I’ve been in theatrical distribution for 5 years (a short time by some standards), and have already seen the playing field shift dramatically.  5 years ago, I interned at a reputable distribution company that no longer exists. 3 years ago, I placed trailers in art house theaters that …]]> By Sara Kiener

I’ve been in theatrical distribution for 5 years (a short time by some standards), and have already seen the playing field shift dramatically.  5 years ago, I interned at a reputable distribution company that no longer exists. 3 years ago, I placed trailers in art house theaters that have since changed owners multiple times or…no longer exist. Throughout, I worked on great films that wouldn’t find their way to a theater today and I worked on campaigns that were banking on ad buys and (fingers crossed) strong reviews. Those days are over, for the most part. And I’ve joined the band of noisemakers encouraging filmmakers to consider alternative means of marketing and exhibition.

But my heart still belongs to the independent theaters, so I’m a bit torn.

That’s why I was so thrilled when I first read about Tugg in indieWIRE. Their mission couldn’t be more straightforward: “Tugg brings the movies you want, to your local theater,” yet its’ approach is up to speed with cutting edge social media tactics (crowdsourcing and crowdfunding are at the heart of their model).  Here’s how it works in a nutshell: a promoter or a hardcore fan can create an event at a theater, pick a date and time, and then they have to pre-sell a set number of tickets in order to lock-in the event. Everyone gets a percentage of the ticket sales (the filmmaker, the theater, Tugg and even the promoter!) so it’s win win. As an outreach gal, I was particularly interested in how this new model could lend itself to documentaries and niche issue narratives. So I put it to the test, and helped set up an event for Julie Wyman’s new film STRONG! about U.S. Olympian Cheryl Hayworth. I am thrilled with the results and can assure you that there are more screenings in the pipelines.

STRONG! Directed by Julie Wyman

So should you be thinking about TUGG? Does it make sense for your film? Here are some questions you should ask yourself before pulling the trigger:

*Does your film have a regional audience that is locatable and reachable?

*Do you feel confident that you and your team can locate regional partners and engage them?

*Do you have partners on board who want to help you spread the word but can’t support you financially (i.e., help pay for traditional theatrical distribution and/or pay rental fees)?

*Do you have your theatrical rights?

*Is your film being distributed in NYC and LA?  Do you know what to do with it regionally after that?

*Do you believe there’s a home and an audience for your film outside of or in addition to the classroom and the community center setting?

If the answer to most of the questions above is yes, then you should probably start looking into Tugg! Some other films are already hip to the approach and doing rather well. Here are a few examples:

#ReGENERATION
This documentary about the Occupy Wall Street movement (narrated by Ryan Gosling) had 10 screenings across the country over the course of one evening, promoted by the filmmakers themselves and people who had read a Huffington Post article about the film and wanted to get involved.  The screenings featured Q&As with the filmmakers as well as members of local communities including professors and figures of the Occupy movement.

ONE DAY ON EARTH
On Earth Day this documentary was shown throughout the US via Tugg.  It was filmed in every country across the globe over the course of one day — a crowd-sourced film utilized a crowd-source platform (Tugg) to play in theaters in 11 cities, selling over 1800 tickets without spending $1 on traditional marketing.

INCENDIARY
The filmmakers of this critically-acclaimed documentary about the death penalty have utilized Tugg to arrange screenings in partnership with death penalty orgs across the country.  To date, Tugg has provided theatrical showings of INCENDIARY in more than double the amount of markets it reached during its traditional theatrical run.

ECTASY OF ORDER: THE TETRIS MASTERS
There was a sold out show in Austin for a documentary called ECSTASY OF ORDER: THE TETRIS MASTERS about Tetris World Champions. The promoter, who saw the film at a festival and had to share it with his friends and community, arranged a unique screening through Tugg with an in-theater Tetris competition on the big screen following the film.  He has a great recap on the event here.

And this is just the beginning, IMHO. I’m really excited to see what other filmmakers and distributors do with this platform. If enough clever filmmakers and promoters dabble with Tugg, we may be looking at the next phase of theatrical distribution…one ticket at a time.

