Target Audience #3- Jigsaw

Jigsaw is a 2017 American horror film, which focuses on finding a serial killer. This serial killer gruesomely murders each of his victims, and evidence soon points to a man known as Jigsaw, who has been dead for ten years.  

             This film’s target audience was thrill-seeking individuals between 20 and 45 years old, as it showed disturbing scenes that would not be appropriate for younger viewers.

             The most innovative marketing techniques this film had, was a Virtual Reality Ad promoting the film. It featured real props from the movie rendered in VR, custom voice-over from Jigsaw-himself, actor Tobin Bell, and even includes shrines to each of the eight films in the Saw franchise. When users first enter the ad, they find themselves trapped in a terrifying contraption with only one choice – to live or die. They must solve a quick puzzle and, if they survive, they can teleport around the environment to check out the various Saw film shrines. This ad was an invocative way to use new technology reach their target audience. Their audience of middle-aged mostly men, most likely already owned a VR headset, and this ad was a beneficial partnership that utilized interactive resources at hand. Overall, this marketing technique allowed for their audience to have a real experience with the film and feel as if they were a part of the film itself, adding popularity to the film.

             Moreover,  On September 16, 2017, Liongate released five posters to promote Jigsaw. The posters show off people in the traditional Billy the Puppet makeup, captioned "He is Everything. He is Everywhere. He is Everyone". The release of the posters was Lionsgate's way of reasserting the series' dominance over the Halloween season and to add realism and awareness to the film.

            Furthermore, the film also carried out the annual Halloween Blood Drive. The Annual Blood Drive is the series' tradition, where before the release of the films in October, mobile blood stations are set up around the United States, where fans who donate blood receive a free ticket to see the respective film of that year. The tradition started in 2004, after the overwhelming success of Saw, and continued for each of the sequels until it stopped in 2009 before the release of Saw VI Due to the arrival of Jigsaw in October, the blood drive was revived for another year, promoting the film with eight posters released by Liongate, featuring "Nurses". These “Nurses” were influential media figures, further spreading awareness for the film. This ad campaign allowed the film to influence a larger impactful donation, while promoting and gaining viewers for their film.

          Therefore, the film Jigsaw used many marketing techniques to effectively reach their target audience, and promote a successful horror film.