Week 1: Audience Engagement/First Blog Post Assignment

To start off, we are going to be thinking about audience engagement and reflecting on how you have addressed this thus far in your thesis projects. Because marketing and distribution are inextricably linked in the independent film and digital content world, many of you have already begun to engage your core and target audiences. Some ways you may have begun this is through a crowd-funding campaign or social media brand-building. Some of you may not have started at all - you have work to do!

As you may have learned in FIL 6619 (Guerilla Marketing), engaging your audience needs to happen as early as possible in your production timeline. If possible, marketing strategies should be included in the initial development of the project. To reenforce and explain this industry reality, we turn to Jon Reiss, an expert on hybrid distribution and marketing and author/co-author of both of our textbooks this semester: Think Outside the Box Office & How to Sell Your Film Without Selling Your Soul.

After viewing both of these videos, reflect on the 4 things Reiss advises filmmakers to do before they make their projects. Though some of you have already shot, it is worth revisiting your initial marketing plans and assessing what needs to be done, revised, etc.


BLOG POST #1:

DUE BY 6PM NEXT MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2013:

Please watch the above videos and make a blog post answering the following questions about your own thesis project:

1. "No one is going to give you the money" - What is your marketing and distribution budget? If you do not already have the money, how will you raise it? How do you plan to use the money (be as detailed as you feel comfortable)?

2. "Audience building takes time" - How have you begun to engage your audience thus far? Be as specific as possible. How will continue to keep their interest? If you have not begun this process, how will you start? How do you plan to engage this audience over the long term?

3. "Bring someone on board" - Who is in charge of marketing and/or distribution for your project? What are their responsibilities? If you plan to do it yourself, delegate tasks to a team, or accomplish the work another way, detail your plan for us.

4. "Think more about new potentials for audience engagement/storytelling" - Brainstorm! What are some non-traditional platforms or methods you could use to tell and/or promote your story? How could these attract and keep new audience members for your thesis in addition to your future work? (think beyond popular social media for this question!) This question may require a bit of internet research!

After posting your responses to this blog, please take the time to read and comment on your classmates' postings. Email me if you have questions, trouble posting to this blog, or any other concerns.