$10,000 for Marketing

DeJager

DeJager

The forum is full of comments like these: "market your film..." "spend at least such and such % of your budget on marketing" "you have to drive traffic to the VOD company" but I really don't know how I should spend my money on MARKETING.

Say the movie is finished. Decent product.

How would or should one spend $10,000 to market their film?? I know it's not a lot but it's all I have available.

And don't give me this "Twitter and Facebook" crap. (I'll market through FB but not twitter)

I want to spend money in the right places. But WHERE? (e.g., paying a sales rep? google ads, youtube, i have no clue)

I hope you all can give me some serious advice! I'm hoping the IT forums as a collective can come up with a pretty stellar and unique ideas! A lot of you are an amazing pot of knowledge :) I would greatly appreciate it.
 
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Kholi said:
Ray did research, in fact he seems to do the most research on these boards:
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=37825

He doesn't even have a feature yet. There's a ton of info there that everyone could learn from.

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=37045
Click to expand...
I hear he's a fuh-reeeek. ;)


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsBznn8D13zOdGlCeDRmWTFCYXJRWjJ3SUphZDNzMGc#gid=0
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsBznn8D13zOdHh6cHJBMW5aQkZSMzZYR2V3VUxQVUE#gid=0
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsBznn8D13zOdEJVYzZYNEZla05DelphZGo4ckRsQ1E#gid=0
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsBznn8D13zOdEI1dGU1VUxaVDhCQmVnVFBLeUxSaWc#gid=0
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=32695
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=35992
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=38009
 
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If you wanna build a custom car to drive around town for yourself and friends that's one thing.
But if you wanna build cars to sell across the nation and world you gotta know a helluva lot more than just how to build the cars.


IMHO, that Field of Dreams "Built it, and they will come" bullsh!t is... bullsh!t.
Even prostitutes gotta shake their sh!t in public to get any business.
 
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I am going to let you big boys figure this one out. I have not sold any films yet. Just thinking what I would do. You can research it.

Rayw has some great research. I just don't think most of you have millions to spend on advertising your film like the big companies do. As small indie film people we will need to figure out a more grass roots way of advertising and spreading the word.

A good trailer may get some one to watch the film if they can get access to the film in some means. So once they see the film they may latter want to buy said film. Now the question is how are you going to advertise the trailers. Next how are you going to make your film available for people to watch. Is you game plan to get them to rent your film or buy or both? These should be your thoughts. My personal thought is most people want to watch the film before buying. How will they see the film before buying? Will it be rental, ondemand, theater, netflicks, etc...?

Advertising your trailer is probably a good idea so you could have a landing page that talks about the film and has the trailer. You list links to theaters showing the film. You list ways of renting once it is available for rent. Later list how to buy the film via amazon or website or stores. TV spots for trailer or teasers are great if you can afford it. Of course putting your trailer on youtube is a good idea but you will only get so many views on youtube without advertising.

What I probably would do considering my super low budget is probably internet marketing. Maybe some festivals, and rent out theaters. How about showing the first 10 minutes via youtube of the movie then having a link to buy the film or rent it?

If you can create a viral story to get people to talk about your film that would be great. I am thinking something like Blair Witch had for marketing.
 
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Paid advertising is a waste for indie. You will be lucky to earn 1 cent for every dollar spent. I read this in a book called Guide to Releasing Independent Records. Only the advertisers will make money. Instead market your movie by sending promo packs to media outlets that might give you some free press.
 
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rockerrockstar said:
Maybe some festivals, and rent out theaters.
Click to expand...
Don't. :no:

Read the August 17, 2010 notes.
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=248973#post248973
(I know you hate the coloring, just... deal with it this one more time. :lol: ;) )

After pouring over this guy's information for hours he seems pretty legit on his intel & POV.
His arguments make sense.

So far, I really don't have an ideal strategy I'd be willing to invest/throw money at. Sorry.
But I know for all the discussion of four-walling we've engaged in here at IT it turns out to not really be such a cost effective way of conducting business.
 
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I think filmmaking in general (for indie filmmakers) is a waste of money. haha. It's for the love of it, the drive to become better, and the small chance of your movies becoming cult classics ;)


4-walling in California? Probably a waste...

Everywhere else... probably a pretty good chance at being successful.

California IS an outlier when it comes to this industry. They deserve their own column in statistical breakdowns. Everybody from there seems jaded and everybody and their brother is an actor/director/producer/writer/filmmaker. The market is way oversaturated.

Plus, once you get away from the west coast things are different. The cost to rent out a theater is cheap and people are usually nice so maybe 4 walling would work. Advertising (billboards) around the midwest are actually affordable and news stations are actually excited when quality projects are shot in their area.

