AF7420 Promotion, Advertising and Distribution for Film, Television and New Media

How AF7420 is assessed

The teaching schedule lists these five components, totalling 100%. The final component is named as a final project assignment or a final test with its form to be confirmed, the course page lists the final assignment brief as not yet available, and a later announcement on the course page is titled Final Examination brief; read that announcement on Moodle for the actual form and date. The briefs do not say which component each exercise counts toward, and the social media reflection report is marked optional with no weight stated. Two deadlines circulated for the Filmart report, 3 pm on 26 March in the original brief and 23:59 on 31 March in the updated brief, so work to the version on Moodle. A hurdle, a pass mark or a minimum attendance rule is not stated in the course materials, and the schedule allows assessments to be adjusted during the semester.

Current AF7420 dates

Dates are as published in the exercise and assignment briefs and the lesson notes published for this offering. Confirm exact deadlines and submission settings in the live LMS.

What AF7420 covers

Eleven chapters follow the teaching schedule from the industry value chain and audience research through distribution, release strategy, STP, planning, creative materials, publicity, tie-ins and social media to international sales and Filmart.

It is taught through real cases from Hong Kong, the Mainland and Hollywood, and almost every assessed task asks you to read a real campaign as a sequence of decisions: who the film is for, when it opens, what it says and where it says it.

The course's own one-line summary of film promotion is to find the right audience for the film.

Film Marketing and the Industry Value Chain

The first chapter fixes the vocabulary. Marketing, in Kotler's account, is both social and managerial: people get what they need and want by making value and trading it, and film marketing applies it to a product that is really a service experience.

The traditional chain runs from production through distribution to exhibition, and ticketing platforms have become a fourth link that holds the customer data. The four Ps read differently for a screening, and the scale of the marketing strategy follows the production budget.

Audience Research, Consumer Behaviour and Box Office Data

No film is for everyone.

A target audience is defined first by gender and age range, then by lifestyle and interest, and justified by the film's marketable elements.

The chapter covers purchase paths from attention to sharing, the adoption curve that word of mouth must cross, and the research areas and data tools a distributor uses, with the regional shape of the world box office.

Film Distribution, Cinema Booking and Revenue Splits

Distribution is the scheduling and operation that takes a finished film to cinema screens with maximum revenue as the goal.

The chapter explains open, block and blind booking, the terms of a real booking contract, the business models from buyout to minimum guarantee, and the order in which the Mainland box office is divided, so that a headline gross can be turned into what a producer actually keeps.

Release Strategy, Windows and Cinema Line-ups

The movie business is a windows business.

Choosing a date means choosing the competition, and mid-sized films need precision release by region, audience or circuit. Line-ups follow occupancy once the minimum run is over, which is why the second week belongs to word of mouth.

The chapter closes with the holiday cinema field study and its What, How, Why method.

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Segmentation divides a market into groups with distinct needs, targeting selects the groups worth serving, and positioning places the film clearly in their minds.

The chapter compares segmentation bases, the tests an effective segment must pass, the levels of targeting and the strategies of positioning, and separates the film's own position from the positions it presents to partners and to audiences.

Situation Analysis and Campaign Planning

Everything begins with situation analysis.

The chapter shows how PEST, the 3Cs and SWOT go wrong when they end in a table, rebuilds a weak SWOT so that every line leads to a decision, and sets out the course's planning sequence and six-step campaign plan with objectives that can be checked.

Creative Materials: Titles, Taglines, Posters and Trailers

All creative materials must carry one message, and the message house is the tool that keeps them aligned.

The chapter covers what a title must do and how it is localised, what makes a tagline work, the final poster checklist, lobby, outdoor and guerrilla materials, and the channels and contents of video promotion.

Public Relations, Press Conferences and Media Relations

Advertising is your own account of yourself and publicity is the account others give of you.

The chapter describes the publicist's work and the press kit, runs a press conference as a four-stage process, plans media by reach, frequency, impact and exposure along the awareness timeline, and shows how promotion budgets are set as a share of the box office target.

Sponsorship, Tie-in Promotion and Film IP

A tie-in is a trade between a brand and a film.

The chapter explains why merchants sponsor, what decides whether a deal happens, how value moves between the movie company, the merchant and the PR agency, and how a film becomes intellectual property whose partners are designed from the characters outward.

Social Media, Viral Buzz and Integrated Marketing

Promotion now runs through fragmented short video.

The chapter reads a Hong Kong campaign in which an actor-director took over a platform as his own character, sets out the course's success factors for film buzz and its IMC planning process, and treats marketing as expectation management: the film is judged against the expectation the campaign sets.

International Sales, Filmart and Field Research

Films are sold business to business, territory by territory, before they reach audiences abroad.

The chapter covers sales documents and rights, the steps for taking Chinese films overseas, the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market, and the Filmart group project with its non-intrusive field research method.

How to use this guide

Read the front matter first, then work one chapter at a time and keep one real release of your own beside you.

Each chapter ends with practice items and full answers; write your own answer before reading the one given. The practice chapter carries an invented film through a whole plan, and the closing chapter is a checklist for the hour before a submission.

Evidence and assessment control

Assessment labels and weights follow the teaching schedule for this offering.

Teaching explanations, worked examples and practice items are independently authored and are not University assessment material; any marks shown on them are an AskSia study allocation. The final component is listed as a final project assignment or a final test with its form to be confirmed, and a later announcement on the course page carries the title Final Examination brief.

Confirm its form, the deadlines and the submission settings on the course Moodle page, where the schedule notes that assessments and timetables may be adjusted during the semester.

Worked example · free

Turn a box office headline into what the producer keeps

Key terms

Value Chain

The sequence of links through which a film earns money, running from production through distribution to exhibition and the audience, with ticketing platforms now a fourth link that holds customer data.

