Book Tie-In

This photograph is of the book on which the film of the same name is based. It is a special edition to tie-in with the release of The Railway Man.

It was taken at Waterstone's on 31/12/13. This is a good case of synergy, as the publishers are clearly promoting the film and vice versa. It follows that people might become aware of the film through the book, and therefore might wish to then watch the film if they liked the book enough.

Furthermore, this might appeal to those who tend to read books and do not often watch films at the cinema. In particular, this might suggest to the public in general that since the film is based on a true story, then The Railway Man  might feel more real than most of the other releases.

Character Posters

 

These are the five character posters for The Railway Man. This is an effective means of promoting the main characters of the film, and therefore invites people to think about who these people are, and what their significance is, as far as the story goes. Furthermore, these character posters are utilising star appeal, in particular with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Television Coverage

This is a BBC Breakfast interview of Colin Firth that took place on 23/11/2013, regarding his role in The Railway Man.

BBC Breakfast maintains good viewing figures, with the implication therefore being that a wide range of people might become aware of the film, especially when one considers the star appeal of Colin Firth.

Mobile Advertising

Many well-known film magazines, such as Sight & Sound, Total Film  etc. can be downloaded on mobile devices. This is useful, since many people get their news from mobile devices nowadays. Some of these apps offer free downloads of certain issues, even to non-subscribers, which might be an incentive for them to read up on certain releases.

 



 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Promoting the film at the cinema

Both the Odeon and Vue cinema chains have free copies of their own monthly film magazines, which both informs the reader of their releases and gives the reader the latest in film news and events, reviews etc.

This is the December 2013 issue of the Odeon Magazine. Although it doesn't necessarily mention The Railway Man on the front cover, the fact that the magazine is free might give people an incentive to pick up a copy, and therefore they might be made aware of the film through reading the magazine.

 

 

This poster for The Railway Man  is on the inside cover, and is thus very accessible since it is right next to the contents page. Therefore, people can easily scan the poster, which makes the inside cover a suitable position for the poster.



 

 

The Railway Man  is listed as one of the 'coming soon' releases for Odeon Cinema. Since it informs them of its release date at Odeon Cinema, this might help people to remember about it, since they know that it will definitely be at Odeon Cinema on the day. They may then use the automatic ticket machines to verify the dates.

 

ODEON Magazine is also available as an iPhone and iPad app. There is a strong correlation between mobile devices and news consumption, particularly amongst young people, and so the implication is that news about film releases can be easily obtained on mobile devices. People read news stories on mobile devices while on the move.

 

 

 

This is the December 2013/January 2014 issue of Vue Magazine. Upcoming releases at Vue Cinema are listed at the bottom, which includes The Railway Man.

 

 

 

 

There is a page reference in the Contents Page for an interview with the director of The Railway Man, which might be of interest to those who wish to learn more about the film. Through this, therefore, they might want to see the film because they know more about it.

 

 

These are the listings for Vue Cinema releases, from December 2013 to January 2014. It clearly states that The Railway Man  will be released at Vue Cinema outlets on 1st January. This can help people to memorise that date, but also to look into other screening times for the film, and therefore might encourage them to see the film. 

 

 

 

The poster for The Railway Man, in regards to Vue Magazine, is right in the middle of the magazine - not an ideal position, however it is still fairly accessible and, since it is next to the film reviews pages, might convince people that this is a film worth seeing (especially since their review for The Railway Man  is extremely favourable.

 

   

 

 

This is the Vue Magazine's review for The Railway Man. Since it shares the page with reviews for other films (both of which are popular releases), then people who might have been interested in the other films reviewed might become aware of the film - even if this was simply on accident.

 

 

This is the first page of an interview

 

 

 

 

 

This is a photograph of an automatic ticket machine at Harrow Vue, taken on 30th December 2013. The start screen features the official poster for The Railway Man. This is useful for making more people aware of the film, as for many, this might not be the type of film they usually watch.

 

 

 

This is a photograph of a board outside Harrow Vue, listing the times for the week's releases. At the bottom is a listing for The Railway Man.

