From last time…

What were the results of this innovative alternative theatrical distribution model for Hope for Hurting Hearts?   

In a word, "excellent."  As you remember, as filmmakers, we paid the upfront cost of the streaming event.  We promoted it through our communications channels at our ministry (Harvest Ministries…  harvest.org) and through a portion of Lifeway's communications channels.  

Over 2,750 venues registered upfront and over 1,100 venues actually pulled down the film within the July 10-14, 2013 world premiere window.  Most of the venues were churches that utilized the film as a free movie night for their congregation to do two things; be strengthened in their Christian faith and enjoy the film and also to be used as an evangelistic tool, to invite non-believers in their sphere of influence to hear the Gospel through the film.  So we envisioned, sold and executed a world premiere on over 1,100 (primarily church) screens for the marketing cost of around two traditional theater screens.

In addition to providing the film, we created free customizable artwork for the venues.  Here's an example of the movie poster art we created.  The venue could simply fill in the local information at the bottom of the poster and print as many as they needed.

Here's an example of a "two up" customizable bulletin insert/flyer that we created:

And finally an example of web banner art that we created where the venue could promote the movie night on their website/blog:

So when venues registered, they had access to the free artwork and by registering, Lifeway assembled a database that we as the filmmaker could "message" as we desired, primarily through email campaigns.

Next time we'll answer…  "Did it achieve what we wanted?  Did it generate awareness for downstream marketing channels?  Overall, was it a success?"

An Innovative World Premiere Through Lifeway Events

From last time…  "Alas, many churches don't really buy in to the old "site license concept."  Their feeling is, "Hey, I bought the DVD…  I can play this in my church."  So over time, the number of churches that buy a site license has decreased.  

So, what's the answer?  How can you tap into large, engaged church databases with your film if the site license concept is no longer what it once was?  Tune in next time for an answer…"

Here's the answer we used for our ministry's new film, Hope for Hurting Hearts (hope.harvest.org)…  In developing a relationship with Lifeway for our main ministry outreach Harvest America (harvestamerica.com), I became aware of the various divisions within Lifeway…  We've discussed them in prior posts.  But I became interested in Lifeway Events.  For years, they have hosted and simulcasted live events like Beth Moore, David Platt, church-related events, etc…  Therefore, they have a great database of mostly churches that have pulled one of these events down over their history.  Just think…  You're a Pastor and twenty ladies from your church want to attend the next Beth Moore conference…  You can send them all out to the location of the conference or you can spend much less money and bring the conference into your own church.

So I came up with an idea…  "Lifeway Films allow me to introduce you to Lifeway Events…"  Not only do you get your film into churches but what's the difference between a bunch of people sitting in the dark watching a film on a movie theater screen or a a bunch of people sitting in the dark watching a film on a screen in a church?  

Well, first, you save tons of money…  It costs between $10K and $20K per screen in upfront money to market a film in through a traditional theatrical release.  

So, here's how it worked for our film…  I pitched Lifeway on utilizing Lifeway Events to do our world premiere.  From July 10-14, 2013, any church, group or individual could register (for free) and do a movie night at their church, venue, etc…  for their community.  Now, it wasn't free for us, the filmmaker; it cost over $20K to cover Lifeway's expenses.  Now before you bug out and stop reading, read what's next…  

Lifeway would much rather do a deal where you don't provide their expenses upfront...  Why?  Because they top out on their revenue when they did this deal with us.  They'd much rather partner with you and your excellent film and risk sharing profits with you.  So, instead of paying $10K to $20K per screen to market your film in the traditional theatrical model and potentially (probably) lose money on a premiere, you can (potentially) make money through a world premiere with Lifeway.

The goal with the traditional theatrical distribution model is to break-even or make a little money in this channel.  Why?  Because a theater run generates awareness for a film that translates into $$$ later in the retail and other "downstream" channels.  It's promotion.  So, you can break-even and still win with this model.  You can also lose a ton of money.  And in most cases, movies lose money at the box office.  But with Lifeway, you can share in the profits with your premiere.  How?

Instead of providing the premiere free to churches and venues like we did with our film, Lifeway charges churches for the movie event (like they do for a Beth Moore conference).  Will you get as many churches registered as you would with a free world premiere?  No.  There is little out of pocket cost this way to you and you will generate awareness and audiences this way.

