Essay

"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 agree with this statement as cross media convergence is when film companies accidently use other forms of media to promote their film, such as when a film company use Twitter to promote a film by posting links to the film trailer and they can get Twitter to promote their film by putting a link to the film directly onto every Twitter account therefore giving the film more publicity as they do not have to follow the account to see the post.


Also YouTube is used as a convergence as film companies such as Paramount Pictures would have an account where they would post film trailers and behind the scenes interviews with the cast members this would help promote the film as it gives the audience the chance to see parts of the film before it comes out, the companies could then also use other forms of media to post their trailer too increase the amount of people that would watch the film. When watching a video on YouTube there is a recommended column this will allow people to find trailers for films that they have liked or previously watched therefore giving more of a chance to see the trailers.


Another form of cross media convergence is the use of Facebook by film companies, this is useful as the companies can create pages for each film such as Marvel Studios, they have created Facebook pages in which people can like and get notified when they post something new. Marvel Studios have created a page for the promotion of ‘The Avengers’ having a page for a film can help promote it as when people like the page they will be sent notifications about if the page has been updated which will help people keep up to date with everything that is happening with the film. They can also see other film pages that this company has created which will help promote other films that this company and others have created.



Synergy is used when films deliberately join with other companies to promote their film. Such as when magazines create a page or spread to promote a film, a good example of this is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, as this in newspapers such as The Telegraph, this had a seven page spread on reviews and behind the scenes of the film, this would have reached a national population in UK as it is a very popular, well known newspaper.


The Grand Budapest Hotel created a website that revealed secrets about the film before it had come out, this helped market the film to audiences as they could see parts of what the film had in it. Also Grand Budapest Hotel created a recipe for ‘Mendels’ which was the cake used in the film, they also posted a video on YouTube on how to make them, this went viral which means that more people would have seen it as it would have been shared around social media, such as Twitter and Facebook.


Lego is used a synergy company as it creates toys that promote films, such as Back to the Future, many Lego toys have been created to promote the film such as the Delorean which is the car used in the film, this has helped promote the film as children will by this as it is a toy and then wonder where it came from, therefore helping promote the film.