The Role of Social Media in New Movie Marketing

The study aims to enhance understanding of social media’s impact on and role within marketing strategy for new release films. Current literature on social media and film marketing has a predominantly consumer-oriented focus. This study examines perceptions of social media from the perspective of marketing practitioners, including knowledgeable filmmakers and other professionals with film marketing expertise. This study utilized semi-structured interviews to explore professional perspectives on: how well social media strategy is being conducted and by whom, how social media campaigns are deemed successful (or unsuccessful), and how essential social media strategy is viewed as a component of the marketing mix for new films. The findings show a consensus that social media marketing should be handled by persons with a deep understanding of social media and audience engagement. The concept of a strengthened consumer voice through social media and its subsequent impact on word-of-mouth communications was a reoccurring theme throughout the interview data. Finally, the data revealed the perception that success for social media campaigns is difficult to assess, and can be done so based on several factors including box office results, ROI, film popularity, and reviews