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Working Your “Core”

pfreccero — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:48:05 +0000

During last month’s Independent Film Week, we met with many filmmakers – both new and experienced – who wanted to know: “What can I do now [in pre-pro or during production] to help market my film when it’s done?”

Given that this question came up so often, we thought it might be helpful to share some thoughts on the topic for this month’s post.

You’ve probably heard marketing experts in the film industry talk about the “core” audience for a film. We’re no different. We believe in starting the marketing process with your “core.” But who is that? How do you know who they are? At CrowdStarter, in all of our proposals to prospective clients, we describe the core as those people “who will be attracted to the film unaided.” In other words, they are just like an apple core, the innermost circle, closest to the seeds (you’re the seeds, by the way). They don’t need to know much about your feature or documentary to know that they want to see it. And that can be for any reason: they are engaged in the topic of your film, they are huge fans of an actor in your film, they are devoted to the band on your soundtrack, you filmed in their backyard, their cousin is in the crowd scene, they are related to you, they are married to you. ANY reason.

So, everyone who read your script, everyone who gave you money, everyone who loaned you something or some place so you could audition actors, or shoot scenes, or make copies, or buy pizza for the crew, all of those people are the beginning of your “core.” And in this age of social networking, every one of those people represents not only themselves, but all of their Facebook friends or their Twitter followers. That number starts getting pretty big when you think about all the people you know and who you encountered while making your film, and then all of your cast and crew and all the people they know and all the people they encountered while making the film.

You don’t have to be an expert in database management to make sure you keep track of who all those people are and how to reach them. Sure, in an ideal world, you have a database and the ability to capture names on your website which you created WAY before you even started production. But who are we kidding, right? If you’re not that buttoned up, then start by making an Excel spreadsheet that has everyone’s name, their affiliation with the film and their email address. If you, or one of your interns, are diligent about adding names in every day, you’ll be amazed at how big that list is by the time you wrap production.

Ok, now add to that all of the companies and organizations and clubs and towns and groups you encountered during the pre-pro and production process – make sure you know how to reach them later because you will need them. Keep them posted on the progress of the film. There are dozens of email blast programs available that are cheap or free (MailChimp comes to mind) – put out a little e-newsletter every two weeks or so. Doesn’t have to be fancy, but make sure that all those “core” audience people are up to date so that when you really need their help, they feel like they’re engaged.

If you do nothing else in the way of marketing prep while you’re making your film, create this “core” list. Later on, when your film is finished, you can put that list to work. Ask the people on your list to watch your trailer on the website of a festival where you’re playing (get that trailer onto a “most watched” list!), ask them to share your photos and trailer on their Facebook pages, blogs and websites. If you can gain some momentum, that “core” could very quickly turn into the whole big giant apple!

The Plus Side of Free

pfreccero — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 22:24:47 +0000

FREE does not mean the end of the world for your filmWe’re writing from the Toronto Film Festival – which basically is the first week of school for the film industry each year – and in between soaking up English language remakes of festival darlings, eating popcorn for breakfast and air-kissing the same the 200 people we saw at the last festival, we went to check out a panel on marketing independent features and docs. The panel talked about all the usual stuff – social networking, grassroots outreach, materials, PR, etc. But at one point, the topic of “free” came up. As in, should you give away your film for free in the interest of promoting it? As usual, this started a lively back and forth between the traditionalists (“piracy!” “lost profits!” “de-valueing the product!”) and the modernistas (“word of mouth!” “audience building!” “if they want it for free they’re going to get it anyway so why not give it to them!”).This debate got us thinking: why does everyone think that giving away a film for free is a new idea? It’s been a marketing principle since, well, since there were such things as marketing principles. Sure, it looks a little different now, but really, this is NOT a new concept and, frankly, it’s nothing to be afraid of…

Back when we started in the industry (scarily enough, 20 years ago!), independent films and docs were the next big thing. It was the era of Sex, Lies and Videotape and Roger and Me. These films did not have marketing budgets. They had publicists and occasionally a young person working at a distribution company who answered the phone and organized promotions at the same time. Back then, we called them “Word of Mouth” screenings, and when we wanted radio stations to talk about the film on-air, we gave them “Run of Engagement” passes. Basically, we gave away the film for free. Why? For the same reason people do it today – to get people talking. Back then, we didn’t have social networking and blogging – we didn’t even really have email. But the concept of getting a core audience to be early adopters of a film so that they could “evangelize” was exactly the same as it is today.

This is the moment where some of you will say that screening a film in advance of releasing it is very different from giving someone a free DVD. True, you can’t copy or upload a screening. Back to that debate in a minute… So, if giving the film away in a hard format freaks you out but you can’t afford to rent theaters to show the film, use one of the many secure streaming platforms, show it on a flat screen in your living room, bring it to some bar on your Mac. There are ways.

