In 2006, An Inconvenient Truth , a documentary about global warming directed by David Guggenheim and presented by Al Gore, became the fourth-highest-grossing documentary film in the US to date, earning $49 million. The following year,The 11th Hour , another documentary film regarding the state of the environment, which was produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, was released. Unlike, An Inconvenient Truth, The 11th Hour grossed less than $1 million.
In my previous entry,
Lessons from AFM: 3 Distribution Strategies Every Filmmaker Should Know, I discussed the benefits of niche marketing. According to Marianne Wilson, President of Global Event Source (
www.globaleventsource.com), it was the lack of a suitable niche marketing component in
The 11th Hour's marketing strategy that led to its disappointing box office performance. Rather than embracing new media centric and niche specific promotional strategies,
The 11th Hour was marketed more traditionally and to the american audience in general.
However, the marketing strategy for
An Inconvenient Truth took a different direction. In
The Marketing of "An Inconvenient Truth", marketing specialist Rohit Bhargava highlights some of the key strategies used. Here are the major takeaways:
- Partner Outreach: Information about the film was released to the stopglobalwarming.org community and other environmental groups. Rather than trying to build an audience from scratch, filmmakers took advantage of a niche market audience that already existed and was easy to communicate with. Find an organization in your niche market and figure out how to communicate with its members, pulling them to your IndieGoGo profile.
- Call to action: Filmmakers asked visitors to the film's website to make an online pledge to see the film on opening weekend. By giving supporters a personal responsibility, filmmakers ensured they had an audience that was invested in the success of the film. Similarly, by supporting your film (funding, endorsing, rating, promoting, commenting or becoming a friend) on IndieGoGo, your audience becomes personally invested in the success of your film. The more involved you get them, the more their personal interest will build.
- Inventive media: A wide array of new media downloads were used to promote the film. Everything from e-cards to IM buddy icons. Don't underestimate the potential draw of the media you post on your profile. Give your audience something extra for their interest. In addition to a great pitch clip, make sure you post additional videos, photos and links to add depth to your profile. For example, you could post "making of" videos and photos. Use creative media that lets your audience really connect with you.
- High-impact online advertising: Filmmakers built buzz for the film by posting advertising all over the web. Luckily, you have a GoGoWidget at your immediate disposal! Post it on every blog, social networking site and personal website you control. Additionally, there is a whole slew of additional tools for you to use to make sure your film is being advertised everywhere possible. Here are a few previous blog entries explaining some of the IndieGoGo tools at your disposal:
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