Marketing the film.

I began Marketing the film at the concept phase. I studied several different Genres
and also international markets. The IFTN has recommended that budgeting strategy
must now be conscious of marketing to the international market, with a focus on
genre and quality. With this in mind i have studied 3 Markets that i have found share
an interest in the Drama/Crime genre. Mexico and India.

India’s most popular Genre presently

1.Supernatural
2.Family drama
3.Historical drama
4.Super hero
5.Stand up
6.Sitcom

Mexico also has similar interest in History and Drama and Crime and both markets
have a preference for the melodramatic and for music.

The Irish Market I studies using TAM Ireland who contract Nielsen Television
Audience Measurement have been providing the ratings measurement service in
Ireland since 1996.

The results of this study found that the following shows were the most popular on
these local broadcast Networks.

I used these research companies to generate my marketing plan.

https://www.tamireland.ie/

Ampere Analysis

https://www.ampereanalysis.com/

Nielsen Tv Audience Measurement

https://www.nielsentam.tv/

Please see fig 1 and fig 2 below.

Fig 1
Fig 2

In fig 3 below we have the viewing habits and patterns of Ireland's demographic age
group.

Fig 3
On the International Streaming subscription services we have a chart of the genre
that Amazon and Netflix are working on at the moment with Drama and Comedy
being the main feature of those two Streaming platforms.
To this end intend to create a Subtitled Short film in Indian and Mexican to target the
interest from those international Markets. The Irish Market most viewed content is
MTV followed by Discovery ID real crime and similar themed documentaries and
followed by Dram and Sports. As the subject is of international interest as petroleum
has affected every country worldwide, and as leaded petroleum is still used in some
countries such as Iran, I may consider subtitling for the Iranian market.

I have been conscious of my target audience from conception and intend to keep a
blog of the Film Production to expose the Film to the market from the earliest
stages.

Marketing typically in contemporary times used trailers and star power with large
Film Posters with strong iconic Images or celebratory images often containing
identifiable content to advertise the genre. The posters typically would have catchy
tag lines that would cleverly explain the film in a few words. However Most marketing
of a film would occur after production and this has changed in recent times to see
Marketing happen during production and now Marketing happens pre production and
with some Film companies thr marketing occurs before the film is even scripted.
Marvel having such a strong franchise often promote their film using film posters and
stock footage from pre existing and or other sources before the film has been
scripted. Traditional Film marketing might see famous actors sent on Media
campaigns to help promote the film and in 1960 we saw Alfred Hithcocl attempt a
form of Auteur promotion. All these elements of Film marketing are still used today.
P & A: Print and advertising is still very much a source of marketing a film.

‘A ridley scott film’ is such an example.

With the internet there are now a much more diverse way of advertising. There are
low cost methods such as sending out your film to influencers on the internet's social
media platforms such as Instagram and facebook or Youtube where a YouTuber
may mention your film or show a trailer in his weekly upload. This form of marketing
is effective if you are lucky enough that an influencer creates a ‘buzz’ about your film.
We saw this used to huge success in the worlds most profitable film ‘The Blair witch
project’ which was not a particularly good film but was an amazing display in the art
of marketing on social media.

Broadcast TV and Premium Subscription channel TV and Cable Tv and Streaming

subscriptions and many other social media sites, and video platforms such as
Yotube and Vimeo all offer potential logistical networks that you can distribute and
market your film too.

I intend to promote my film ‘Efficiency’ on Youtube for several reasons. Most Film
festivals allow you to show your film online and will accept it into their festival. The
market in India for Youtube is phenomenally high with 90% of online users in India
using Youtube as a streaming video platform. The market in the west is also the
highest and is almost 4 times greater user than Vimeo and while Facebook also has
a high user rating it does not have the Video platform Youtube has and it also does
not a video Streaming subscription service option service as Youtube has

The five social networks most commonly used by production companies to promote
their Films are Facebook,Twitter,YouTube,and Snapchat and Instagram. I have
created a website for my Film and used Instagram and facebook and youtube to
promote my film.

A recent study on where and how people learn about new movies showed that
Social media was the highest source with IMDB being a popular source, and family
and friends and equally strong second place and other media thereafter.
Promotion is the most cost effective approach, and for my film promoting it on social
media is the first step in my marketing plan.

Step 1

Create a Poster. Engage with a graphic designer to help with the design, choose a
colour scheme to give the film a color theme. Create an IMBD page. Do this early in
the production stage.It is important I define the theme, tone and mood and genre of
the film early as different types of films require different marketing strategies.

Crowd fund during the Pre production stage, using sites such as Kickstarter and
indieGoGo to generate more funds to keep the project moving. Promote the concept
on social media and get the Film out there. Promote the film during production.
Create short trailers and teasers and behind the scenes videos at different stages of
production to be used along with the posters, EKP and other media tools.

Step 2

The second step in my marketing plan is after post production to list the film with
Shortfilmdepot who once listed this company will submit my film into hundreds of
international film festivals. I can choose which festivals and the fee is as little as $1
per submission. I will prepare business cards, and USB drives for the festival circuit
and will also apply for handpicked selection of relevant festivals and submit the film
myself. The advantage of Festivals is that a distributor might see the film and offer to
market the film through their distribution network.Another advantage is that a critic
may generate a positive quote for the film that can be used in the promotional and
marketing material.

This is a cost effective approach to reach the festivals and will allow for more time
and energy to be focused on Step 1 and step 3 of my marketing Plan.