Not being a filmmaker has given me the luxury of not having to ask everyone I know for money… at least not since my Bat Mitzvah. I’m used to sitting on the outside of these campaigns, watching mindfully, donating when moved and sharing links when asked nicely. That …]]> By Sara Kiener

Not being a filmmaker has given me the luxury of not having to ask everyone I know for money… at least not since my Bat Mitzvah. I’m used to sitting on the outside of these campaigns, watching mindfully, donating when moved and sharing links when asked nicely. That being said, it was inevitable that eventually I would get involved with one of these. After all, I’m surrounded by filmmakers, many of whom usually need money. Additionally, as it turns out, Kickstarter campaigns are a lot like film outreach campaigns (our forte at here Film Presence). So when I was recently approached by Lydia Dean Pilcher (Cine Mosaic) and Elizabeth Cuthrell (Evenstar Film), to consult on their visionary kickstarter campaign for THE SISTERHOOD OF NIGHT (23 days left!), I put on my metaphorical Bat Mitzvah shoes, and got to it!

When we started Film Presence, most outreach efforts were being applied to community and grassroots screenings, but not at the theatrical level.  It became clear there was a need for similar engagement around the theatrical openings of films that had tight budgets and clear audiences.  This has become …]]> by Merrill Sterritt

When we started Film Presence, most outreach efforts were being applied to community and grassroots screenings, but not at the theatrical level.  It became clear there was a need for similar engagement around the theatrical openings of films that had tight budgets and clear audiences.  This has become the core of the work that we do at Film Presence, and over time, we have found that some of the same strategies can be applied at the festival launch. Here are a few of the outreach tools we use that apply to festival premieres:

Social media

This is the first and most obvious tool for raising awareness.  If your film didn’t have Facebook and Twitter presence before being accepted into its first festival, make sure it is now.  You’ll want to engage those first viewers coming out of your premiere screenings, who are tweeting/posting short, quotable “reviews” of your film.  You can hang onto those for later, and also engage with these new fans instantly, with the right apps installed on your phone.   If you’re a one-man show, just be sure to set up tracking of the film’s title and any key words before the festival, so relevant posts will be easier to find find on the fly.

Organizational partners

This is a good time to start alerting national partners about your film’s existence, if you’ve not already done so.  Many non-film people don’t know what the point of a festival launch is, but if you’re premiering in one with a fancy/recognizable name (Sundance, SXSW, Toronto…) or big city (Chicago, NY, DC…), they will know that means something important!  Even if they can’t collaborate with you at this stage, this initial contact will help kickstart your relationships further down the line.

Group sales & Passes

Find out from the festival how many tickets/passes you’ll get to each screening and use them wisely.  If you’re not sure who to ask, just check in with the press office. Before you give them all out to press, industry, and crew, think about whom locally should see your film and would talk about it.  Look at the national partners above and find their regional branches or local versions.  Also think about if your film is a good fit for school groups, church groups, community groups, etc.  Is the festival easy for the general public to navigate or more of an industry event?  A full theater makes for a much better screening for everyone.  Ticket giveaways through social media and radio are a great way to alert the local public to your screening.  When ELEVATE, a documentary about West African teens coming to the U.S. to play for NCAA teams, premiered at SXSW last March, we worked with the Texas Longhorns’ radio station to do a ticket giveaway to local listeners in Austin. It was a great way to engage the local community and target audience!

Street teams & “outsourcing”

You’re going to be overwhelmed at your premiere festival, so this is a great time to start “outsourcing” some work.  Find a couple local college students ahead of time who can handle postcards and mini-posters for you.  Usually they’re just excited to be involved in a “real” movie with a “real” filmmaker, and the festival itself to a capacity, but you can also give them a couple tickets and invite them to your after party to sweeten the deal. The best way to find volunteers is through the film department at the regional college or university. We found a volunteer for FAMBUL TOK, a film about grassroots reconciliation in Sierra Leone, through the University of Austin Art Program when it premiered at SXSW.

Materials

Speaking of postcards, this is an easy area to spend too much of your time.  Just try to pick the most eye-catching and effective design, make sure the cards get distributed a few times, and move on to your bigger issues. Make sure your screening times and venues are clear, your catch line is catchy, and your image pops. And then move on. There will be a lot of postcards out at the festival, and you have a lot of other things to worry about.

Website

Oftentimes, festivals don’t give you much heads up when you’re accepted, so things slips through the cracks in the flurry of getting ready to premiere.  It’s important to make sure your website is clear and concise before you head out.  When daily festival reviews and wrap-ups start appearing on the Internet that include your film, the first place readers will head is to your site.  Even though you don’t have any distribution yet, is it clear what you want to do with the film?  What your goals are?  Who people can contact if they want to book or screen the film?  Make sure that is streamlined ahead of time so you don’t miss out on future opportunities. Here’s a great example of a website that has it’s sh*t together, a recently accepted film in the Sundance Line-Up called INDIE GAME: http://www.indiegamethemovie.com (They have the essentials in place: social media, newsletter sign up, trailer, laurels, title, contact info, pre-orders, screening requests – looks like they’ve done their homework!)

