7/3/2010: OUR SURVEY: AUS FILMS NEED MORE & BETTER MARKETING

Marketing of Australian films needs improving, as do the endings of our films, according to a survey conducted by Bergent Research on behalf of Urban Cinefile, but respondents who wanted to see more sex in our movies are primarily those under 25.

The survey, conducted at various cinemas in Sydney and Melbourne on Saturday February 27, canvassed over 500 cinema patrons with four propositions to score out of 5:
Thinking about Australian films in general, should they have :
1 better marketing? Overall score 4.1
2 better endings? Overall score 3.8
3 be more upbeat? Overall score 3.7
4 more sex scenes? Overall score 2.5

These results are based on a movie-going audience of mostly women, 67%, and 33% men. Their average age is 35.6 years old (men: 37.3 years old, women 34.8 years).

“This survey confirms previous survey results in which marketing was a weakness,” says Andrew L. Urban. "In June 2008, we reported  the results of an extensive survey by Bergent, commissioned by the Film Finance Corporation.

The main thrust of that research was that Australian films are not automatically disadvantaged by being Australian; but the way a film is presented has an impact on its appeal.

The information element of marketing is crucial: audiences need to be made aware of films as the first step and an effective marketing campaign is both expensive and challenging in this marketplace. But it’s a key impediment to Australian films finding an audience.