Film Marketing and Distribution Strategy: Case Studies
Restrained but Effective: The Marketing and Distribution Strategy of Furious 7
Furious 7, the seventh installment of Fast and Furious franchise, is an American action
film directed by James Wan, starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson. First
premiered on April 1, 2015 in Los Angeles, Furious 7 has grossed about 351 million
dollars in North America and 1,16 billion in other territories with its total worldwide box
office reaching almost 1.512 billion until July 14, 2015, against its 190 million production
budget (Boxofficemojo.com). Regarded as one of the most successful sequel of action
films and the treasured tribute for Paul Walker, Furious 7 ranked third in highest grossing
opening of all time and is the fifth highest grossing in all time worldwide
(Boxofficemojo.com). The following article discusses the positioning as well as the
marketing and distribution strategy of Furious 7.
Positioning and Target Audience Analysis
Furious 7 is an action thriller as well as a crime film with various adventures and exotic
elements. Produced by mainly American film production companies and distributed by
Universal Pictures with a 190-million production budget, the film has been positioned as a
worldwide action blockbuster targeting at diversified races and age groups with a main
focus on young people, especially teenagers. The potential reasons behind its position and
target audiences analysis can be summarized as follows:
The major attractions of Furious 7 greatly influence its position in market and its decision
on target audiences. There are mainly five attractions of Furious 7. Firstly, the lead stars, as
it is the seventh installment of Fast and Furious franchise, the series has made stars like
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker internationally popular celebrities who have great box office
appeals. Secondly, numerous dangerous stunts such as explosions, car crashes and the
fast-paced plots like “last minute rescue” are designed to catch audiences’ attention.
Moreover, the elaborately composed background music and the heart-touching theme song
see you again add a lot of interests to audience’s minds. Furthermore, the exotic
adventures, the beautiful landscapes, the prestige cars and the beauties in the films provide
the audiences with ideal American dreams. Finally, the consistent family values contained
in Fast and Furious series are widely accepted by audiences.
The film budget also exerts a great impact on film’s position and audience targeting, as the
production budget of the film is 190 millions and the film is distributed by the major
studio, Universal Pictures, it can be assumed that there are sufficient resources to market
the film as a worldwide blockbuster.
In conclusion, as the major attractions of the films are internationally well-known stars,
widely accepted family values, the dangerous stunts, exotic elements and awesome music,
for which young people have special preferences, the film is positioned as worldwide
action blockbuster targeting at diversified races and age groups with a main focus on
young people.
“Restrained but effective” Marketing Campaign
Marketing Furious 7 can be an extremely tricky challenge as it is really hard to find the
appropriate campaign to address audience in and the death of Paul Walker has really put
the film into dilemma. However, Universal Pictures makes this challenge a huge success
through various platforms it used, diversified promotional content it created, cooperation
with other companies and the “restrained but effective” marketing strategy it applied
(alistdaily).
Multiple Platforms and Channels Multiple platforms and channels have been correlated to
market the film. Firstly, the film’s Facebook page, twitter and its own websites have been
created to promote the film. Specifically, there are mainly four kinds of promotion content
that have been posted on above platforms: new-released information of films, videos such
as teasers, trailer, interviews, behind-screen b-rolls and featurettes, pictures such as the
film’s posters and stills as well as the news and celebration of lead stars such as birthday
celebration. Moreover, video websites such as YouTube, Trailer Addicts have supported to
promote the video content. In addition, websites like IMDb and Rotten Tomato have
played an influential role as well.
Secondly, offline activities have been organized to market the film. On one hand,
interactive fan events have been organized, such as the trailer launch party on Nov.1, 2014.
On the other hand, film festival has been attended to promote the film, such as the Furious
7 premiered at the SXSW Film Festival. Furthermore, a considerable amount of premieres
has been organized to attract attention.
Thirdly, TV spot and radios Spot have been planned to increase its visibility. TV spots
have been organized in waves with a main focus before and during its releasing period.
Radio has played a supportive role, such as Furious 7 on 92.9 KNIN Radio.
Finally, outdoor billboard and traditional medias promotion have been organized as well.
The giant-sized billboards have snapped along main streets on major cities in American
and posters can be seen in various bus stops. For print medias like magazines and
newspapers, Furious 7 also made its effort. For instance, VIBE magazine has released the
digital cover for furious 7 on Mar.30, 2015, Vin Diesel covers MEN’S FITNESS April
issue and VARIETY also release its March issue with a cover of Vin Diesel. As for
newspapers, various newspapers have contributed to the marketing of Furious 7, such as
abc NEWS, USA Today and NY Daily News.
Promotion through Cooperation Universal Pictures has cooperated with other companies to
promote the film. On one hand, “Microsoft has revealed Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast &
Furious, a standalone expansion due out on Xbox One and Xbox 360 … is stated to release