 

 

 

This photograph is of a cardboard display for The Railway Man, conveniently positioned next to the automatic ticket machines. It was taken on Tuesday, 31st December 2013 at ODEON Uxbridge. Due to its position, it can be easily seen as the ticket machines are frequently used.

 

 

 

This is a cinema poster for The Railway Man, also from ODEON Uxbridge. Since it is positioned near the cardboard display, it is relatively easy for people visiting the cinema to become more aware of the film.

 

 

The Railway Man is listed as one of the forthcoming releases on Empire Cinemas website. Since Empire Cinemas is fairly well-known, particularly its one branch at Leicester Square, this could benefit the film by having the support of a well-known chain of cinemas.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social Media

This is the official Facebook page for The Railway Man. It is extremely sparse and, given the lack of a Twitter account, it therefore follows that social media doesn't really play much of a role in the film's marketing campaign.

Here are some production stills from the film's shoot in Thailand. It suggests that the film will be of an epic scale given the exotic locale, and therefore convince people to go and see the film.

 

 

 

The update from this Twitter account having come only two days ago, it seems as though The Railway Man  is being used for Scotland's tourism marketing campaign, and therefore suggests that more people might be exposed to the film since it is being promoted by a country, which is reinforced by the fact that Scotland was extensively used as a filming location (much of the film is set in Scotland).

 

 



 

Reviews

 

 

 

This is the IMDB page for The Railway Man:

 

 

This is a review of The Railway Man  from The Scotsman:

 

 

 

This is a review of The Railway Man  from The Guardian:

 

 

 

Publicity

 

 

This is a photograph I took at Charing Cross Underground station on Friday, 13th December 2013. This photograph is of an official poster for The Railway Man. Since there is a large influx of people passing by, this might catch their attention and therefore make them aware of the film. 

 

 

 

Three months ago, a press conference was held at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) for

The Railway Man. This would have given people an in-depth look at the making of the film and what they hoped to achieve, as well as understand the film itself much better. 

 

Interestingly, included on the panel is Patti Lomax, the wife of the late Eric Lomax, who wrote the autobiography on which the film is based. This suggests that the makers of the film worked closely with the Lomax family in order to ensure that the film was as faithful to its source material as possible - and this could encourage people to watch the film based on this alone.

 

 

 

 

This is the official website for The Railway Man. It is easy to navigate, and therefore might encourage more and more people to find out about the film.

 

 

 

 



Screening & Premiere

The Railway Man  was given a screening at the Omni Vue cinema in Edinburgh (where Eric Lomax came from in real-life), ahead of its UK premiere. This would have created a real buzz about the film, as this would have been of great interest to people from Edinburgh who might have known about Eric Lomax.

http://www.scotsman.com/what-s-on/film/the-railway-man-to-get-edinburgh-screening-1-3208340

The Railway Man  also held its premiere at Leicester Square on Wednesday, 4th December 2013. It was attended by several guests, which would have brought the film to wider attention.

Competitions and Promotions

The Telegraph  ran a competition, in which readers could pick up a free copy of the book The Railway Man, on which the film of the same name is based. Competition details were included in the Sunday, 14th December 2013 issue of The Telegraph. This is a case of effective synergy, as people might read the book and then want to go out and see the film.

The Telegraph  previously ran a competition in which one lucky reader could win a pair of tickets to the film's premiere at London's Leicester Square.

Sky offered free tickets to advance screenings of The Railway Man  for its Sky Movies customers. Since there were no costs incurred, and given that Sky is a reputable company, this might have added to the hype for The Railway Man's theatrical release. Furthermore, if people really enjoyed the film, then they might recommend it to others and they might enjoy repeat viewings once it is released in cinemas.

Electronic Press Kits

There are several electronic press kits from The Railway Man.

http://wizardradio.co.uk/news/?tag=the-railway-man

http://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/156901/railway-man

The Railway Man Official Trailer - UK

This is the most recent trailer for The Railway Man. The official trailers have been uploaded by the YouTube channel LionsGateFilmsUK (the film's distribution company for the UK).

The trailer is short and to the point, which might help to captivate viewers. It is presented as being a true story, which might appeal to those who like thought-provoking films. Furthermore, Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman are billed as the main stars, which emphasises their star appeal and suggests that the film will sell because of them.