Taking an independent film to a festival can feel overwhelming and expensive, but it is doable, especially if you think outside of the industry box.  We have worked with films at both Sundance and SXSW, and netting and communicating with your audience at that stage can really start to create your first wave of ambassadors.  If you have questions about other ways to engage your audience at the festival level, feel free to contact us!

And if you need any more encouragement to get you to jump on it, watch this!

Perhaps it’s poor salesmanship or just good ol’ fashion manners, but I frequently tell filmmakers and producers that they shouldn’t be paying me to explain to them how twitter works. Recently on a call with a very kind and well intentioned producer, I found myself completely baffled that …]]> By Sara Kiener

Perhaps it’s poor salesmanship or just good ol’ fashion manners, but I frequently tell filmmakers and producers that they shouldn’t be paying me to explain to them how twitter works. Recently on a call with a very kind and well intentioned producer, I found myself completely baffled that I was charging someone money to answer a seemingly obvious questions like, “so…what is a hashtag?” Now, before you gasp and exclaim to your co-worker “That person must be living in a hole! Everyone knows what a hashtag is.” I must correct you, because you are mistaken.

I have taken calls from world-renowned film marketing “gurus”, who, at a moment’s notice, need me to explain how to write on someone’s Facebook wall; sometimes filmmakers can’t even find their own film’s Facebook page! These phone calls are akin to explaining to my grandmother how email works. As social media technologies evolve and become ever more integral to the marketing and distribution landscape, it’s critical that we all take a collective step back and de-mystify these tools by acknowledging them for what they are: utensils. Like a calculator or a hammer, all you need to do is look at these mediums and take a deep breath. You can figure it out filmmakers, I know you can! As for my grandma and emails, that’s another story.

At numerous labs, panels and consultations, I hear the same question over and over: “when should I start Facebooking?” My answer is always the same: you should start RIGHT NOW. I don’t say this because, as many social media consultants will tell you, it takes excessive time and energy to create an online community. I say it because, frankly, what are you waiting for? There isn’t a secret magical moment that only one group of elite filmmakers are privy to. They simply, just like anyone else, finally had some free time. Additionally, you start right now because the sooner you start the process, the more comfortable you’ll be when your campaign begins to really take off.

First, you need to conquer Facebook and Twitter, then move on to the various social media management sites like Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, Twilert and Twiangulate, which you’ll be surprised to find can actually be more efficient and easier to use. Once you have these under your belt, you’ll be ready to take on the next “must do” platform (there’s something new every month!). However, if you postpone tackling these platforms, they can bury you with anxiety. Just take a look at the hammer, try it out and think to yourself, “How does this work?” I promise you, eventually, you will figure it out. Here are three quick and painless pointers to get started:

1. Google your question! You don’t need a “social media guru” to explain to you what a hashtag is. Look, twitter.com can tell you.
2. Most filmmakers I encounter “don’t have anything to say.” I don’t believe you! To ease your anxiety about not sounding cool or smart enough, look up the Twitter feeds of your favorite films from the last year. See what you like and what you don’t like. Then do what humans do best: copy it!
3. Make sure at least one person on your team or crew genuinely loves social media (or at least “gets” it). This person can get the ball rolling and then once you’re cozy, you, your intern or outreach coordinator can take over once you’ve been accepted to a festival or are preparing for distribution. If NO ONE on your crew likes social media (Really? Come on now!) then find some interns and get a consultant to train them on basic marketing technique.

But all this leads me to an even larger and more distressing issue: what is the point of all of this?! Let me preface my answer by saying that I MARKET FILMS FOR A LIVING, I love spreading the word, I love engaging audiences, I spend at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week doing it and I’ll be the first to tell you I’m not drinking the social media Kool-Aid! I do not believe that social media is the sole key to a successful marketing campaign. I repeat: I do not believe that social media is the sole key to a successful marketing campaign. In fact, I might go so far as to say that social media can be a distraction from the task at hand.

