The purpose of Public Relations management is to maximize reach and coverage across various platforms. In the film industry, PR is mostly strategized to bring awareness and catch the attention of distributors, film festivals, movie enthusiasts, and social media influencers. Great PR agents and publicists help communicate the film’s brand image efficiently and effectively, while managing crises that could come along the way.
The secret is to feed the public bits and pieces of the project to come. In order to keep them intrigued and interested, it is best to not bombard them with all the information at once. PR agencies usually announce the cast and crew by using the names of bankable stars to lure in the audience. Also, if the story of the film is adapted from a widely loved book or a comic, publicists try to engage the already active fanbase and get them excited to watch their favorite story on the big screen.
Having an established network of connections with journalists and media specialists helps create better marketing and promotion opportunities for the film. PR agents and publicists work on getting positive media coverage of the film by having amicable relationships with movie critics and experts.
From the pre-production to the production and post-production stages, each phase of the filmmaking process has its own set of PR plans and strategies. PR specialists build a continuous and consistent media feed and coverage to interact with industry professionals and fans throughout the campaign. Press packs including synopsis, production information, cast and crew credits, stills, and EPK are sent by film publicists to journalists and critics. Invitations are sent for scheduled press screenings and many times especially for big budget movies, media people are invited to set during the shooting.
Simply put, PR in film takes many forms and with today’s dynamic working methods, it will continue to evolve. From releasing set photos and managing actors to be part of the PR process, to reaching out to TV/Radio, newspapers, and online media outlets, the PR agents work non-stop to get people talking about the film at hand.