Film distribution & movie marketing seminar

Allen Chou, President732-321-0711

Allen@PassionRiver.com

Follow me on Twitter @AllenChou

Passion River FilmsFilm Distribution & Marketing Seminar

04/29/10 - Jimmy’s #43, New York, NY

Agenda

• Distributor’s story

• Slides meant to drive panel discussion

• Quick Q&A after presentation

• Panel discussion

• Panelist Q&A

• Spread the love - meet & greet

Tweet questions using #Film429

Who is Passion River?

• DVD distributor (retail, on-line, & library)• Non-Theatrical & Theatrical• Educational sales• Digital delivery• Broadcast licensing• Non-Exclusive• Netflix partner company

What’s your story?

Who’s sitting next to you?

What’s YOUR problem?

Got competition?

229 titles per week

2009 Total DVDs released= 11,934* *Per www.DVDreleasereport.com

What’s my challenge?

Your Fear is my Fear

My needsMy competition

Basic film evaluations

• Story

• Audience

• Buzz

• Market potential

• Piece of the pie

Great Film Challenges

• B&W

• Comedies

• Shorts

• Problems

• No Buzz

• No Team

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Big Guns!

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What do theaters want?

• Built in audience

• Mailing list

• Long lead time

• Events

• Low cost

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What Do Stores Want?

• Strong consumer interest

• Fast sales & turns

• Affordable pricing

• Demographic match

• Money

What do libraries want?

• Build collections

• Service community

• Relevant content

• Affordable

• Digital rights

• PPR?

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Big Sales Still DVD Retail

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So Who’s My “Buyer”?

Are These My Buyers?

Maybe She’s My “Buyer”?

He’s a Buyer?

They’re All Buyers!

• Retail store buyers purchase what’s best for THEIR store

• Consumers are the real clients– not stores!

Don’t cash the check…

Returns

Returns

Returns

Returns Suck!

Retail Store Blues

• Sam Goody, Music Land, Tower Records, Circuit City & more close

• Blockbuster 4585 US stores 7/09, 3525 1/10

• Less shelf space & no budget

• Highly competitive

• Returns likely

On-Line Renting Changes Everything!

• Over 14 million subscribers On Netflix• Over 1-2 million subscribers on Blockbuster

• Consumer getting used to renting special interest titles on-line

• Stores less interested in indie titles

15+ million on-line renters

Is this good for your film?

DVD Kiosks

• DVD kiosks placed in retail locations

• No retail shelf space • Some kiosks offer

burn-on-demand service

• RedBox over 20k locations

So does RedBox want you?

How does my film get into the DVD retail marketplace?

Home Video

Traditional US DVD Distribution

• Exclusive - little or no mixed rights

• Features

• Distributor handles keyart, marketing, & DVD replication

• Fulfillment

DVD Release Workflow

Create KeyArt & Sell-Sheet DVD replication

Promotion Marketing

Promote To Retail BuyersStock Minimum Inventory

Wholesalers

Stock Title on ShelfStore Promotions

Retail Store Buyers

Upload title onto siteStock Minimum or No Inventory

Internet Store Buyers

Coverage Increases Awarness

PressConsumer & Trade

Generate Revenue & Exposure

Public PerformanceSchools & Institutions

Distributor3-6 Month Release Window

DVD Release Points

• 1 month between Order & Street Date

• 4 month lead time for new release

• Street date driven sales- changing

Foreign Sales

Foreign Sales

• How does it work?

• What does a foreign buyer want?

• How do you find or meet the buyers?

• Is the market soft now?

• Can you sell finished DVD products?

Foreign Film Markets

Strategies for Foreign Film Markets

• Research - Research - Research• Attend markets, even if you do not have a

completed film• Get last year’s “buyer’s list” before going• Get “market issue” trades (HWR, Variety,& Screen International)

• When at a market get “buyer’s list” and collect related sales materials

Key Considerations For Foreign Film Markets

• Foreign buyers discover new titles at markets

• Sales agents negotiate & license deals• Markets can be very expensive • Timing can be critical

DIY Foreign Sales

• Co-op booth space at markets• Get your own booth (expensive)• Can be non-exclusive• Solicit buyers BEFORE the market & set up

appointments at “meeting locations”• Bring your own “standard deal memo”• Research Foreign Sales Companies• Consider making direct deals with buyers

when attending

Strategies for selecting foreign sales company

• Research integrity of sales agent

• Appropriate catalog

• Producer friendly contract

• Reasonable “market expenses”

• Reasonable commissions

• Realistic sales figures

Digital Delivery & Sales

• Pay flat fee• Pay per view• Revenue Share

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Digital Sale Points

• Must digitize to each site’s specs

• May not be able to deal direct - may need to go through distributor

• Streaming & Downloads help sell DVDs

• Many “views” are not feature length

Streaming your film

Pro’s

• Great exposure

• Revenue

• Piracy

Streaming your film

Cons• Contract review• Low revenue• Possible

propagation• Piracy

Think about your film’s release strategy

• How will you create buzz?

