Question 2

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

Digital distribution is the delivery of media content, such as video, over an online delivery medium such as the Internet, thus bypassing physical distribution methods such as compact discs, DVDs and paper. It has affected the marketing and consumption of media products in a variety of positive and negative ways.

Firstly, digital films are large computer files which can be written to DVD-ROM, sent via broadband, transmitted via satellite, with virtually no shipping costs and isn't much more expensive to show in 100 cinemas as 1. These are major positives for distribution companies because it saves them having to worry if their physical film is delivered in time to the cinema's playing their movie. Film prints are very expensive (£1500-£3000 per print) and are also expensive to ship and collect when the film finishes its run. They run and run until the quality of the footage eventually becomes of less good quality than it was in the first showing. By using digital copies of a media product, the twentieth show will be just as good as the first, with no worry of the footage eroding and becoming unprofessional. Also, unless where the film is being played will be a guaranteed hit, it is risky to send film to a lot of cinemas, whereas digital films can be opened and played simultaneously around the world. 

Furthermore, an extensive viral marketing campaign was created in order to promote Disney's Frozen which contributed to it's massive success. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment were the distribution companies behind most of Frozen's releases. To begin with the promotion of an upcoming movie, a trailer is released and shown on television, YouTube ads and pop ups etc, which is a way in which digital distribution affects the marketing of media products. YouTube requires web 2.0 which is where the Frozen trailer was uploaded, currently viewed by 28,554,570 people. The teaser trailer was first published to attract their audience. Disney also released a second trailer onto YouTube, currently viewed by 17,963,990 people, and this is where further footage from the movie can be seen before being viewed in a cinema. Therefore, three trailers were aired on television and on Web 2.0 before the release of this Disney phenomenon. On YouTube, the Frozen trailer would often be advertised at the beginning of any video someone clicked on; they would have the option to 'Skip The Ad' after 5 seconds, however the 5 seconds is a clever tool on YouTube that gives people the chance to see if they're interested in watching the whole trailer. After the movie was released, Disney continued to make smart marketing decisions. They created a sing-along version to extend theatre life and keep their screen in the cinema busy. They also announced an upcoming Broadway musical based on the film, and pounced on the opportunity for Indina Menzel to sing at the Oscars; the singer behind Let It Go which is one of Frozen's most popular songs. Disney also released a CD of all of the songs featured in Frozen which further encourages audience to watch the movie as they may be interested in the songs they're listening to. Frozen also has their own website, where unique videos of the film can be found, Let It Go sung in 25 different languages, a variety of games for all of the children to be entertained. There's a Frozen gallery found on their website of stills from the film, a 'products' page which takes the viewer to their DVD and Blu-Ray section etc. A wide range of Disney merchandise is also advertised on Disney's store online; another marketing device which increases the number of Frozen fans. Due to Disney being part of The Big Six, it is expected that their marketing of Frozen was so successful, digital distribution encouraging this success.

On Frozen's opening weekend, it grossed $67,391,326 (USA) and £4,704,940 (UK). Four months and two Academy Awards after its release, Frozen officially surpassed Toy Story 3 as the top-grossing animated film to date, which makes it the first billion-dollar movie to come out of Disney Animation Studios. Even if someone hasn't seen the movie, they've no doubt heard about it somewhere online. Between the official Disney promos, the YouTube video of a dad and daughter singing along in the car to Let It Go (nearly 15 million views) or the couple Sam and Nia miming and acting "Love Is An Open Door" in a car with their baby in the backseat (20 million views), Frozen is inescapable, which was exactly Disney's plan. Frozen is now out on DVD and Blu-Ray, and also available on Netflix and LOVEFiLM, in order to reach a wider audience. However, institutions may not always look upon digital distribution as such a positive thing, as many websites can allow the consumers to view films illegally online and for free, which means that the film will not be making its money back from the budget, which means the companies who worked on a film will lose profit. This was not such a huge problem for a massive film like Frozen, but for a smaller, low budget film such as Ill Manors, it can be.

Ill Manors could not afford to create such a large marketing campaign as Frozen's, yet online methods still successfully promoted the movie. Their trailer uploaded to YouTube currently has 740,990 views which is a dramatic difference to Frozen. Ben Drew was able to advertise Ill Manors through his album which he brought out prior to the film's release date. He was the one who directed the making of the movie. An Ill Manors website was also created to encourage the marketing of the movie. People are able to access the trailer from this website, view stills from the movie, a synopsis and the album based on the film. A Facebook account was also created in trying to promote this low budget movie by independant distributing company Revolver Entertainment. These methods of marekting all required Web 2.0 which helped the instituion to get their media product to reach their target audience of 18 and 18+ year olds. Those on the higher side of teenage years all use the internet, which is why using social media is an effective way to market a movie. In order for this media product to reach a wider audience however, the distribution company would need to consider more methods of digital distribution. This would of course mean more money needed for the production company, however is something that would boost their income from Ill Manors. Ill Manors grossed a figure of £256,288 at Box Office on its opening weekend, which is more than double of it's budget of just £100,000. It's a small amount of money at Box Office, however their profit was definitely successful.

The consumption of media products is affected by digital distribution in mainly a positive way. Those who are interested in a movie that has been advertised but do not wish to pay the extortionate prices of cinema tickets and food, are able to at some point access a film in the cinema, on the internet. Usually uploads of new movies have been put on the internet illegally, nevertheless this doesn't stop a consumer from viewing the content for free in the comfort of their own home. In some cases, viruses are then found on people's laptops and computers from viewing this illegal content which causes the consumers problems. Illegal downloads are all fun and games until your piece of kit pays the price.

Ultimately, digital distribtion holds the potential to affect the marketing and the consumption of media products quite significantly. The internet's popularity is continously escalating over the years, which has an impact on the must to go and see movies in a cinema because of the continuing development of technology.