americans, as the main protagonists are 'typically British' and this is what intrigues Americans in. These type of action/comedy films are generally for audiences between 16-24 years old, and bias towards a male gender. On the other hand we have Atonement, a film set during the second world war, which is cleverly pieced together and intertwined, from a single lie told by a young and ignorant girl. This films naturally markets towards men and women around the ages of 30-50 years. The film envelopes the audience around the love between two people, and their struggles, due to ignorance of a young girl. 
Whether action-packed or making the audiences think as they watch, and develop a deep message, each genre is unique to its own audience.


9) Vertical distribution should guarantee a film's success. Find a Working Title film that did not perform as well as expected. What factors, other than distribution and marketing, caused this film to be a commercial failure?
The film I have selected to discuss is Captain Corelli's Mandolin, which was meant to be a great success. This film was one or Working Title's largest budgets, however, due to its change in story, and lack of mirroring the book, audiences were disappointed, which caused the film to perform in the box office very poorly.


10) Smaller Companies cannot benefit from a vertical distribution system. What marketing methods do independent or small film studios use instead?
For smaller film companies and studios, the best way to increase distribution is through a marketing company, which scour the huge multi-national corporations for someone willing to buy. It is now possible to bypass traditional methods of marketing and distribution, using the internet, social networking websites and game consoles to increase a film's exposure to audiences across the globe. Using the internet, you can publicise to a large audience or to a niche audience.