• Who’s your marketing team?

• Do you need film festivals?

• What distributors could be interested?

• Where can I sell my “product”?

• Where do I start?

• Day - Date?

Self Distribution

Where do you sell your DVD?

• Website

• Groups, organizations, & institutions

• Internet sites (Amazon, Ebay, etc…)

• Independent Retail Stores

• Local Barnes & Noble program

Keys To Successful Sales

• Create consumer awareness

• Internet Marketing

• Social Media Optimization

• Viral Marketing

• Word of Mouth

• Easy access for purchases

Pro’s To Self Distribution

• You keep all the money!

• Get payment fast

• Rights retention

• Your way - Your style

• Get your film seen

• Build customer list

• Cross-sell other items

Con’s To Self Distribution

• Time consuming• Must understand movie marketing• Requires extensive resources (time & $)• Often requires hiring specialists

(publicist, key art designer, web designer, & marketing consultant)

• DVD replication, storage, & fulfillment • Can’t sell direct into big retail accounts

So how do I sell more DVDs, product,

& book more events?

Learn Marketing!

Yes. YOU.

Did you think I was going to do it for you?

“Advertising is a wasted pool of resources”

The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly (Hardcover), by David Meerman Scott (Author)

Challenge

Can your audience find your:

• Project ?• Subject Matter ?• Film Screening ?• Talent ?• DVD ?• Website?• YouTube Channel?• Twitter account?

Geting Found Without Advertising?

What’s the plan?

Internet Marketing Strategy

• Identify your audience (customer)• Find your audience• Allow your audience to find you• Engage with your audience and offer

something “special”• Participate with your “community”• Incorporate a “call-to-action” &

conversion strategy

Define Your Conversion Goals

• Website visits

• YouTube views & ratings

• Twitter followers

• Facebook friends

• Google page results

• DVD sales

• Blog mentions & Re-Tweets

-Prioritize Your List-

Start with Content!

Content is King!

Keyword Research

• User intent?• Building KW list• Use a KW tool • Generate new related KW & long tail KW• Divide list into groups• Prioritize groups & select top 10 KW• Create new content (text, video, image, &

audio)

Keyword Tools

• WordTracker

• Google

• Keyword Discovery

• More Free & Paid…

Word Tracker

Google

Keyword Discovery

Who’s your customer?

Understand your customer

• Where do they work, live, play?

• What are their needs?

• Married? Children? • What social class

are they in?

• How old? • Gender? • Religion?• What languages do

they speak & read?• Interests?

“Food Matters” Keyword Research Case Study

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KW: Organic FoodGoogle Adwords Tool

popular

Kw idea?

Kw idea?

Long Tail Keywords Are KEY!

Low volume search termsprovide BIG

aggregate traffic!!

Food Matters Keyword List

• Organic Food• Organic Food Stores• Organic Whole

Foods• Organic Food

Recipes• Organic Raw Foods

• About Organic Food• Organic Food List• Organic Food

Restaurants• Organic Vegetarian

Food• Health Food Stores

Create Content

• 3 U’s – Useful, Updated, Unique (Seth Godin)

• Brainstorm new content ideas for Text, Video, Images, & Audio

• Remember “Long Tail”! • Place content on your site, blogs, social

networks, & everywhere else applicable• Content is KING!

Food Matters Content Ideas

• Text - articles from food experts featured in DVD

• Video - Scenes that support articles• Images - Farming, medical, food, & expert

speakers (not always production stills)• Audio - Clips from film, interviews with

experts, filmmakers, & fans• Where would you place newly created

content?

Define Silos

- Create a marketing plan for each silo - Target silos based on keywords- If silo is competitive or has a lot of “noise” try tier 2 keywords & long tail phrases

“Organic Food” Silos

• Health Foods• Vegetarians - Vegan Lifestyle• Organic Food Fans• Food Shopping & Recipes• Cooking, Meals, & Dining• Farming• Healthy Lifestyles (Yoga, Fitness, etc…)

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing Goals

• Generate links & traffic• New contacts that can help • Sales• Authority building• Identify influencers & authorities for your

targets

SMM success based on:

Creativity

Quality of Content

Where canthe traffic

come from?

StumbleUpon

• User driven popularity

• Users vote thumbs up or down

• Can drive large volumes of traffic, even more than Digg & Reddit

• Videos and images work very well

• Set up account & stumble your site

voting

See next

comments

Twitter Strategy

• Create transparent account• Include KW in user name if possible• Bio should speak to audience & include kw’s• Include target URL (conversion goals)• Tweet relevant content rich with kw’s• Follow & return follow• Show the love back• Use lists to find users

Twitter Tips• Cultivate a strong community• Don’t just Tweet things that are interesting to you• Don’t leave air between conversation• Don’t over Tweet• Don’t maintain a one-way channel• Monitor your competitors & your KW’s• Use call-to-actions & use a URL shortner to track• Important Tweets can be easily missed • Tweet summaries 1x p/week as re-written content

Finding Followers

-Search for like minded people- use lists-Use advanced search options-Find related influential accounts and review their followers & following-Add followers, then remove those that don’t follow back-Does your last Tweet contain relevant or useful info?