Marketing Mix

The combination of product, price, place and promotion a seller controls; for cinema it is a film shown at a designated time, seat and format, sold at a ticket price through circuits and platforms.

Target Audience

The group of people a film is made and promoted for, defined first by gender and age range and then by lifestyle, interests and the marketable elements that appeal to them.

Open Booking

A cinema booking that begins with a one-week contract, normally opening on a Thursday, and is renewed only if box office performance justifies it.

Block Booking

A booking that fixes a release date in a holiday or golden week in advance, usually through an exclusive arrangement with a circuit.

Minimum Guarantee

A distribution deal in which a guarantor pays the producer a fixed sum regardless of box office and shares income above an agreed line, trading the producer's upside for certainty.

Screening Share

The share of a cinema's screenings given to one film on a given day, read against seat share and occupancy to judge whether the film deserves more or fewer shows.

Positioning

Giving a product a clear, distinct and appealing place in the minds of its target audience, set against the rival products they could choose instead.

Message House

A planning tool with one roof message, three or four supporting pillars and a foundation of proof points, used to keep every creative material saying the same thing.

Electronic Press Kit

The package of synopses, statements, credits, production notes, key art, stills, trailers and release details a publicist supplies so the media can cover a film without further requests.

Tie-in Promotion

A partnership in which a brand pays in cash, products or media for the right to use a film's images and stars, arranged between the movie company, the merchant and a PR agency.

Expectation Management

Designing what audiences expect of a film, in genre and in quality, so that the experience meets or exceeds it and word of mouth stays positive.

AF7420 FAQ

Questions students ask in each AF7420 chapter

Why does the course call cinema a service experience?

Because what a viewer pays for is not a copy of the film but a designated time, seat and format, and above all the feeling of leaving satisfied. Treating it as a service shifts the planner's attention to emotional value, convenience and the moment after the screening, when a viewer decides whether to recommend it. Chapter 01 · Film Marketing and the Industry Value Chain

Why is the eighteen to thirty-four group both attractive and risky?

It is the largest cinema-going segment, so it supplies the audiences big releases depend on. For exactly that reason most major titles compete for it, and a small film targeting it head on is outspent in media and outscheduled in cinemas unless it has a sharper reason for those viewers to choose it. Chapter 02 · Audience Research, Consumer Behaviour and Box Office Data

Why do producers recover so little of a Mainland gross?

Several parties are paid first. Tax and the film fund are deducted from gross, the exhibition side keeps the larger share of what remains, and the distribution fee comes out of the producer side's share. The course puts the producer's final recovery at around a third of gross, before production and promotion costs are repaid. Chapter 03 · Film Distribution, Cinema Booking and Revenue Splits

Why would a distributor avoid the Lunar New Year season?

Because the season's value is concentrated in the few titles that dominate it. A film without the scale to compete loses screens within days, and the course's example of a large production withdrawn from the New Year slate shows that even big films judge the competition before committing. A smaller holiday can be owned rather than lost. Chapter 04 · Release Strategy, Windows and Cinema Line-ups

What are the tests of a good segment?

The handout lists five: the segment must be measurable in size and purchasing power, accessible so that it can be reached and served, substantial enough to be worth serving, differentiable in how it responds to marketing, and actionable, meaning a programme can be designed for it. A label that fails any of these is a description rather than a target. Chapter 05 · Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

What is the difference between PEST, 3C and SWOT?

They look at different distances. PEST scans the wide environment through political, economic, sociocultural and technological factors. The 3C model compares the company, its customers and its competitors to find a sweet spot. SWOT looks closest, at the project's internal strengths and weaknesses and the market's opportunities and threats. Chapter 06 · Situation Analysis and Campaign Planning

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. Chapter 07 · Creative Materials: Titles, Taglines, Posters and Trailers

What is the difference between advertising and public relations?

Advertising is paid for and its message is controlled by the advertiser, which is why readers recognise it as advertising. Public relations earns coverage through persuasion, so the message appears as someone else's view and is more credible, but the organisation gives up control over what is finally said about it. Chapter 08 · Public Relations, Press Conferences and Media Relations

Why would a brand pay to be linked with a film?

The course gives eight motives, from identifying with a target lifestyle and raising awareness to reinforcing brand image, improving corporate reputation, creating experiences, showing community commitment, entertaining clients and opening merchandising opportunities. A proposal should name which motive it serves, since each calls for a different kind of deal. Chapter 09 · Sponsorship, Tie-in Promotion and Film IP

What made the Hong Kong Threads campaign work?

The actor-director became his own character on the platform where the target audience already spent its time, replied in character when a photograph of him went viral, and moved the fiction into the street with a cardboard booth. Social listening showed Threads leading the conversation and voice posts outperforming polished content, so creativity and speed did what a large media budget could not. Chapter 10 · Social Media, Viral Buzz and Integrated Marketing

Who can I observe at Filmart without interviews?

Buyers and sellers at booths, audiences and cast at launch sessions in the theatres, delegations at national pavilions, and visitors at interactive displays. The method asks you to watch and record how they behave in the setting, then reason about why, which suits a trade fair where private meetings cannot be seen but public activity is everywhere. Chapter 11 · International Sales, Filmart and Field Research

How to prepare for the assessments

Keep one real release beside you for the whole semester and answer each chapter's question about it before reading the chapter's own case. Then practise the move every task rewards: write the decision in one sentence, write the reason, and point to the evidence you saw.

Twenty minutes of that on a real poster, a real release date or a real tie-in is worth more than rereading the notes, because it is exactly what the exercises, the Filmart report and the final component ask you to do.

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