My job is to connect a film with the target audience, and depending on your project’s financial situation, this might be your job, too. But how can you do this if you only have 62 followers on Facebook? How can you convince a film festival that you have people invested in your film if you haven’t run a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign? How can you convince that prospective acquisition head that your film is different from that other film that came out four years ago on the same topic, if you don’t even have a Twitter account? I’ll tell you: The key is partners. I believe that if your film only has 60 followers, but your partner organization has 30,000 – because they’ve existed long before you even began to conceive of your film and probably have a full-time staff member devoted to online marketing – then you’re in very good shape. Not only that, you can harness their pre-existing “following” and those members will become your allies for as long as you partner with that organization, which, if you play your cards right, can be years.

Additionally, a true partner will not only tweet about your film, they will blast about it, post it on their calendar, put out postcards, even moderate Q&A’s and help you set up panels. More importantly they will connect you with niche marketing and link you up with regional partners, who can then send emails on your behalf, set up fundraiser screenings in different cities, announce your film festival launch, theatrical premiere, DVD launch, VOD and broadcast premiere. Don’t you think that creating this relationship that could span for years is more valuable than having 1,000 followers on Facebook? Well, I can tell you from experience that, yes, it is.

Having a good hammer is one thing. A good toolbox is quite another.

In our first installment, my Film Presence partner did a broad overview of basic outreach strategy.  For our second blog post, I’m going to focus on how to make your outreach to potential partners as targeted and personal as possible, starting in the research phase.

When you’re …]]> by Merrill Sterritt

In our first installment, my Film Presence partner did a broad overview of basic outreach strategy.  For our second blog post, I’m going to focus on how to make your outreach to potential partners as targeted and personal as possible, starting in the research phase.

When you’re researching, cluster the organizations you find by type in your database  (i.e. student athletes, basketball rec leagues, foundations, etc.).  By contacting them in group order, it will help keep your “message” relevant to them.  This tailored message will need to be consistently conveyed in your phone and email pitches to them, so start mentally drafting it as you research.

Next, be clear with yourself what you’re asking partners for.  Your “asks” (explained here) will determine who your contact at each organization should be.  Do you just need them to tweet about it?  Look for Communications or Marketing.  Do you want them to be engaged physically at the theater?  Try Programming or Events.  There’s no staff list published or you’re just not 100% sure?  Call their office and ask who you should send an email to.

Got it?  Let me say it again.

Call any organizations you aren’t 100% sure about.

Every email you send that goes to the wrong person at an organization will take twice as long to get a response back, if any.  And never settle for info@organization.org unless it’s the only address you are given on the phone.  It’s the email equivalent of a black hole.

If you have the time, it always good to call and verify contacts you’ve been given or found in your own research.  Many organizations are understaffed, especially in the current economy.  Even if they see your email and are interested, it’s hard to find the time to read the whole thing or respond to you.  Because you are essentially approaching them to help you, you must be patient and grateful.  When you call, let them know upfront in a sentence or two what your film is about and why you’re contacting them.

This is where determining your “message” for each type of organization is very important.  When Film Presence worked on outreach for Lucy Walker’s WASTE LAND last year, we were hitting up very different types of groups that each required a different language and approach.  The Brazilian cultural groups didn’t need to know about how waste management was discussed in the film, and environmental organizations didn’t need to hear about how “art as a vehicle for change” was portrayed.

Gauge responses to your message on these phone calls.  If it’s working, it will form the basis of your language to other organizations that fall under the same type.

If someone is too busy to talk or isn’t sold yet, offer to send an email with information and link to the trailer in it, so they can read it on their own time.  And don’t be discouraged!  Remember that by having them on the phone at all, it’s much more likely they will consider partnering with you because you’ve made a personal connection.  Instead of being a random email from a random stranger, you’re now  that person that called yesterday about that film!

Do your best to perfect this “first contact” moment, be it through email or on the phone.  A good first contact will really pay off in the weeks and months to come.  It may feel like a lot of work, but think of it as investing in your long game.  If you take shortcuts now, you’ll be doubling your work when a low response rate necessitates going back to every organization you reached out to the first time.

By getting potential partners on the hook early with targeted, personalized outreach, your relationships with them will have time to grow and evolve into something truly mutually beneficial!

