TFC Tidbit of the Day – week 7

TFC Tidbit of the Day 31 - Aggregators and Distributors to Get your Film on iTunes

New Video-They are choosy about the films they represent and they charge 15% of all revenue generated.

IndieFlix- They go through New Video and charge a 30% Fee on all revenue generated (we think that's inclusive of the New Video fee but are waiting to confirm).

Indie Rights- They go through New Video and charge a 20% fee in addition to the New Video fee.

IndieRights and IndieFlix also work with platforms other than iTunes as do we at TFC so that should be factored in when making distribution decisions.

Tunecore-Aggregates straight to iTunes. Distribber uses Tunecore to access iTunes. Distribber charges a flat fee of $1,295 for iTunes and all the revenue flows back to the filmmaker, no backend fees. TFC uses Tunecore and works with Distribber as a partner (we are working with them for no extra charge to filmmakers).

Gravitas- A VOD / digital aggregator (who often goes through Warner Brothers), they will handle your iTunes submission, but that's two fees (each at 15% as we understand it and they claim that Warner Brothers and studios in general get better revenue even from Apple).

Warner Bros and Lionsgate- TFC works with Lionsgate and it seems that both have more marketing leverage (as does New Video) to get best promotion possible on iTunes. This can make a big difference and should be factored in along with analysis of backend splits and fees.

TFC works with both the flat fee and commission models because of the fact that when cable VOD or even sometimes DVD is a valuable option, regular digital often goes with them.

TFC Tidbit of the Day 32 - What Digital Platforms Offer As Far As Marketing

Studios such as WB and Lionsgate have leverage with the Cable MSOs and work to get films marketed and New Video has marketing leverage with iTunes. New Video works via social media outreach by disseminating a release with images & clips to sites such as Digg, Reddit, Stumbleupon and posts a release on PR distribution sites (ClickPress, i-Newswire, eCommWire, The Open Press) along with feed-based announcements onGoogle blog search, Technorati, Yahoo! News, Topix etc., tagged with keywords for easier discovery. They also claim to do online grassroots outreach, email marketing and trailer and clip tagging.

Gravitas notes that its PR firms and staff release information about new titles to key websites and bloggers and they utilize what they call "VOD Guide Optimization” where they utilize relationships with operators to raise the profile of certain Gravitas titles.

Distribber makes it clear that the marketing is up to the filmmaker (and they are also referring our TFC Marketing Services), but all the revenue goes to the filmmakers with no backend percentages taken.

CRM cites the marketing it does and we're not sure what it entails beyond the usual Facebook and Twitter announcements, but we're looking into it.

Whichever aggregator you choose to work with, make sure you have either a very firm marketing plan in place and committed to and/or know that you need to deploy one yourself.

TFC Tidbit of the Day 33 - More on Marketing For Digital

We have mentioned what the platforms offer as far as marketing, but they should not be solely depended on to do this work.

Unless you have a real budget to buy significant internet real estate, you will be connecting with your target market via websites and bloggers. You may find it necessary to incentivize those sites in order to promote your film. The most common tactic is contests and giveaways -- meaning you provide the website with something to giveaway to reward their loyal readers....i.e. merchandise, sponsored travel, or free copies of the film.

Creating online games themed around your film are another possibility -- but of course not all independent films lend themselves to gaming. And if you're asking the cast, crew, and everyone else you know to FB, tweet, and blast about your release, consider creating an incentive for them as well.

If you're working far enough in advance, you MAY be able to find an appropriate brand or agency to sponsor some marketing, but know that you'll need to start this work many months in advance of release.

TFC Tidbit of the Day 34 - Grassroots Promotional Partners and Affiliate Programs

Revisit every place you've played your film in advance of release (all film festivals, community screenings, etc.) and consider how you can bring them aboard as a partner to blast or otherwise promote your release. Most film festivals have a vested interest in promoting the success of their alumni films and their careers, so you can likely get inclusion in their newsletter etc that includes a link to purchase your film.

If you are working through an established distributor, find out if they have "affiliate programs" in place (meaning your promotional partner can share in a percentage,usually 5 -15%, of the revenue generated by the link from their website), and find out if you can extend those affiliate programs to your promotional partners. You can also set up DIY affiliate programs yourself through services like Amazon Payments, but the set-up charges are not cheap and probably won't work for a one-off film. However, if you are building yourself as a BRAND, and expect a slate of films that you can promote, affiliate programs are a must.

TFC Tidbit of the Day 35 - Setting up Your Social Networking Strategy From the Start

As previously stated, many distributors will have marketing procedures in place to help sell your film when it is ready for distribution. The true use of a social networking strategy comes long before your film is ready for distribution.

A social networking strategy will take many months to a year to implement and it will be an ongoing effort. This effort starts with you and your team first. You will determine whom you are trying to attract into your community and what you have to offer them of interest. It is NOT all about your film, in fact very little direct mention of your film is best. Follow the 80/20 rule, 80% of your assets are about the interests of your audience, 20% of your assets are telling them about the film. You will build your engagement pages and populate them with interesting and valuable content. You will not be asking your supporters for ANYTHING, merely building a solid base of supportive fans who will be there when you are ready for distribution.

You should never do anything that will make them feel that you have formed the community in order to use it for your own purposes. Companies and filmmakers who do this stand to ruin the very thing they have spent so much time developing; a genuine and authentic community that is very loyal and connected to you and your film. That kind of loyalty is extremely difficult to accomplish with advertising and it is really the ultimate goal of all brands.