What were the results of this innovative alternative theatrical distribution model for Hope for Hurting Hearts?   Did it achieve what we wanted?  Did it generate awareness for downstream marketing channels?  Overall, was it a success?  We'll discuss that next time.

More on Lifeway

There are 44,000 SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) churches in the US.  The vast majority of them do business annually with Lifeway.  And many more non-SBC churches also do business annually with Lifeway.  

So imagine getting in front of this church audience with your film as a church movie night and having the follow up material (like the small group study based on themes from your film) available for them as well.  As I mentioned in my last post, this can be accomplished with Lifeway through Lifeway Films and B & H Publishing.  

Churches are able to screen films at their locations through what are called "site licenses."  For a small fee, churches secure the right to screen the film at their location (for usually up to a year).  The way these are sold is typically based on church attendance; the larger the attendance, the larger the fee.  Lifeway Films is not the only outlet that offers site licenses; there are several.  And really, a site license is only a legal document that spells out the number of times/where the film can be shown, etc… It's a public performance permit.  And remember… you'll need to secure the rights from cast, crew and MUSICAL ARTISTS/MUSIC LABELS/MUSIC PUBLISHERS to allow their contributions to be offered as a public performance (more on that in later posts…).  

The effectiveness of the site license concept is directly proportional to the size and  engagement of your church database.  It helps to have a strong relationship with a lot of churches, specifically with people at those churches that can make the decision to carry your film as a movie night.  That's why you see church database companies like InService America getting into this space.

But alas, many churches don't really buy in to the old "site license concept."  Their feeling is, "Hey, I bought the DVD…  I can play this in my church."  So over time, the number of churches that buy a site license has decreased.  

So, what's the answer?  How can you tap into large, engaged church databases with your film if the site license concept is no longer what it once was?  Tune in next time for an answer...

Your Friendly Affiliate Parter, Lifeway

Last time we left off here...

"Think of your film as content.  Do you think your film would be a good source for a book based on it?  Lifeway owns B&H Publishing and can make that a reality.  Or how about a small group Bible study based on themes from your film?  Lifeway can accomplish that too.  Would you like to get your film screened at churches?  Lifeway can do.  Of course you want to sell your film on DVD; Lifeway is the second largest chain of Christian bookstores in the US."

B&H Publishing is a division of Lifeway (http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com).  How can they help you as a filmmaker?  They can create a book based on your film.  Like any publisher, your relative value is based on the size and level of engagement of your audience. The larger and more engaged your audience, the better for you.  This is another reason why it's important to build the broadest platform you can for your film.  The are going to be looking to your platform as the first, and perhaps primary, sales channel for your book.  A great film carries weight; but a great film along with a great communications platform carries great weight.

What other sales outlet do you think is important for B&H?  Lifeway Stores!  And B&H/Lifeway have created a great promotion.  B&H creates a $5 retail book based on your film and it's sold through Lifeway.  They sell a lot of $5 books.  They use it to cross promote your film.

The theme of your Christian film can be great material for a small group study. But publishers work a year or more out.  It's important to start the conversation well in advance of the completion of your film.  Publishers will usually want to start selling the small group study in close proximity to the release of your film.  Think of how cool the study will be with the text accompanied by scenes from your film that set up/advance/close the study...  A real multi-media spectacle. 

And Lifeway has a great database of churches that may went to buy your small group study (of course individuals or small group leaders will want your study as well).  Think about having your film run in a church and then the church uses your small group study in the weeks afterward…  More on that next time.

Our Next October Baby Affinity Group National Partner… Lifeway

Lifeway appears as the second National Partner right after American Family Association in the October Baby credits.  Who is Lifeway and why are they an important affinity group partner for your film?  (Note: I covered what affinity groups are and why they are important in my last post)

Lifeway is one of the largest producers and distributors of Christian resources in the US.  Lifeway Christian Resources was started in 1891 by Pastor JM Frost.  The business received approval from the Southern Baptist Convention and was capitalized by money borrowed from Pastor Frost's wife (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LifeWay_Christian_Resources).

Today Lifeway is a large organization encompassing B&H Publishing, Lifeway Events, Lifeway Insight (research), Lifeway Resources, Lifeway Films, Lifeway Christian Stores (184 stores) and other divisions.