Bio & Url

Followers ratio

Keyword Rich

Kw with CTA

Answered question found when searching kw “Film Distribution”

Participated

Useful info forMy “audience”

Key Points-URL redirects-Call to actions-Keyword Rich-Found opportunities to speak & offer useful& relevant info

My Tweets

http://search.twitter.com/advanced

Advanced Search

What your follower sees

• Is last tweet relevant or useful?

• What’s the image?

• User name?• Spam test

yourself

ReTweets

• Indicates your content is relevant

• Increases your popularity

• Gets you more followers & traffic to your URL

• Thank users for RTs (DM or Reply)

Twitter Key Points

• GIVE - GIVE - GIVE • Contribute good relevant content to community• Monitor & find opportunities to participate with

conversations• Listen to what users are interested in• Develop conversion goals and re-direct traffic to

target URLs or street level destinations

YouTube• Ability to generate massive awareness• Video should include beginning and ending slates with cta• Optimize descriptions and content• Include url in description• Use target keywords• Choose target keywords in Tags• Label clip using target keywords• Upload other clips and change keywords• Optimize profile• Ratings and votes are important socially, as well with SERP• Participate with comments & responses, including Bad reviews

Massive Views

Content NotOptimized

Massive Ratings

Deep comments

Organic Foods - Food Matters

Initial Image

Link to Food Matters

No URL

Nice Ratings& Views

YouTube Key Points

• Think beyond the trailer - what’s your topic? (2-5 min)• Content needs to relevant & interesting to viewer• Create a response video or link to related video• Participate with user comments on your video & related videos• Embed YouTube onto your site to help increase views• Label, tag, & write comments with KW in mind• Views, Ratings, & Comments are key for Google optimization• Create a channel• Add CTA onto video (first frame & last frame)• Drive to increase conversion goals

Other Video Sites:

• Metacafe

• Google video

• Vimeo

• More…

Flickr

• Get found in image search• Optimize images with target keyword

descriptions• Use keywords for file name & tags• Find related discussion groups &

participate• Search by topic, location

tags

discuss

Social Networking

• LinkedIn

• MySpace

• FaceBook

• Ning

• Forums & Mailing Lists

• And more…

LinkedIn

• Optimize your profile

• Connect with people & groups

• Can generate nice traffic to your site

• Participate in Q&A section

• Set up fan page• Get friends• Join Groups• Create Events• Private Message influencers &

authorities• Consider FB ads

FaceBook

Ning.com

• Create a social network based on primary & related keywords

• Engage & participate with networks found

• Consider geographic

Key Points for Social Networking

• Give- don’t take• Engage & participate within community• Be transparent• Win friends & influence people• Communicate with “you” & “your”• Build trust• Offer FREE gifts• Exclusive or direct access to YOU

Forums & Mailing Lists

• Newspaper Forums • Craig’s List (community, discussion, etc…)• Yahoo! Groups• Google Groups• Meetup.com• Industry specific sites (Mandy.com, IFP.org,

IDA, etc…)• Newsletter blasts from industry sites (some

organizations have 100,000’s of subscribers)

Social User Reviews• Join the community & participate • Write reviews & add friends• Build a solid reputation• Be careful if “self-reviewing”• Amazon.com (cross linking & listmania)• Netflix, Yelp, Yahoo & Google Answers• YouTube• Fickr

On-Line Publicity Strategies

• Journalists bombarded • On-line PR often read by consumers• PR are distributed via RSS • Getting your story “picked up” & re-

written onto a site is best• Indexed as “News” on search engines,

so date & time sensitive• Don’t send releases at end of the week

Submitting a Press Release via Wire Service

• Releases distributed on the internet should be SEO

• Use wire services: PRweb, PRNewsire, & dozens of free wire services

• Some services are expensive

• Writing services available

Unique Press Releases

• Integrate traditional promotions

• Contests

• Give aways

• Exclusive interviews

• Etc…

Google Alerts

• Sign up & monitor your keywords, including your name, project, & competitors

• Participate immediately, especially for damage control

Website Analytics

• “ABC” - Always Be Converting

• “ABT” - Always Be Testing

• Track your progress

• Where is your traffic coming from?

• What keywords were you found with?

“Experience is what you get when

you don’t get what you want” Dan Stanford

A reminder that failure isn’t just acceptable- but essential.

Recommend website:

• www.SearchEngineWatch.com

-Remember-

Hope is not a marketing strategy

Thank You!

Be our friend on FaceBook- Passion RiverFollow me on Twitter @AllenChouJoin our mailing list at: www.MarketMyMovie.com