AF7420 Chap.7 Creative Materials: Titles, Taglines, Posters and Trailers
Creative Materials: Titles, Taglines, Posters and Trailers
Five materials, one message
The course lists five kinds of creative material: the film title, concept key art, copywriting messages, video materials and the social viral meme. They must all say the same thing, and the tool the course uses to ensure that is the message house, borrowed from public relations.
Its roof is the one message a viewer should take away, a logline or tagline; three or four pillars carry emotional value, social issue, viewing experience and IP or star power; and a foundation of proof points, box office, word of mouth lines, media quotes, community work and partnerships, makes the pillars believable.
Titles
The course teaches titles through what it calls restaurant theory, with the line that a director who cannot name a film is not a good chef.
A title should signal the genre, set the right emotional expectation without promising too much or too little, borrow a helpful reference, be easy to say and remember, leave room for surprise, and encourage recommendation and repeat viewing.
Titles are also localised: one animated hit took three different Chinese titles in three markets, and a Hong Kong comedy's change of title for its Mainland release shifted its positioning.
Taglines
A tagline is a short, catchy phrase that sums up plot, tone or theme, gives the product a strategic direction and sits above or below the title on the poster. Many films have several.
The course warns that the best taglines are often written for weak films and that some films need none because their images speak.
Key art and the poster
A final poster needs the cast, the most sensational scene, a background, awards and the release date, usually after a teaser that withholds most of them.
The text on a poster covers a bilingual title, a short tagline, the cast's and director's best-known work, behind-the-scenes masters, awards and nominations, the date, a closing tag and the credits block.
Character posters, background and colour contrast carry genre and tone.
Outdoor, guerrilla and video
Lobby displays and standees, malls, billboards and transport extend the key art, and guerrilla marketing uses surprise, low cost, precise targets and viral spread; the course's cases range from augmented reality apps to a horror franchise's ghost throwing a first pitch.
Video runs on channels from cinemas to karaoke venues, with contents from teasers and final trailers to the making-of and word of mouth interviews, and a trailer is built on story, spectacle, stars and style.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Five kinds of creative material
- 02
The message house
- 03
Restaurant theory for film titles
- 04
Localising a title by market
- 05
What makes a tagline work
- 06
The final poster and its text
- 07
Lobby, outdoor and guerrilla materials
- 08
Video channels, contents and the four S
Worked example · free
Diagnose a poster that sells the wrong film
- 2Name the title and poster functions the design breaks.
- 2Explain the consequence for word of mouth.
- 2Propose a replacement concept with a tagline.
Key terms
- Key Art
- The central visual design of a campaign, used on the poster and adapted across every other material.
- Tagline
- A short, catchy phrase on the poster that sums up a film's plot, tone or theme and gives the campaign a strategic direction.
- Teaser Poster
- An early poster that withholds most information to build curiosity before the final poster adds cast, scene, awards and date.
- Guerrilla Marketing
- Promotion that uses surprise and unconventional displays, at low cost and aimed at a precise target, to spread virally.
- Standee
- A free-standing display in a cinema lobby that promotes a film to people who are already choosing what to watch.
- Title Localisation
- Giving a film a different title, and often different key art, in each market to suit its language and positioning.
- Making-of
- A behind-the-scenes video about how a film was made, released as promotional content before and after opening.
- Closing Tag
- The final line on a poster that pairs the release date with the title, matching the campaign's wording.
Creative Materials: Titles, Taglines, Posters and Trailers FAQ
What is a message house?
It is a planning tool shaped like a building. The roof is the one message a viewer should take away. Three or four pillars support it with emotional value, a social issue, the viewing experience and IP or star power. The foundation holds the proof points, such as box office figures, audience quotes, media coverage and partnerships.
What must a final poster include?
The course's checklist is the cast, the most sensational scene, a background, awards and the release date. The text adds a bilingual title, a short tagline, the cast's and director's earlier work, key behind-the-scenes names, nominations, a closing tag with the date and the full credits block at the bottom.
Why does the course warn about taglines?
Because a tagline can mislead as easily as it sells. The course notes that the best taglines are often written for weak films, where a clever line is doing work the film cannot, and that some films need none because their images carry the position. A tagline should follow the roof message rather than replace it.
Assessment move
Collect the teaser and final posters of one current film and label every element against the course checklist. Then write its message house in five lines: one roof, three pillars, one line of proof. If you cannot find a roof message on the poster, you have found the campaign's weakness.
Working through Creative Materials: Titles, Taglines, Posters and Trailers in AF7420? Sia is AskSia’s AI Marketing tutor — ask any AF7420 Creative Materials: Titles, Taglines, Posters and Trailers question and get a clear, step-by-step explanation grounded in how AF7420 is taught and assessed. Read this chapter free, then take your hardest questions to Sia.