Why are they potentially an important partner?  I'll take a few posts to cover this question.  Let's start at the beginning…  They have excellent databases that include individual Christians as well as thousands of churches.  Start thinking about how these deep databases can help promote your film, months in advance of your premiere.  Like all your affinity groups, your goal should be to establish relationships with decision makers at Lifeway as early in the process as you can.  Find mutually beneficial things you can do for each other.  There is never an abundance of great content…  Therefore, your excellent film is an asset to your affinity partners.

Think of your film as content.  Do you think your film would be a good source for a book based on it?  Lifeway owns B&H Publishing and can make that a reality.  Or how about a small group Bible study based on themes from your film?  Lifeway can accomplish that too.  Would you like to get your film screened at churches?  Lifeway can do.  Of course you want to sell your film on DVD; Lifeway is the second largest chain of Christian bookstores in the US.  The earlier you get Lifeway involved, the more opportunities you can realize.

My next posts will continue with these ideas and give you an innovative idea we pioneered with Lifeway for our last film, Hope for Hurting Hearts (hope.harvest.org).

What are affinity groups, why are they important and why would they want to partner with you?

I realized I'm using this term and people may not know the standard definition or the "filmmakers'" definition.  I had posted the "filmmakers'" definition in an earlier post:




You need to engage "Affinity Groups"…  What are they?  Groups/organizations/etc… that share your point of view.  They possess an affinity with your project.  There are lots of affinity groups that relate to your project…  You need to uncover them. Affinity groups will help you promote your film to a targeted audience of individuals that will by definition of being a part of the group, be interested in the theme of your film.



Can you pay for this audience?  Yes.  Do you have to?  No.



This is part of what I do in my job.  I find like-minded organizations and we help each other by making our audiences aware of what we are each about… What we do…  How we can help people…


According to wikipedia, an affinity group is a group formed around a shared interest or common goal, to which individuals formally or informally belong.  Here's the entire article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affinity_group Affinity groups have their roots in political organizations but today affinity groups encompass far more than just these causes.  


Affinity groups are important because they extend your reach into groups of people who have a targeted interest in the theme of your film.  But here's a good question…  why would an affinity group want to work with you and your film?  Because you bring a dimension to their cause that they probably have not experienced.  Your film will shine a light to a large and new group of people on the one issue that is extremely important to them.

  


Let's continue with another October Baby affinity group example, the Christian Alliance for Orphans (http://www.christianalliancefororphans.org).  From its site:

The Christian Alliance for Orphans unites more than 150 respected Christian organizations and a national network of churches.  Working together, our joint initiatives inspire and equip Christians to “defend the fatherless” (Isaiah 1:17).

As the Alliance helps Christians understand God’s call to care for the orphan and equips them for effective response, the impact reaches far beyond a single program or met need.  Rather, an ever-expanding army of passionate advocates invest time, talent and treasure in a personal and sustained commitment to caring for orphans in the name of Christ.

Leveraged Impact: The Alliance does not require a large overhead budget or infrastructure.  Rather, its impact flows from the coordinated efforts of the extensive expertise, infrastructure and networks possessed by it members.  Contributions to Alliance projects in 2012 were more than doubled by the value of members’ volunteer and in-kind commitments, from office space to graphic design.

The October Baby film promotes their mission.  Let's take a look at the Alliance's goals and characteristics:

•   their initiative is to "defend the fatherless"

•   to help Christians understand God’s call to care for the orphan and equip them for effective response

•   an ever-expanding army of passionate advocates invest time, talent and treasure in a personal and sustained commitment to caring for orphans in the name of Christ

•   its impact flows from the coordinated efforts of the extensive expertise, infrastructure and networks possessed by it members

Prior to the film how would they primarily accomplish their goals?  Probably through personal interaction, sharing on social media, email campaigns, etc…  The October Baby film opened up a huge door in terms of educating people in society to the alliance's values, engaging their present group members and creating awareness for the alliance to potential new members. The film provided a platform for them (and many other groups) to reach far beyond the standard way they previously communicated internally and to the external culture.


