The differential success of movie trailers

• Modes of Reception can serve as a tool for audience segmentation.
• The success of movie trailers is moderated by Modes of Reception.
• Via a target group-specific creation of trailers, recipients can be approached who do not represent the conventional audience members of the promoted movie.
• The results are a challenge for media planning.

The idea underlying the empirical investigation reported in this contribution is that the success of movie trailers is moderated by Modes of Reception (Suckfüll, M., 2004. Rezeptionsmodalitäten. Ein integratives Konstrukt für die Medienwirkungsforschung [Modes of Reception. An Integrative Construct for Media Effects Research]. Fischer, München). Modes of Reception are a four-dimensional construct consisting of the interdependent factors Identity Work, In-Emotion, Imagination and Production. Three different trailers for the movie THE PIANO (Chapman, J., & Campion, J., 1993. The Piano. Santa Monica, CA: Miramax Lionsgate) were produced. The hypothesis was that the trailers appeal to viewers who predominantly use corresponding Modes of Reception. An online survey with 554 participants was conducted. A moderated regression analysis revealed that the relation between a trailer that focuses on the story told in the movie and the dependent variable Success of the Trailer (in terms of liking and intention to watch the movie) is significantly influenced by the Mode of Reception Identity Work for women, whereas the success of a trailer that focuses on the quality of the movie is significantly lower in men that predominantly use the same mode. This contribution introduces the construct Modes of Reception as a tool for audience segmentation. By considering Modes of Reception as consumer characteristics, a target group-specific distribution of intentionally created movie trailers could increase the efficiency of film marketing campaigns. The idea is discussed in contrast to the popular view that genre is the silver bullet for target group-specific film marketing.