But let’s go back, as promised, to the notion of giving away the film on DVD. We always have to restrain ourselves from chuckling when we have this debate with filmmakers. “There is no way I am going to give out DVD’s of my documentary on the ancient art of eyebrow threading!! What if someone puts in on Bit Torrent? Or sells it on the street?”

Wanna know our answer to that? CONGRATULATIONS!! If your film is compelling and distinctive enough that someone wants to post it to Bit Torrent or sell it in Times Square then you have done something right. That means people are talking about it. That means people want to see it. And THAT means that the honest, law-abiding entertainment consumers of the world will pay for it.

Ok, so you’re the filmmaker who’s thinking “but MY film is WAY more interesting than a doc on the ancient art of eyebrow threading, so it will definitely get pirated if I give away a DVD.” To that, we say, in the nicest possible way, don’t fool yourself.

You know what – unfortunately — ends up on Bit Torrent? Avatar. The Expendables. Toy Story 3. Why? Because they are seen as highly valuable commodities. How did they get that way? Marketing, and LOTS of it. And stars, big giant super stars.

You have to create value and demand for your film if it doesn’t have a $50 million marketing budget or the most famous actor in the world in it. If you’re one of the lucky people to have made a $100,000 indie starring Meryl Streep and Matt Damon, awesome! YOU have to worry about piracy. But for most of you, your biggest fear, at the moment, should be OBSCURITY.

So, back to where we began. Let’s not fight about “free” anymore. Let’s not even spend time discussing it. Free is not a new concept. It’s a time-honored tradition. Now can we please get back to our popcorn and air-kissing?

Marketing via the Power of the Audience

pfreccero — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:24:27 +0000

We launched our marketing and distribution services company, CrowdStarter, because the rug had been pulled out from under us. The company where we were working, B-Side Entertainment, ran out of funding and had to close. We both had done the corporate thing before, we’d done the traditional distribution thing before, we’d done pretty much every kind of job imaginable in the independent film world before. And all we knew was that we didn’t want to repeat any of it. But that didn’t leave many choices – except to start our own thing, and that’s how (after some beers and some cupcakes) our company was born.

Even though B-Side folded, we both felt like the company was on to something — what if you really could market and distribute films profitably and effectively by harnessing the promotional power of the audience? What if you could apply the lessons of the music business to film and start going directly to consumers instead of going through middle-men? At B-Side, we were just beginning to explore those ideas and our early results said that there really might be a new successful business model there.

So, what does it mean to do away with the middle-men and go straight to audiences? What does it mean to harness their power? Well, in order to answer that, you have to understand the basic principles of how the independent film industry has traditionally worked.

Filmmakers have to market their film to film festivals and to acquisitions executives. Distributors have to market their films to exhibition chains and theater owners. The only people, in the traditional distribution landscape, who actually deal with real, live movie lovers and movie watchers – for profit – are the theaters. But what if the best, most enthusiastic audience for your film is made up of people who don’t go to movie theaters or at least is made up of MORE than those who go to movie theaters?

When films are served up to the right audience, ideally, a love affair begins. The audiences chatter, they share with each other, they go back to the theater and pay more money and buy DVDs and downloads and generally they push the film forward so that the audience and profits can grow. But, the cost of promoting a film and giving each of the middle-men their cuts means that it takes astronomical momentum for any of those profits to make it back to where it all began – with the filmmaker.

Going directly to the consumer means trying to start that love affair without having anyone take a cut in the middle. Going directly to the consumer means trying to start that love affair without anyone else trying to control the messaging of the film or the manner in which it’s consumed (in a theater, on a big screen, on a small screen, on a hand-held device, etc.). Going directly to the consumer means giving audiences what they want while keeping a bigger piece of the financial pie.

Ok, great. Where do I sign up, right? Well, not quite that simple. Some films perform spectacularly using the traditional system – many Palme D’Or winners (4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days anyone?), critical darlings, genre films (Let the Right One In, Pan’s Labyrinth, too many to mention) and well-timed documentaries (inconveniently truthful ones, especially) have been profitable for distributors and filmmakers. They NEED advertising. They NEED critical acclaim. They NEED the right art house. Some films are just bad. And they’re not going to perform no matter what you do to them, where you put them or what you say about them. Sorry, but it’s true and you know it – we all know it.

But then there are those special films. We know them when we see them. They appeal to some incredibly rabid fan base. They feature some unusual performance by some cult hero. They make people laugh or cry or yell regardless of whether any critic has actually ever seen the film. They may not look like they were made by Godard, but they deliver what they promise to an interested and engaged audience. Those films deserve to be seen but they rarely have the chance.

Do you have one of those? If you do, we’re hoping you’ll call / email / tweet / friend / IM us (pcfreccero and ogil1199). Nothing makes us happier than figuring out a creative, exciting way of connecting a really satisfying film to a really eager audience and watching the groundswell begin. Ok, maybe beer and cupcakes make us a little happier, but starting a crowd is a close third!

Editor’s note: Liz Ogilvie and Paola Freccero will be speaking further about Marketing at IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Conference. Comment now and join the conversation online and in person.