Films and visual communication live on...  Segments of your film can be used as short vignettes on affinity groups' websites to tell their story, well after the premiere of your film.  Your film on DVD can be sold on affinity groups' websites to fundraise.  In short, you become a member of the group and your film provides a large-scale "impact that flows from the coordinated efforts of the extensive expertise, infrastructure and networks possessed by it members."

You and your film are valuable to your targeted affinity groups.

Brainstorming for Affinity Groups

Stop the presses!  I should have preceded my last post with this one…  I wanted to discuss  the process of brainstorming for your affinity groups.  

One of my jobs is to create and cultivate strategic partners for our Harvest America initiative (harvestamerica.com).  Seth Godin, in his book Tribes (an excellent book) says, "Today everyone is a marketer."  This is true.  What better way to cast the widest net to create a prospect list for potential partners for Harvest America than to open it up and ask everyone who works at the ministry to come by the department and add to this list?  Here is the email I wrote and was sent to the staff of around 300 at Harvest Ministries:

We are looking for your help in creating a list of Christian organizations/ministries that may be open to partnering with us to promote Harvest America 2014. Please take a brief moment to come to the Resources department/area in Building A, take a look at the big "brainstorming" white board with the strategic partner prospect list and add your suggestions (Please first check with your supervisor).  What types of organizations could you suggest that would help?

•   Let's say you receive a regular email from a ministry outside Harvest that has blessed you as a Christian… 

•   Or a Christian author whose books have strenghthened and encouraged you…

•   Or an organization that has helped you in your Christian walk (like Focus on the Family, for example)…

We will reach out to all these organizations offering the opportunity to work together to make Harvest America 2014 a huge blessing to all.

Thanks in advance for your help.  Gary Z

People, by definition, are subjective.  You only "know" what you have experienced or have learned.  Tap into the experiences and minds of as many interested people as you can to create the prospect list for your affinity groups.  

Remember…  It's a numbers game.  You will hear "no" a lot more than "yes."  You need the largest, most targeted prospect list you can generate to achieve success. 

Here's an example…  for Harvest America 2013, we complied a list of the most trafficked Christian websites and blogs. We identified fifteen.  Here was my idea…  

• I worked in advertising out of college and knew that
• Print media has "remnant" space...
• Small ad spaces that they did not sell and
• as they approach a print date for the book, they sell this remnant space at a discount
• I was wondering if Christian websites had web banner space they did not sell that they might give us for free (Harvest America is a free event)
• I sent out an email to all fifteen (cold, I didn't now anyone there) asking them if they wanted to partner with us 
• Fourteen out of fifteen did not respond
• But Blue Letter Bible did (blb.org)

There are only a little over 3,000 websites in the US that get more traffic than Blue Letter Bible (http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/blueletterbible.org).  They just finished updating their site, the site owner loves evangelism, loves our Pastor (Greg Laurie) and was happy to run our banners for free.

Now we have an enthusiastic and engaged partner for Harvest America 2014…  And only because we brainstormed an idea, executed it and followed up.  You never know who might be acutely interested in your film unless you approach them with an opportunity...  And you are only limited by the size of your targeted prospect list and your ability to engage with them and follow up.

Next up for brainstorming…  If you are producing a Christian film, think nonprofit. Thanks.  GZ

Let's continue to use the October Baby film as our example on building your platform through affinity groups.  Here is the synopsis of the film: 

"You saw me before I was born.  Psalm 139:16 (NLT)

As the curtain rises, Hannah hesitantly steps onto the stage for her theatrical debut in     college. Yet before she can utter her first lines, Hannah—unscripted—collapses in front of the stunned audience.

After countless medical tests, all signs point to one underlying factor: Hannah's difficult birth. This revelation is nothing compared to what she then learns from her parents: she was actually adopted … after a failed abortion attempt.

Bewildered, angered, and confused, Hannah turns for support to Jason, her oldest friend. Encouraged by his adventurous spirit, Hannah joins his group of friends on a Spring Break road trip, embarking on a journey to discover her hidden past … and find hope for her unknown future.

In the midst of her incredible journey, Hannah finds that life can be so much more than what you have planned."

So the film deals with family issues, adoption, a failed abortion attempt, coming of age, grappling with a context for your life, etc…  The producers engaged eleven National Partners and a number of "Helping Partners."  Let's look at them all, starting with the National Partners.

1)  American Family Association (http://www.afa.net)…  Here is what the AFA says about themselves on their website.  

