The Marketing Campaign Teaser Poster Teaser Trailer Website Main Poster Full Trailer T.V. Spot Publicity and Promotion
The Teaser Poster 1 This poster shows the picture of Harry Potter; it will be instantly recognised by fans of the genre. The poster is very dark which represents evil, a major theme in the film, and Harry looks extremely distressed which shows that he is up against a great challenge. Very little is revealed in this poster which leaves the audience wanting to know more about the film, which may encourage them to visit the website shown at the bottom which builds synergy. Production companies are shown at the bottom which may be recognised. There are several other similar posters each with a separate character, which may encourage the audience to look out for the many varieties in which the poster comes
The Teaser Poster 2 This poster shows the destruction of Hogwarts, an established icon of the Harry Potter series. It would immediately catch the eye of the intended audience, and the special effects also make the poster stand out; for people who have come to love the series may be very shocked by this image, and it would be very memorable. The title is simply HP7, in the famous typeface Harry Potter. It keeps the poster simple and it is iconic, so it is easy to recognise it as another Harry Potter film even from a distance. The tagline emphasises the fact that this is the final instalment of the series, so people may be interested in seeing it to find out how the story ends. The release years for each part of the film are shown, so audience members can know when to see the film. The website is shown to generate synergy and production companies are given, as audience members may recognise them
The Main Poster This poster depicts the three main Harry Potter characters running away from something. It is a very exciting and dynamic freeze frame and thus shows off the film s action elements. The desperation in the characters faces show that they are running for their lives which proves the film will be exciting to watch. The subtle red sparks on the picture represent danger which further shows how exciting the film should be. The tagline shows how this will be the epic finale of the series, which may encourage the audience to come and watch it to discover how the story ends; its other purpose is to remain in the minds of the audience so that they remember the film in future and a brand image can be built. The release date is given which allows the audience to know when they can see this film, and production companies are shown so the audience can see that the film is the work of professionals, so should be good. The title at the bottom uses an already established icon of the Harry Potter series so the audience can immediately know what film this poster is advertising. The poster was also adapted for use on bus T-Bars to grab even more attention
The Website The website experience begins with the film s full trailer to immediately grab the attention of visitors. There is a menu feature that allows visitors to simply explore the site. Every background on the site is one of the film posters, creating synergy. The consistent use of the HP7 symbol symbolises the film and may help the audience to remember the website later on. The about page consists of the film s synopsis, so visitors can find out what the film is about and make a judgement as to whether they should see it or not. It also includes a list of famous actors in the film, so visitors may recognise them and feel more inclined to see the film. The gallery page shows iconic screenshots from the film, where the downloads section allows visitors to customise their computer with Harry Potter themed images. This allows the visitor to remember the film well, and IM icons may also spread the word through social networks. The videos section shows Harry Potter trailers which are entertaining for the audience to watch and create synergy by leading the audience to this form of advertisement as well Videos Downloads Gallery About
The Teaser Trailer This trailer gives a sneak preview of the film, with many iconic scenes so the audience can see roughly what the film will be like. It is used to inform the audience that the film is coming out soon, and to begin hype. It includes the release month, so the audience can know when it will come out. It doesn t tell much about the story so as not to give too much away, but it does show some scenes that establish the film s genre and themes. The use of wands and spells immediately evoke the genre of fantasy, and the theme of magic. The action adventure genre is represented by the depiction of chase scenes, fights and the large scale destruction, and the fast-paced scenes prove the film to be exciting
The Full Trailer The full trailer is full of action scenes that show that the film is exciting, and immediately interests any action lovers in the audience. The fantasy genre and magic theme are set up with the use of wands and spells etc. There are many fast paced parts of the trailer which keep the audience interested; the fact that they enjoyed watching the trailer may mean that they want to see the movie itself. There are many scenes of conflict, especially between Harry and Voldemort giving an obvious good vs. evil idea to the film. The narration explains the story to the audience without revealing too much. The audience may recognise many of the characters, so if they liked the previous Harry Potter films, they may be more likely to watch this one. The trailer fills the audience in on all the important details. The release date is shown so the audience knows when they can watch the film, and the production companies involved are also depicted; the audience may be more likely to see a film by a well known production company like Warner Bros. The title is the same as on the poster to maintain the brand image, and the website address is given to create synergy, so the audience can find out more if they so wish
The T.V. Spot The T.V. Spot is a summarised version of the full trailer so it can be shown on T.V. It shows snapshots of key scenes in the film in a more brief way than the full trailer. Airing it on T.V. would have attracted a very large amount of attention for the film, so most of the public knows about it. It shows all the necessary information, but faster so it can all be fit into 30 seconds
The Premiere The premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was held on the 11 th November 2010, and featured many of the actors from the Harry Potter films. A lot of awareness is created for the film as many people went to the event to see the actors. This would have lead to huge media coverage on the topic, creating huge awareness of the film. The media spreads the news of it free of charge which makes it even better for the film s profits Merchandise A lot of merchandise has been created, based upon the Harry Potter films to further increase their awareness and popularity. Examples include models of magic wands, sweets featured in the film (e.g. chocolate frogs) and Hogwarts uniforms. This mainly targets younger fans, but older collectors may also be interested. Merchandise develops popularity for the film, and creates interest about it among new audiences, in this case younger children. Purchasing the merchandise may make the buyer feel more a part of the story, so they may feel more inclined to see the film
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a theme park in Orlando, Florida, and not only brings in extra revenue for the film s creators, it provides great publicity for the Harry Potter movies with an entire themed castle and village. It helps to spark an interest in the film series saga in those who don t already like it, and it generally raises awareness especially through the large amount of news coverage on the subject; this is a brilliant method of publicity as the newspapers and news programmes don t even have to be paid to spread awareness of the Harry Potter series. This park allows fans of the series to discover the world that they have grown to love in fiction, but in reality. A lot of the merchandise mentioned previously is also be sold here to further excite Harry Potter fans. There is an Ollivander s wand shop, a Honeyduke s Sweet Shop, Zonko s Joke Shop, Dervish and Bange s Uniform Shop, Owl Post Office and The Three Broomsticks Restaurant as well as The Hog s Head Pub. All these authentic experiences allow existing fans and new ones to be invited into the world of Harry Potter, which will ultimately lead to a greater awareness and popularity of the Harry Potter films
How Effective? I think that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was marketed brilliantly, as it built upon the popularity and awareness created by the previous films and went beyond it to excellently encourage the audience to see the film. It was advertised well and utilised free publicity excellently so was, in conclusion, a fantastic example of a well marketed film