Promoting A Film Festival: A Digital Marketing Case Study

This month a company called ClickSharp marketing released a "white paper" (that's corporation-speak for "longish essay") on how one might promote a film festival using online marketing techniques. The use of the buzz phrase "long tail" is misleading; the essay doesn't really have anything to do with the long tail concept. The marketing advice, however, is spot on.

If you're a festival director you're probably already doing some of these things. Do your best to take note of the others and implement them in the way that best suits you. The white paper points out a number of online tools that have sprouted up in recent years that make previously difficult or expensive tasks (like hosting video) easy and cheap.

If you're a filmmaker, you should take a serious look at the ideas presented in the essay, substituting the word "film" for festival where you find it. It might seem silly to consider who your sponsors might be, but I just saw a film at Slamdance where, during the Q&A, the filmmakers mentioned that they'd secured sponsorship from Orbitz in the form of a handful of free round-trip flights. Orbitz got mentioned in the credits and Orbitz-logoed gear was featured prominently in a scene or two, but never to the detriment of the film. There are definitely ideas here worth considering.

Read the full ClickSharp case study here.

The people that you meet when you're walkin' down the street

Apart from the obvious celebrity spotting that goes on, one of the main attractions of Sundance and the events that orbit it is meeting new and interesting people. You can't go anywhere on the main drags in Park City (particularly on Main Street) without bumping into someone who is someone in the film industry. (And during tonight's power outages on Main Street, you may be bumping into them physically.) Filmmakers, agents, acquisitions people, programmers from other festivals -- they're all thick on the ground and all you have to do is turn around to the person behind you in line at Java Cow and introduce yourself to get an interesting conversation started. No one looks at you funny. It's expected, and if you're not connecting to other film folk in one way or another while you're here, you're doing yourself a disservice.

More later on the people I've met and the things I've learned. If you're reading this and you're in Park City (or you will be between now and Monday night), drop me a line: chris at stomptokyo dot com.

First day in Park City

Saw zero movies (Slamdance's schedule doesn't start until tomorrow) and already I'm loving it.

Met some new people, ran into some old friends, and will talk about it all when I'm not dead tired.

By the way, it's cold as heck here.

See the first batch of photos here.

See you in Park City

I'll be in Park City Thursday through Tuesday, working the crowd at Slamdance. Expect some film festival bloggy goodness while I'm there!

If by some chance you too will be in Park City this week, shoot me an email at chris at stomptokyo dot com. Maybe I'll see you there.

Festival buzz doesn't always mean box office results

A somber reminder in the Variety story Distribs reel over mixed results:

For the lucky few filmmakers who get into Sundance, dreams of career-making success can get as inflated as last year's sales figures.

But two of 2007's high-profile sales -- the John Cusack-starrer "Grace Is Gone" and the docu "Crazy Love" -- prove that buzz and heavy buyers' interest don't always translate into box office success. In contrast, the musical drama "Once" left Sundance without having landed a distrib. But it has become one of the biggest success stories from the 2007 fest, earning $9.5 million -- roughly 50 times its production budget.

The three films serve as a reminder that the chasm between what a distrib buys and what the public will pay to see has never been greater. For filmmakers anxious to sell their films, it's a stressful rollercoaster that runs well beyond the Park City dance.

IndieGoGo - funding through social networking?

IndieGoGo Launches New Online Social Marketplace Connecting Filmmakers and Fans to Make Independent Film Happen.

Founded on the principles of opportunity, transparency, choice, and action, IndieGoGo addresses the fundraising challenges and market inefficiencies affecting independent filmmaking today. IndieGoGo enables this "filmocracy" by providing filmmakers an open platform to pitch their projects to the world, and gives the fans a vehicle to experience and influence the once inaccessible world of filmmaking.

The marketspeak in this press release is practically impenetrable, but it seems to be a way to involve film fans by allowing them to contribute small amounts of money to the production of a film, and to follow along with the film's production as it progresses.

My prediction: each year, a handful of film teams on IndieGoGo will capitalize on a great script and their own charisma (and maybe an attached actor with a fan base) to get fans involved -- those people will find IndieGoGo a useful tool, but it will be their buzz driving people to IndieGoGo, not the other way around. I just don't see people trolling a site with the aim of giving their money to the next great indie filmmaker. Do you?

"Dusty" Cohl, Founder Of Toronto International Film Festival, Dies

CityNews:

Murray 'Dusty' Cohl died Friday in hospital from cancer. He was 78.

Cohl was known in film circles for his trademark black cowboy hat, premium cigars, salt-and-pepper beard and Cheshire-cat grin.

Bill Marshall, one of TIFF's founders, said that there wouldn't have been a festival without him.