So back to the original purpose of this thread: marketing...

I'm going to concentrate on local marketing and then expand further. I joined withoutabox today and will be entering my film into a ton of film festivals even though I don't think they'll do any good. BUT I'm learning and I'm hoping that I'm wrong. Live and Learn :D
 
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DeJager said:
I think filmmaking in general (for indie filmmakers) is a waste of money. haha. It's for the love of it, the drive to become better, and the small chance of your movies becoming cult classics ;)
Click to expand...
I hate to admit it but I deep down agree with you and this POV.
Making films as a not-for-profit hobby, EXACTLY just like your racing analogy from the other day, is easy.
Most folks out playing golf aren't going to make money despite the expense for their hobby.
Most folks dropping coin at Hobby Lobby or Michael's aren't going to make money despite the expense for their farts and cr@ps, I mean arts and crafts. (Sorry).
Most families sending their kids into high impact sports aren't going to make money despite the expense for their sports injuries.
Most folks making films, features or shorts, aren't going to make a d@mn thing despite the expense for their hobby.

Just as you say - It's for the love of it.

But jussssst maybeeee... ;)


Making films as a business is hard.
Real hard.
 
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rayw said:
I hate to admit it but I deep down agree with you and this POV.
Making films as a not-for-profit hobby, EXACTLY just like your racing analogy from the other day, is easy.
Most folks out playing golf aren't going to make money despite the expense for their hobby.
Most folks dropping coin at Hobby Lobby or Michael's aren't going to make money despite the expense for their farts and cr@ps, I mean arts and crafts. (Sorry).
Most families sending their kids into high impact sports aren't going to make money despite the expense for their sports injuries.
Most folks making films, features or shorts, aren't going to make a d@mn thing despite the expense for their hobby.

Just as you say - It's for the love of it.

But jussssst maybeeee... ;)


Making films as a business is hard.
Real hard.
Click to expand...


Agreed!

Btw, I enjoy all the research on the subject you are doing and have done. It's disheartening and refreshing at the same time.
 
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I think one way to market would be sending out copies of your film to film reviewers and maybe they can review your movie and post it to their website or do an article in the paper. Anyways, the idea is a reviewer that has lots of readers may drive traffic to your trailer and thus traffic to sell/rent your movie. Not sure you guys talked about an approach like this. My guess is first you would need to identify people that would have enough traffic to bring to you. Then try to get them to do a review or pay them to review. Just an idea.

Also, you guys were saying to try to get the media to talk about your film. You should do a press release about your film to try and get interviews about your film. I am sure local may be the first place to start.
 
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Blade_Jones said:
Paid advertising is a waste for indie. You will be lucky to earn 1 cent for every dollar spent. I read this in a book called Guide to Releasing Independent Records. Only the advertisers will make money. Instead market your movie by sending promo packs to media outlets that might give you some free press.
Click to expand...

You may need to add some corrections to this post. Traditional paid advertising may be a waste for indie depending on your product. I'd spend two to five grand in a heartbeat on targeted facebook ads and/or google ad placements.

What's smart, though, is sending promotional packages to major blog outlets to get some attention to your material. One of the biggest things that can help a producer/filmmaker is to hit serious blogs for film and video, and then the largest blogs for your content's demographic. Send these things to those people, include a way to access your trailer and materials, hope for the best.

If you get your trailer to Slash Film or Twitch, say Aint it Cool News, then you know you're doing something right.

Local advertising (depending on geography) is going to be a different sort of beast, and should be tailored to your concept for the most part.

This is why it's harder to walk around with a straight-up Drama or Comedy with no names.
 
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Here's another example of relative production (technically it's purchasing) vs. marketing expenses:

"On the other hand, ‘[The Woman in Black]’ was picked up by CBS Films for only $3 million, with another $15 spent on marketing."
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=250482#post250482

You gonna spend five times your production budget on advertising, DeJager? :lol: (That's insane. Please don't answer that. It's a LAMO rhetorical). ;)



BTW, Would there be any interest in starting another thread on these distributor production vs. P&A budgets?
I run across them on occasion and figure others do as well, and thought it might provide some sort of utility toward developing an understanding what's the "norm".

All too often I get the sensation that nube/indie filmmakers blow their entire budget wad on the production and then let the film wilt on the vine because they didn't plan for any advertising or promotion whatsoever.
IDK. That seems kinda sad to me.
 
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Kholi said:
I'd spend two to five grand in a heartbeat on targeted facebook ads and/or google ad placements.
Click to expand...