Outreach means different things to different people, but when Merrill Sterritt and I co-founded Film Presence in early 2010, we set out to help give form to a certain type of outreach that balances “making an impact” and boosting overall revenue. Here’s how we define it: …]]> by Sara Kiener

Outreach means different things to different people, but when Merrill Sterritt and I co-founded Film Presence in early 2010, we set out to help give form to a certain type of outreach that balances “making an impact” and boosting overall revenue. Here’s how we define it: outreach is the process by which a film finds partners who can help generate buzz and raise awareness within specific communities, all while boosting sales and ambassadoring the film to a wider audience. This process includes pooling contacts, researching potential partners, crafting the tone of an outreach campaign, preparing and nourishing social media and strategically contacting and following up with each potential partner organization or institution, one by one. These partners are then able to spread the word about the film through their preexisting means and outlets.

Here’s how it works at different phases in the life of your film:

Fundraising, Development & Production:

Outreach can probably be handled internally this early on. Here’s what you absolutely need at this stage: Facebook, Twitter and a website.  Don’t be scared of launching these things “too soon.” There’s no such thing! If you’re making a social issue documentary, you need an online presence so that potential partner organizations can easily have you on their “radar” (i.e., Google search you!). It’s okay if your trailer isn’t done and it’s fine if your website is very basic! Chances are you won’t need these organizations to help you for another year or more, so it’s better for them to get a good first impression than none at all. If you are making a narrative, you can use your cast and crew’s networks to start building your base.

TIP: Crowd-sourcing isn’t just about raising money on Kickstarter. I’ve seen films find extras and location scout via Facebook statuses and IT WORKS! Get people involved early.

Film Festival Launch:

If you’re premiering in a major metropolitan film festival (SXSW, Tribeca, LAFF, ect.) now’s the time to start making wish lists and phone calls.  This is where you can make inroads with your film’s first (and thus most invested) ambassadors. Invite organizations to present screenings, host ticket giveaways on their social media, moderate Q&A’s and include your screenings in newsletters. For ELEVATE, we brought a group of local high school athletes to the premiere at SXSW. It “heightens” the sense of community involvement at the screening, raises awareness locally and generates industry buzz.  It’s worth it, and it’s essential to make sure someone on your team (either internally or hired) is taking care of this as soon as you know you’re in a major festival.

However, if you premiere in, let’s say, Park City, you’re not going to have a lot of regional organizations to pick from. That’s okay. You can use the clout of your festival to start making inroads with national partners who can support you down the line.

TIP: While in production, set aside one hour a week to Google search possible partners and keep a list! This will help you get a sense of your options and make you feel productive while phrases like “finding your audience” are whizzing by at lightning speed, and, really all you want to do is finish your film!

Theatrical, Semi-Theatrical or Non-Theatrical launch

This doesn’t have to be as daunting and overwhelming as it seems as long as you’re strategic. Outreach at this stage can be broken down into two simple categories: the asks and the gives.  What are you offering to people? What can they expect in return? What can your theater or venue offer in terms of discounts, giveaways and Q&A’s? What can an organization stand to gain from taking your venue up on this offer? What can your director or subjects do to communicate directly to your audience, be it through Q&A’s, exclusive video or social media? What can your partner gain from this interaction?

TIPS:

- USE THE PHONE. Don’t be scared. Organizations like getting phone calls, and usually there’s someone whose job is organizing events JUST like the one you have in mind.

- Think about who you’re reaching out to. Do they have a blog? Ask them to blog! Do they post about events on their homepage? Ask them to do that for you! Do they offer discounts to their members? Utilize it, and make sure you’re getting a newsletter or email blast out of it!

Post-Theatrical or Non-Theatrical outreach:

By this point, you probably already know who most of your partners are (keep them organized in a Google doc!). It’s important to thank everyone who helped you along the way and make them feel like a part of your “team,” so that when you’re booking community screenings, selling DVD’s and/or preparing for your broadcast premiere, they are open to helping you once again. Usually at this stage you’ll ask for others to send emails, include info in newsletters or tweet about your announcement. But you can be creative at this stage…

TIPS:

- If you’re showing your film theatrically, you can ask for support in exchange for a reduced rate or waived fee for a community engagement down the line.

- Offer DVD discounts in exchange for email blasts (i.e., members or affiliated of a certain organization can use voucher within an email blast to redeem a discount.)

- Remember to ask the most obvious partners (and sometimes the easiest to forget) for help at this stage: your funders, the festivals where you premiered, your fiscal sponsors and your cast and crew.

Clearly there’s more to outreach than 1,000 words so we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to post more about our strategies and implementation. In the meantime, please take a moment to vote for our SXSW panel on outreach.

]]> http://www.ifp.org/resources/so-what-is-outreach-anyway/feed/ 0