"American Family Association (AFA) a non-profit 501(c3) organization was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was pastoring First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time.  Since 1977, AFA has been on the front lines of America’s culture war. The original name of the ministry was National Federation for Decency but was changed to American Family Association (AFA) in 1988.

Today, AFA is led by AFA President Tim Wildmon and one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations in the country with hundreds of thousands of online supporters."

The AFA has nine divisions within their organization.  One of the divisions is American Family Radio (nearly 200 stations)... http://www.afa.net/uploadedFiles/Radio/Station%20Listing.pdf

I'll assume that since the AFA is listed first in the film's credits, they are their primary national partner.  It makes great sense.  The AFA is out front on social and family issues from a Christian perspective and the film's subject matter and theme are a great fit.  AFA is a substantial nonprofit organization with a radio footprint in numerous, smaller markets.  Not only can you engage multiple divisions of the organization, but the radio stations provide a great promotional platform.

The producers were most likely thinking about the largest platform they could secure based on the film's theme.  AFA is a great choice.

Next time we'll get into the second national partner, Lifeway.

  

OK…  How do you build a platform?  

David Ogilvy, one of the founders of the Ogilvy and Mather ad agency famously said, “Great marketing only makes a bad product fail faster.”  You must have a great product, your film.  I assume you have the passion for your film or you would have thrown in the towel by now.  It really starts with your passion for your story.  Passionate, professional storytellers and craftspeople are who/what make great films.

And it's not too early to start thinking of your film in terms of content. The film is the complete, finished product but scenes in your film can be used in various ways and at various stages, for promotion and as the foundation for brand extensions (we'll get into that later).

You need to engage "Affinity Groups"…  What are they?  Groups/organizations/etc… that share your point of view.  They possess an affinity with your project.  There are lots of affinity groups that relate to your project…  You need to uncover them. Affinity groups will help you promote your film to a targeted audience of individuals that will by definition of being a part of the group, be interested in the theme of your film.

Can you pay for this audience?  Yes.  Do you have to?  No.

This is part of what I do in my job.  I find like-minded organizations and we help each other by making our audiences aware of what we are each about… What we do…  How we can help people...

The best example I can think of in a film, where a filmmaker hit a home run reaching affinity groups is the film, October Baby.  I looked for their full credits online but it wasn't in imdb.com.  The film is on Netflix though. Check out the end credits.  They have a TON of groups they worked with to help promote their film.  And they included the usual suspects you would assume for the theme of their film, but many others that you probably wouldn't expect.

They probably used an agency or a studio, but you don't have to… It's all about thinking and research.  That's basically FREE.  You and your "tribe" can do this!

Next time we'll go over in more detail how to build your affinity groups.  Thanks for reading…  GZ

Hi.  I'm going to start blogging about things that interest me that I hope interest you. My goal is to freely share what I know and learn about things in my professional and spiritual life, several times a week.  I hope to engage people with these posts which will lead to interesting and helpful discussions for us.

One of things I do professionally is film production, marketing and distribution.  I work for a large ministry in Southern CA, Harvest Ministries.  We have produced two films; Lost Boy: The Next Chapter and Hope for Hurting Hearts. They have both won multiple film festival awards. 

Often I see independent filmmakers that are schooled in what's acknowledged as the creative portion of the medium (script, direction, production, etc…) but have no acumen or sometimes even interest for film marketing and distribution.  I have an interest in that.

There is an adage… "Anyone can make one film; it's making the second one (and future ones ) that's the trick."  If you are an independent filmmaker, it's vital for you to start building your communications platform long before your film is finished.  Michael Hyatt has written an excellent book on the subject titled, "Platform" (http://michaelhyatt.com/products/platform-hardcover-book).  

By the way, my intent is not to get you to buy stuff.  I have no financial interest in this book at all.  In fact, I'm not even a big reader, but I bought and read this book and found it to be amazing.  It's very pragmatic, which I love.  Competition has never been greater but technology also now allows individuals the opportunity to connect with others, without a gatekeeper, in a way only imagined, just years ago.  A good product does not stand on its own anymore; your good product requires an intentionally built and cultivated platform to go along with it.

I'll pick back up early next week with more on this.  Have a great weekend.  GZ