DRAFT FOR DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION

To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the area of media you have studied?

   Digital distribution affects marketing to a great extent when looking into marketing and consumption. In the UK this is just as apparent as in the US, for example posters are still the biggest form of film marketing out there but for how long? Many other forms of marketing are having a breakthrough such as social networking sites and you tube which both provide free worldwide marketing. This is a great advantage to media production companies as it also allows for more specific target markets to be reached so that the right people turn up to watch  film.

   Independent companies in the UK such as Film 4 are big players in the use of marketing through social media networks and the likes of as they work on an extremely tight budget and don't want to attract the wrong people into a cinema to watch their film as this could end up with a whole host of bad reviews. An example of marketing to attract a niche audience was shown when Film 4 marketed for kick ass as they did not aim for a four quadrant audience, they aimed at the youth/teenage market and succeeded. The film wasn't made for people older than this but did bring in a variety of viewers. To get these viewers they put the age rating at 12A so that anyone below 12 would have to bring along an adult.

   Companies in the US including all of the big six would prefer it if the transfer from cinema viewings to online sales did not happen completely as they cannot guarantee that they will dominate such a large portion of an online market as they do the cinema market. As long as the profits are there to be got in cinema the global institutions will always be able to hold their own as they can afford to market and distribute to the target markets of cinema. the consumers of the online market are looking for a lot for a little, so more films for less money but the cinemas market are more likely to pay more the quality and experience of a 2 hour showing in perfect comfort. this is where the online market is beginning to breakthrough as more and more people get the likes of 3D in in their own homes and home technology also gets cheaper with time the cinemas have nothing different, they need to bring something new to the table. An example of this is the gradual rise of I max.

   I max is a unique way of watching a film used by batman's director Christopher Nolan. It has a crisper image than any other cinema screen and is far better than any affordable home technologies.A UK institution could not afford the use of anything close to I max any therefore that is why they struggle to take control of any substantial portion of the cinema nationally let alone globally. But with the experience of viewing via digitally distributed films being down to the viewer themselves it is much easier to hit a larger market online and it also allows for cheap advertisement and a closer relationship between consumer and distributor. This is shown by ..... and the success of  this is England that used social media and became a very successful film. Even though it looks like this is going to be a way for the small independent companies to hit the global market but I can't see it happening because social media and on demand viewing is all good but the big six can do this to through subsidiary companies and if needs be through themselves. 

  No matter how cheap or accessible the marketing and distributing of film s becomes for smaller companies in the UK on a tight budget the global companies will always be able to advertise their ideas better to consumers. they may do it through conventional and digital techniques and they may have to change their marketing strategies but they not lose the majority share in the global film market anytime soon.