Marketing an Art house film called : Void

What is "Void"?The Void is an Art House-Action film that follows the life of Cyril,

a disconnected stock trader by day and smuggles drugs throughout Europe by night. One day when he crosses back from

the border, he finds Belle and her son who were attempting to smuggle themselves across the border. He allows them to stay in

the boot of his car and they live with him for a few months, as time passes, Cyril falls in love with Belle but their past inevitably

catches up with them and trouble ensues.

Marketing the Protagonist: Patrick FugitKnown for Almost Famous(2000) and Indie film Wristcutters (2006). Fugit can play the lead role with a consistent flair whilst maintaining that sense of surrealism, opposed to an A-Lister who would remove the audience from the films illusion. He can also appeal to a younger audience due to his recent emergence in film, portraying the film as youthful and trendy. Fugit has played similar characters to that of "Cyril",

clearly displaying his natural knack for disconnected characters, and his relaxed yet intriguing persona would only amplify the designated aura around the character.

An Audience for Void?

The audience for an Art House film is typically a middle-higher class individual aged 46 years and over as evident from the graph. This is due to younger audiences being alienated from art house film genre, Void will attract a broader and younger consumer base with a 15 Certificate and a trendy campaign marketing a trendy lead actor (Fugit) and keep youthful elements within advertising.

Current Age Base for Art-House Films

Proposed Age Audience for "Void"

Different ways to market The Void - Using common marketing practices

such as Billboard posters, in metropolitan areas like Oxford Street where a 40ft*10ft poster can be rented from £17,000/Month.

- The underground hosts 4 million commuters daily, so making use of highly congested areas of public transport is essential, with showcase posters priced at £126,400/Month at Westfield Underground

- Smaller scale posters near stairs, corridors, lifts and escalator panels for £20,150/Month at Kings Cross St. Pancras.

- Euston underground station sponsorship programme priced at £95,000/Month.

Marketing with ModestyThe design of the 2 posters being marketed will maintain minimalist values, alike the example to the right. Poster 1 with "Void" tattooed across the top of the poster, and the centre of the spiraling hole hosting the tagline "Fill the void", also with lead actor, Fugit's name subtitled under the film name. My name as director will be stylishly displayed at the bottom.

Poster 2 will have a less surreal theme, with Patrick Fugit clearly pictured at the centre of the poster, with the title "Void" illustrated across his body with a classic font, and the tagline at the top, headlined by Fugit's name.

Cost-Effective ways to market "Void"

- To garner positive critical reviews by premiering at film festivals e.g. Cannes.

- By word of mouth- Though neither of these

can be controlled or deemed as effective

marketing methods, as it ultimately lies within the overall quality of the film.

Online MarketingAdvertising via IMDB is very efficient with 61M Views/Daily, and IndieWire where there is a continuous flow of a purely movie seeking audience and where the website is specific to the advertising, this would also generate more buzz around the film as users can also discuss aspects of the film through the message board system.

£36,000 for a full day of advertising on the Billboard. 970*250

Cheap advertising due to cinema taking a cut of profit.

Free method of advertising on Youtube, with more than 1 billion unique users each month.

Only £1,999/Daily to advertise Void on IndieWire.

Increasing Global Awareness• International recognition of "Void"

is vital to its long term success, this can be achieved by entering the film into a range of Art and Art House Film festivals, examples are Cannes and Los Angeles.

• Also, lead actor Patrick Fugit and myself would attend film festivals and press conferences for "Void".

• This would be free marketing for Fugit and myself whilst creating hype around the film and exposing itself to a wide range of critics and reviewers.

• "Void" may open to a limited market, namely London or L.A, to save on distribution costs and create buzz in these key markets.

Controversy Any debated issues within "Void" such as

the use of violence and drugs should be counter-argued by Fugitand myself through the press, even replying through interviews on TV shows with hosts such as Jonathan Ross and Graham Norton.

Though too much response in the media will come across as artificial to a potential audience and this type of marketing will then prove to be negative.

The more extreme the use of violence is, the more it will be discussed within social circles such as Twitter building up hype for the "Void", as audiences will want to see what caused such commotion.

A successful example of this was in Tarantino's Django Unchained, where slavery was tackled in an unapologetic manner and this was used to market the film which can be achieved similarly within "Void".

Looking At Past Success• $15 Million Budget

• $77 Million Box Office Revenue

• The Poster is based around the actor, with his photo placed at the center covering the letter “I” suggesting he is the protagonist of the film and his name clearly placed above the name of the film, almost making it his.

• The Director’s name is detracted from through the minimal size of the name.

• Semantics used to create an overall Action blockbuster feel around the film, attracting a diverse audience, despite the 15 Rating.

• An award for "Best Director" noted below the title, as is the statement from The Times describing the film.

Sources• http://rosswmartin.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/

artfilmmarketing1.jpg• http://whatleydude.com/wp-content/uploads/201

1/10/DRIVE.jpg• http://voices.yahoo.com/the-independent-movie

maker-market-art-187511.html?cat=40• http://cdn1.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/

Only-God-Forgives-poster.jpg• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Poster_for_the_f

ilm_%22Byzantium%22.jpg• http://www.cbsoutdoor.co.uk/Global/UK/documents/2011_Rate_Cards/London%20Underground%202011.pdf