Step 3
P&A Print and advertising is optional and this will be utilised but it is the most
expensive Newspapers and magazine with the least return for a short film.
Nonetheless low cost direct marketing to target audiences may be beneficial and
cost effective. Ideally connecting with people in P& A such as journalists to get a free
story from a Journalist would be a bonus. So target emails at individuals to try create
the prospect of media print or online media news. Online advertising is optional as a
marketing idea.

Box office and theatre is for large feature films and while they generate positive
marketing it is not an option for this short film. A debut in a small art theatre, Film
groups and or film clubs might be possible depending on how it might impact the
regulation of the festivals I am aiming at.

Distribution

Distribution companies

Magnolia pictures
Irish Film Institute
Dublin Cinema Group
Limelight communications
Network Ireland television

Distribution company for festivals.

Shortfilmdepot

https://www.shortfilmdepot.com/en

Broadcast networks, which profit from advertising and want to reach as many viewers as
possible and are very ratings oriented and are good for me because they might like any
content that might be entertaining and suit their wider audience interest because at the end
of the day they want to advertise to their audience for profit. Basic Cable which also profits
from advertising but also profits from subscriptions is not as ratings oriented and can have a
better selection of entertainment but has a smaller audience. Premium cable do not
advertise and profit entirely from subscriptions, they focus on high quality shows. Online
streaming transaction and Streaming Subscription platforms produce original content and
much like premium cable rely on subscriptions for profit.
Subscription only services. ( i.e premium) want shows that create a buzz and generate
‘word of mouth’ such as shows like ‘Game of Thrones’ that entice people to subscribe to
their services. All of these factors help determine the type of film I might need to distribute to
the different channels that leads to these specific forms of media. A successful Broadcast Tv
show might be syndicated to a premium cable company for example. Premium Shows are
generally only a few episodes per season whilst Broadcast Tv shows can run to over 30+
episodes per year. As shows change to the premium model, you get less writers and
sometimes 1 director for an entire season making these shows more like feature films.

The disadvantages of one over the other can come down to the freedom of creativity, to a
lack of funds to make quality production that a premium service might require. Tv reaches
the biggest audience but the disadvantage is some festivals may not show/accept my
submission if my film has been televised..

On social network sites like Snapchat, or Twitter you can not monetize your content,
however sites like youtube do let you monetize your content. They are very simple to access
and show your material, with no real industry experience required. The advantage is I reach
a huge audience and many festivals are happy for me to show my film online without
affecting my submission eligibility

The disadvantage is Youtbe controls the marketing of my content using their algorithmic
software. Also my material might be copied and or misappropriated. YouTube takes a large
share of any possible profit i might make.

Closed Circuit

Plays in Hotels and cruise ships and aeroplanes. Good profit. Little downside but I might lose
the option of showing it at the festivals due to their strict rules. .

Small Indie Cinema’s,

I can interact with the audience if I wish, gain feedback and usually a very dedicated circle of
film enthusiasts and maybe some good contacts that might inadvertently promote my film.
They can also not like my film and make snide comments at me from the back row seats
which everyone in the room will hear. Might need counselling after. So one must be
prepared to take the good with the bad..

Some independent Cinema’s

Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin

The Sugar Club, Dublin
Ashford Castle, Mayo

The Film festival

The ultimate career opportunity, Critics in abundance, true connoisseurs of film. Everyone
wants to talk about film, meet new contacts, get involved in new projects. Maybe win a prize,
or catch the eye of a distributor or earn a good quote from a critic I can put on the EKP.
Disadvantages is I am up against a lot of other submissions and my film may not be shown,
also Imost likely cannot broadcast my film and in some cases it must be exclusive.

Why I chose Youtube

I chose to use YouTube over conventional Cable and broadcast TV and other Multi channel
network providers due to the ease at which i could bring the content to a larger audience,
while there are many disadvantages to YouTube particularly in Profit and Marketing it’s main
advantage is the familiarity of YouTube’s policies and processes and the absolute ease at
which a creator can stream his/her content. In the mediascape of online internet Tv and
video then YouTube would be similar to other platforms such as Vimeo and instagram and
facebook. However while these do have advantages to also monetise screen content where
there is a greater profit share, YouTube is the leading platform in the market with almost
71% of all online Audience using YouTube with a monthly 2 billion users and YouTube
stands out as it also has the option of YouTube Tv service where it host over 70 channels
competing with other online streaming platforms such as netflix and amazon.
In contrast only the closest video competitor would be instagram at only 37% and ‘nonvideo’
facebook which has a large 69% user rating but has no optional services such as YouTube
Tv. The main disadvantage to distribution on broadcast Tv is access and while a more
knowledgeable producer might in fact find access to broadcast Tv easier, for a new
emerging creator YouTube is familiar ground and regardless of knowledge of the industry,
broadcast Tv is a much more demanding process and has many obstacles to approval in
comparison to YouTube which has built its success on ease of use.
The disadvantage is that YouTube takes
45% of the advertising profit and offers no marketing services. The creator must also submit
his work to the Brand of YouTube with no real prospect of marketing their content within that
brand. There is an advantage within this because Youtube being a pure internet play
company with a large critical mass audience, YouTube uses web analytics that understand
their customers preferences, targeting those who would likely be interested in a specific
genre or topic. If you wish to reach a particular age group or a particular country (i.e India
has 90% user rating for YouTube) then YouTube is ideal. As mentioned this is a double
edged sword as a creator you must submit to YouTube’s massive brand and raw web
analytics with no promise of any marketing plan or means to manage your own Cost
analysis.
Another option may have been to have used an agent to distribute the content but
this would also increase costs as an agent will take a proportion of any profits.Traditional
cable Tv is always a possible option that may supplement streaming with YouTube but again
there may be exclusivity issues.