The Ring - researching the distribution campaign.

The Ring
The Ring was released in October 2002, directed by Gore Verbinkski. A journalist investigates a cursed video which may have killed four teenagers (one being her niece). She then battles against time when her son's life is put at risk by the same tape. The DVD sold 2 million copies in the first 24 hours of the release.
Budgetting:

The film had the budget of $48 million and overall grossed an average of $249 million - this made it one of this highest grossing films of all time. The likelihood of this would have been that half of the $48 million budget would have been put towards marketing and the other on production.

Media used to market the film:
The "cursed" video that the teenagers watch within the movie is added as an extra on the DVD for the buyers to be able to view. The "cursed" video was also left on seats in certain cinemas for the people going to view it to take as freebies - this would have been a good way to get the audience to feeling more involved with the film and drawing in more of a wider, "horror movie fan", audience. The tap was also handed out and shown at concerts or events.
The "cursed/killer" video was actually shown as a television advert a long period of time before the release/awareness of it actually being the movie. Throughout the adverts there was no mention of a release date or even any hint that it was a film clip. Lastly, a trailer of the film was released in 2002 - the name for the film is not heard or seen until the end but other information is shown and heard throughout, swell as scenes from the film being shown. 
Of course posters were also released everywhere for people to recognise and see to inform them that the film is going to be released at some point. However, this poster does not have a date therefore, the audience would not have known immediately when the film was to be released in cinemas. 

Audience:
America rated the movie a PG-13 due to the disturbing scenes, drug references and language. The frightening/intense scenes have been rated 8/10 and violence and gore 7/10. This suggests that the main audience for the film should most definitely be lovers of horror and gore, also 13(with an adult) and over. There are is not any sex or nudity in the film and only a rating of 4/10 for "profanity" - making it mainly acceptable for ages who understand and will not be influenced by the language and actions of the characters. The film has had reviews claiming that it is a "real horror film" and not a type where the horror is substituted with sex and gore - this implies that real lovers of horrors are mostly targeted rather than fans of not-so-heavy horror. 

 This trailer definitely suits/satisfies the expectations of a "horror fan". There are frequent flash blacks of the image of the "ring" symbol throughout, in-between different scenes. There are also frequent flashbacks to the television where the tape is being played - the little girl with long dark hair covering her hair gradually gets closer and closer to the screen each time. This greats fear within the audience as it implies that the girl is coming towards them, personally, when actually she is not. At the end of the trailer, the little girl is shown climbing through the TV screen into the journalists house - this connotes that something bad is going to happen considering the girl came from a "cursed video". Lastly, there is a lot of screaming throughout the trailer which due to the volume and the fact it is unexpected, scares the audience and grabs their attention.