MARKETING

Marketing Strategy

As our target audience is adolescents 18 and above, we decided to promote our film ‘Styx’ on Instagram. According to the distribution of Instagram worldwide in January 2023, 30.8% of total users are from the age of 18 - 24. This group of people is also the largest group of users on Instagram therefore we think that promoting our film on this global social website would be efficient.

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We created an Instagram account for our ‘Black Shade’ film production company to update the release date and the film’s posters. Besides that, we also posted some stories to create a series of highlights such as for the behind the scene footage… We also posted the film company ident and logo to show a sense of identity for the film. Previously, we intended to build a personal account for Max to update his acting life. However, after going through some consideration, we decided to create a professional account for our film company to keep the audience updated.

Instagram

17.6% of the world population uses Instagram.
73% of U.S. teens say Instagram is the best way for brands to reach them about new products or promotions.
Instagram users spend an average of 30 minutes per day on the platform in 2021. 25% of U.S. teenagers say Instagram is their preferred social media platform.
Instagram has an Audience of More Than 1 Billion Users
31% of Instagram users are 18-24 years old

We may also do some collaboration with other film production companies to raise the audience’s awareness of our company and the upcoming films. We may contribute to a film fest where there are thousands of different young directors and filmmakers that we can impart knowledge from. For example, a collaboration with a film company named “Death Line” is a good idea as their company focused on mockumentary horror films while we’re focusing on psychological thriller movies.

Distribution

Previously, we planned to sign a contract with Netflix to publish our film there but unfortunately, we realized how small our film is since we’re independent filmmakers that produced a low-budget film. Therefore after some consideration, to reduce the cost of distribution and marketing of the film, we decided to shoot it in some independent cinemas or theaters in Hanoi such as Hanoi Doclab, Cinematheque… where lots of young people go to enjoy films. We will shoot it for around 4 to 5 weeks to see the audience’s feedback and reactions. We may free the tickets for those people who waited for the premier to show our appreciation for their excitement towards the film.

BBFC Classifications

Our ‘Styx’ film can be classified as 18+ because it contains strong language and violence that is only available for adults. In total, we have 3 major scenes: living room scene, classroom scene and office scene. In each scene, there are some elements that are related to violence such as the language of the characters.

Firstly, in the living room scene where Max’s sitting while his parents are having an argument, the language and the actions of Max’s father show that the film should be rated over 18 as he’s abusing the woman with strong and harsh language. Therefore it’s not suitable for teenagers under the age of 18 due to the unsuitable word choice. Violence also is shown here when Max’s father pushes his mother down the floor by hitting on her head.

Secondly, in the classroom scene, I think the image of scissors and the action of Max stab the teddy bear using the scissors may be the features that made the film being 18+. Besides that, the dialogue of the bullier also uses some insulting words that do not fit with the teenagers such as weirdo.

Finally, with the office scene, there are no specific images that link to violence but the content of the reporter’s speech may be sensitive to the young teenagers since it’s about a serial killer with his series of murders.