MARKETING IN CROATIAN FEATURE FILM – EXPLORATIVE RESEARCH

Sa？etak Croatian cinematography and Croatian feature films in general are not achieving great success neither in terms of viewership, especially when it comes to box office, nor in terms of recognition and reputation and are seen by the public as inferior to foreign movies, particularly American movies. Despite the rewards they are receiving at festivals in Croatia and in the rest of the world, the general perception of public and even among the members of profession is negative. In regards to that, the aim of this paper, of this research, was to find the answer whether marketing can be helpful in achieving the better success of Croatian feature film, what the role of marketing in the film industry really is or can be. Throughout the paper it was hypothesized that marketing isn′t applied neither enough, nor systematically nor correctly, in Croatian film industry and that better, more correct and systematic, implementation of marketing would help Croatian feature films achieve much greater success in terms of viewership, recognition and reputation. Moreover, it would help Croatian film industry in the long run to gain much better reputation and recognition both in the film world and among general public. Concerning the research, the research was carried by interviewing 20 experts on the Croatian feature films and films in general that were specifically chosen by the author on the basis of their knowledge in the matter and their professions. Among the participants were film critics, distributors, cinema owners, directors, producers, film theoreticians and academic professors with a Ph.D. in film art. Through interviews with them obtained was the qualitative insight into the state of Croatian film industry, Croatian feature films and marketing in Croatian feature films, as well as insight into trends related to those