"Cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences." To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your media area? 


I think a huge part of a films success relies on marketing so cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in marketing. Marketing a film can be good but if it is not exciting and different nobody will notice it among other advertising. Cross media convergence is good as it means that lots of people can find out about a film through social media such as Facebook and Twitter. These are examples of convergence as the company making the film is not joining with Facebook it is just using it to gain publicity. I think using social media is very good advertising as lots of people have Facebook and Twitter so lots of people find out about the film. I think this is especially good for films aimed at teens and young adults as they use the social media much more so will be more likely to see the marketing. An example of cross media convergence is companies releasing film trailers on YouTube as they are not joining with YouTube to advertise their film they are using the technology available to them. Another example of convergence is when films have their own Facebook page like Iron Man 3 did as this increases awareness and lets lots of people know about the film. This was good for this film particularly as Iron Man has a large fan base that has a high percentage of teens or young adults who regularly use social media. I think cross media convergence is good for film marketing as it is cheaper for the film makers and it gets lots of people to know about the film through social media.


Synergy is also good as it increases awareness of the film as well. Synergy means that film companies can pair up with other companies and help promote each others products. An example of this is when Audi joined with Iron Man 3 and produced a car to be used in the film. This is a good method of marketing as it makes people aware of both products and promotes the film as well. I think cross media synergy is good for films as if they pair up with well known brands like Audi then they can appeal to different target markets. I think the brand the film decides to have a partnership with can affect who they attract to watch their film. If a films was to pair up with a brand like Coca Cola they would probably find they could appeal to a lot of teens and adults who like to drink the product whereas if a film was in a partnership with Haribo they would find they were appealing to a much younger audience. For this reason I think that synergy can be good as long as the partnership is appropriate for their film audience. I think having a good partnership is good for films as it means they can attract the audience of their partners product as well as their own audience. Another example of synergy is when a film company has a partnership with a app or game making company and gives them the rights to make a game based on their film or using characters from their film. This can also be good as this is not done very often which means you can get lots of publicity and attract new audience with it. Another example of synergy is Frozen releasing a recorded version of Let it Go on their CD where they had a partnership with Demi Lovato who sang the song for them. Different marketing like this is good as it stands out for things like trailers and poster and makes your film more interesting.




I think that using cross media convergence and synergy can be good for films as it is different and makes your marketing campaigns stand out form others if it is done right. If you are using synergy then you need to have a partnership with the right kind of brand as you need to appeal to people you want to come and watch your film. There would be no point for a film like Frozen to have a partnership with a company such as Audi as the film is aimed at children and the product is aimed at adults. This partnership would not work as you would be attracting the wrong people to your film. I also don't think that a film like Frozen would do very well with an app or game as younger children that would want to see this film may not understand how to play a game about it or may not have the access to it. However more younger children are playing with technology more recently so they may find that some of their audience would appreciate a game. I think a game or app for a film would work better for a film such as The Hunger Games as the people who would watch this are older and use technology more frequently. Using cross media convergence is also good as lots of people use social media so there is a big audience to reach out too however I don't think certain films would do as well with this. Films such as Iron Man will do well on social media as the audience is teens and young adults and this is the type of person who uses the media a lot. Films like Frozen could do well on YouTube as lots of their young audience will want to listen to the songs again so by releasing videos of these onto YouTube they can attract a younger audience. I think however films such as Frozen would not do so well on Facebook as it is aimed at younger children and Facebook is more for teens and adults. I think the release of a CD works better for films like Frozen as kids like singing Disney song so they can attract the right audience for the film. I think that cross media convergence and synergy are a very important part in marketing as they help attract the correct audience and promote the film. However film companies have to be careful what partnerships they make as they need to be appealing to the right age group and audience for their film.