History of Trailers
Originally, trailers were shown at the end of a film in the cinema. They were very short clips that mainly consisted of title cards and stock footage. They were seen as miniature episodes that may have been short storylines, cartoons or other forms of entertainment.
But as the cinema audiences began to leave after a film, trailers did not serve as much as a purpose being at the end of the film. They were then shown prior to a feature in the cinema and over time, began to hold much more content and serve the purpose to inform rather than entertain.
I will be looking at the purpose of a soap opera trailer and why they are used. To back up my points, I will also use images and soap opera trailers.
Promoting an event
Soap operas often use trailers to advertise an important event in the story-line. It can be a wedding, a funeral, a disaster, an introduction of a new character or something along those lines.
An example of an event being advertised is Archie and Peggy Mitchell's wedding in Eastenders.
The trailer does not reveal the outcome of the event or show any other story-lines in the soap opera. This appeals to the viewer's sense of curiosity and causes them to watch that particular episode.
Attracting new audiences
Another purpose of a soap trailer is to appeal to a new range of audiences. This may be done by airing the episode at a different time, advertising attractive characters and story-lines or lengthening a certain episode for a special show.
The reason this technique works so well is because of socialising and word of mouth. When existing audiences hear that a particular episode is on at a different time or is twice as long, they discuss it with their friends, family or work colleagues. This, in turn, influences new audiences to want to watch that episode in order to relate to the existing audience and join in on a social level.
"We all do it. We share stories with others, gossip about a co-worker at the office, and tweet articles we find on-line to friends and family. But, what drives people to share, and why is some information shared more than others?
Jonah Berger, a Marketing Professor at U Penn's Wharton School has found the answer. In a paper published a few weeks ago in the journal Psychological Science, Berger reveals arousal has a lot to do with it. Simply put, when we are physiologically aroused we are more likely to share information with those around us.
Physiological arousal is defined as activation of the autonomic nervous system, which affects bodily functions such as heart rate and perspiration - think sweaty palms and a beating heart. As it happens, arousal, whether stemming from the content of the information we are sharing or another source all together, boosts the social transmission of information."
Article collected from www.psychologytoday.com, titled "Word of Mouth- What Makes Us Gossip?"
The Purpose of Our Soap Trailer
Using some of the ideas from above, our soap trailer will aim to attract new audiences through advertising an event.
Because our soap opera is brand new, there is not an existing audience. As creating a trailer is one tactic of reaching out to potential viewers, we will be aiming to attract as many audience members as possible by creating an engaging and interesting soap opera trailer.
The event we will advertise will probably be the introduction of a new character. This event is suitable for a new soap as a heavy, dramatic storyline could make it difficult for a new viewer to click with the soap. By starting off with a neutral storyline that generally gets more dramatic and tense, it represents the beginning of a film: easy to understand and keep up with.
Attracting new audiences
Another purpose of a soap trailer is to appeal to a new range of audiences. This may be done by airing the episode at a different time, advertising attractive characters and story-lines or lengthening a certain episode for a special show.
"We all do it. We share stories with others, gossip about a co-worker at the office, and tweet articles we find on-line to friends and family. But, what drives people to share, and why is some information shared more than others?
Jonah Berger, a Marketing Professor at U Penn's Wharton School has found the answer. In a paper published a few weeks ago in the journal Psychological Science, Berger reveals arousal has a lot to do with it. Simply put, when we are physiologically aroused we are more likely to share information with those around us.
Physiological arousal is defined as activation of the autonomic nervous system, which affects bodily functions such as heart rate and perspiration - think sweaty palms and a beating heart. As it happens, arousal, whether stemming from the content of the information we are sharing or another source all together, boosts the social transmission of information."
Article collected from www.psychologytoday.com, titled "Word of Mouth- What Makes Us Gossip?"
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The Purpose of Our Soap Trailer
Using some of the ideas from above, our soap trailer will aim to attract new audiences through advertising an event.
Because our soap opera is brand new, there is not an existing audience. As creating a trailer is one tactic of reaching out to potential viewers, we will be aiming to attract as many audience members as possible by creating an engaging and interesting soap opera trailer.
The event we will advertise will probably be the introduction of a new character. This event is suitable for a new soap as a heavy, dramatic storyline could make it difficult for a new viewer to click with the soap. By starting off with a neutral storyline that generally gets more dramatic and tense, it represents the beginning of a film: easy to understand and keep up with.
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