What kind of targeting would you do? Could you talk about a few examples? What I mean is, would you tell facebook, I want everybody logging in from Palo Alto to be able to see this, or would it be I want everybody who follows Woody Allen in NYC to be able to see this, something like that? or maybe something completely different? you wanna talk about some targeting ideas? Cause I really kind of agree with this targeted facebook tactic. I just don't know what's possible. I'm on facebook like twice a month and don't know enough about it.

Also what's going on with Superseeds?? I just watched the trailer again. It looks f**king awesome. I'd pay to go see it. I'd even wear a fan t-shirt buddy (coming from someone who wears only springsteen fan shirts:lol:). What do you need us to do? Let us know if we can help spread the word.
 
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trueindie said:
What kind of targeting would you do? Could you talk about a few examples? What I mean is, would you tell facebook, I want everybody logging in from Palo Alto to be able to see this, or would it be I want everybody who follows Woody Allen in NYC to be able to see this, something like that? or maybe something completely different? you wanna talk about some targeting ideas? Cause I really kind of agree with this targeted facebook tactic. I just don't know what's possible. I'm on facebook like twice a month and don't know enough about it.
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This is exactly what I mean. Also, I'd just get myself attached to the same ad keywords that the guys who sell retro-80's t-shirts are using. That sort of thing. The target region would be the eastern side of the US, north and south east especially. That's specifically for our project, though.

That doesnt' cost a ton, and can be extremely effective in getting you FB fans etc.

We don't have the money to do it, but we plan on rolling whatever we make into doing some "marketing", footwork and internet work.

Also what's going on with Superseeds?? I just watched the trailer again. It looks f**king awesome. I'd pay to go see it. I'd even wear a fan t-shirt buddy (coming from someone who wears only springsteen fan shirts:lol:). What do you need us to do? Let us know if we can help spread the word.
Click to expand...

Thanks much, of course. We're still finishing up VFX, but I got to hear a nice amount of the score which is pretty inspiring. Didn't actually plan to do a score, but it adds another level to the product.

As soon as I get the VFX finished I'm recutting another trailer and going to do the distro dance with some that have expressed a lot of interest over the past months since the trailer's release.

More info soon! Thread-jack not intentional.

(P.S. We are doing shwag, like t-shirts etc. but trying to do something a little more interesting. More soon)
 
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DeJager said:
The forum is full of comments like these: "market your film..." "spend at least such and such % of your budget on marketing" "you have to drive traffic to the VOD company" but I really don't know how I should spend my money on MARKETING.

Say the movie is finished. Decent product.

How would or should one spend $10,000 to market their film?? I know it's not a lot but it's all I have available.

And don't give me this "Twitter and Facebook" crap. (I'll market through FB but not twitter)

I want to spend money in the right places. But WHERE? (e.g., paying a sales rep? google ads, youtube, i have no clue)

I hope you all can give me some serious advice! I'm hoping the IT forums as a collective can come up with a pretty stellar and unique ideas! A lot of you are an amazing pot of knowledge :) I would greatly appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Just found this thread and I wanted to give you some info...

1) Not sure why told you that you should market a certain % of your budget, that is bad info. Maybe they meant to add a certain % to the budget when raising funds? But marketing a certain % of your budget is bad logic. First you need to know if your film is market worthy, (The answer the to is, if you have amazing artwork, and an amazing trailer, then yes) So now lets go over the % of budget. What if.... say, 10% of the budget of the film, and your film cost $5,000,000 - Thats $500,000 in advertising. Lets say your film was $200,000 thats $20,000 in advertising. The $200,000 film could easily be better then the 5mill and your only spending 20K to market? So there are many variables to this. - I just wanted to give me thoughts on that, because Ive seen your website and its great, so I would hate for you to be steered the wrong way....

2) Get a google adwords account, and an infolinks account.

3) Pull $500 to run some split test campaigns

4) Make sure your trailer and site are clear where your film can be purchased

5) Create a 720x90 flash banner

6) Create an in-text ad (infolinks) (Kontrea) etc...

7) Keywords, (I can help you with this)

8) get your banners live with the right keywords, and start your $500 test. (You have control over how much you want to spend each day, could be $5 $20 or $500 (Start out with $20)

9) Now you will have analytics to track the people clicking on your ads, how long they stay on your site, and you can then see how many people purchase the DVD, rent is on iTunes, etc....

10) Once you have that info, and if its positive, then you crank it up a bit more.

______________________There is much more and let me know if you need help, I have lots of experience in marketing films without PR companies on my own with great success. Companies keep this info from you guys cause they will loose business if you know.

11) - make money


Remember to never jump in a new game of marketing without running split test, and CTR (Click Through Rate) test.

Nick Soares
 
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