Film poster as a form of marketing communication Cover Image

Plakat filmowy jako forma komunikacji marketingowej
Film poster as a form of marketing communication

Author(s): Aleksandra Smyczyńska
Subject(s): Photography, Sociology of Art
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Komisji Edukacji Narodowej w Krakowie
Keywords: a film poster; marketing strategy; aesthetics in marketing

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to investigate a film poster as a marketing message in 1990–2010. 1990 marks a borderline in Polish culture. However, after years of monopoly, Polish films disappeared from cinemas. Thus, there has been a necessity to face the competitors i.e. US films. The point is not only in quality of the film art itself, attractive topics, better technical quality, but also – considering the ruthless laws of the market – in more intensive endeavors to promote Polish films. The poster is the most common advertising form of the film art and an important part of its marketing strategy. The paper is an attempt to present how the film poster has been functioning since 1990s, how it has played its marketing mission, what instruments have been used and how it has presented the film content. Contemporary film posters function like advertisements of products and services related to free time. They offer experience. Through the schemes applied they relate to emotions, which is justified from the marketing point of view. Poster representation of the film is an iconographic abbreviation of emotions that it offers. A potential viewer can usually read without major problems the author’s intensions and while watching the advertisement she/he chooses the emotions that she/he would like to experience. The promise of the experience is constructed and offered by means of pictures and words in a particular style. The author shows that although the poster is a complex phenomenon it is also standardized, which is helpful in creating a clear advertising message. A successful poster arises desire to buy goods or services. It follows the basic AIDA marketing principles. With the help of iconographic layer of picture and typography, the designer constructs a defined image directed at the target audience. At present, the poster is mostly rather an advertisement. Just like a commercial related to the brand it advertises, the film poster is consistent with the type of film. Thus, the film poster implies what the viewer can expect.

  • Issue Year: 2011
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 113-125
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Polish