Generating more than $2 trillion worldwide, the entertainment segment encompasses multiple segments, such as: film, book, music, sports, radio, gaming and events. Being in constant growth, the entertainment industry radically influences the global economy, culture and consumer state. Moreover, it constitutes a platform for marketers and advertisers, putting brand messages in front of audiences.

Its distinct characteristics, such as its experimental nature, sequential distribution, short time of existence, and consumption associated with the evolution of technology, always offer new challenges for marketers, regardless of the platform they operate on.

Thus, the entertainment industry is constantly looking for new marketing tactics in order to promote a movie, release an album, bring viewers to the stands or encourage decisions to opt for a monthly subscription.

In the case of promoting a film, today’s strategies go beyond simply releasing a trailer and presenting it in a cinema. Marketing teams make considerable efforts to build strategies that lead to the achievement of multiple objectives, following directions similar to those in the digital area: brand awareness, engagement and conversions.

Digital marketing thus becomes an effective way to engage the audience and develop a relationship with it, ensuring its retention. Whether we are talking about live streams of songs, contests held on social media, films made based on games, advertising campaigns on Youtube or interviews conducted on this platform, the digital environment is a vital space for promoting an entertainment piece.

Another advantage of this is the ability to measure the effectiveness of strategies according to accurate data. They give those working in the field in question the ability to make relevant decisions related to adjusting costs or improving campaign results. Used intelligently, the latter become indispensable to the entertainment industry, due to the following reasons:

1. Increase the level of consumer engagement

Digital Media Services UK, one of the leading digital agencies operating in the film industry, recently stated that the last few years have brought a radical change in the allocation of the budget for promotion. If until some time ago, it was divided equally between TV advertising campaigns and the social-online area, currently the latter covers a value of around 75%.

One of the reasons for this transition is to achieve a stronger level of engagement online. A recent study conducted by BenchmarkEmail shows that emails in the entertainment area have the highest open rate compared to all other industries: 37.3% compared to 27%. This result confirms the high demand for online entertainment products.

The advantages of digital marketing related to this aspect are also strongly visible in social media. According to the Hollywood Reporter survey , 56% of consumers believe that online platforms play an important role in their entertainment decisions. Moreover, the article shows that 31% of those who watch a movie trailer will pay to watch it, whilepeople who share a promo are 6 times more likely to purchase a ticket.

Social media thus offers unique promotion opportunities. The entertainment industry recognizes this reality, dominating the total posts, with a percentage of 63.2% across 6 different industries, including retail, automotive, finance, telecommunications and food.

The online environment represents a new reinterpretation of the artists’ backstage, through which the latter build a relationship with their audience. A community is thus created that discusses, interprets and distributes the entertainment object. Something as simple as sharing a movie trailer or video has huge potential on social media, given that a user’s number of friends is 338, according to a study conducted by Pew Research.

2. Offers the possibility of more efficient market segmentation

Online tools allow for the collection of an impressive amount of data. However, their applicability depends on the management systems used and the methods of interpretation.

Data classification is a concept that marketers operating in the entertainment industry are familiar with. Thus, when it comes to email, 82% of entertainment companies use subscriber lists segmented based on demographic criteria.

However, segmentation is not only about personal information, but also about how the community assimilates content. Different groups present different ways to watch a video. For example, Gen Z uses their smartphone for short videos and trailers, while others prefer longer videos on their laptop or desktop.

The data in question is highly relevant to the production and presentation of the media, affecting its style, pace and duration. Moreover, they allow predictive analysis of the overall response of the audience.

3. They allow retargeting on demographic criteria

There are some cases where data reveals results that are fundamentally opposite to initial expectations, which helps to redefine marketing campaigns with an entertainment element.

It is precisely this ease of obtaining data that allows, following its interpretation, to target different demographic segments and save a project that until now had proven to be a failure. Collecting and monitoring relevant statistics offers the possibility of discovering new trends, which can have a major impact on companies in the entertainment industry.

Digital marketing allows you to build a successful campaign or remodel a campaign that did not achieve the desired results, achieve higher engagement, create communities and promote according to relevant statistical data.