Substantial increases in filmed entertainment revenues are projected as a result of the growth of the Internet, and the creation of numerous avenues through which filmed entertainment can be distributed to a wider audience than has ever been possible before.
A film’s total earning is no longer determined by its theatrical gross, but by the power of the film’s marketing and its reach to its target audience. Independent films like Juno or My Big Fat Greek Wedding achieved very high returns on investment despite limited theatrical release. Although Empowered Films may acquire theatrical distribution in the US and other major foreign territories, followed by video and television release, it will also focus on creating a direct-to-consumer promotion plan.
To achieve this, it will rely not only on the press resulting from participation in major film festivals (Tribeca, Sundance, Berlin or Cannes) and promotional appearances by attached talents, but will also promote the film through social media websites such as Facebook or Twitter, and film industry blogs.
Empowered Films will retain overall control of the film’s distribution, choosing which rights to give to ‘distribution partners’ and which to retain. In the ‘Old World’ of distribution, a distributor would acquire all rights and have total control of distribution. In the New World created by the Internet and new digital distribution channels, filmmakers split up their rights, working with distribution partners in certain sectors and keeping the right to make direct sales.
They can make separate deals for retail home video, television, and video on demand, as well as splitting up their digital rights. They also sell DVDs from their websites and at screenings, and may make digital downloads available directly from their sites. Empowered Films is prepared to take full advantage of these new distribution opportunities, designing creative distribution strategies customized to the film’s content and target audiences.
From a marketing standpoint, we target core audiences, with the goal of reaching them effectively, and then crossing over to a wider public. We will reach core audiences directly both online and offline, through websites, mailing lists, organizations, and publications. In the Old World, distributors marketed to a general audience, which is not only highly inefficient, but more and more expensive.
Recent films have demonstrated how effective highly targeted marketing can be. Napoleon Dynamite first targeted nerds, Passion of the Christ began with evangelicals, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding started with Greek Americans. Building on their original base, each of these films was then able to significantly expand and diversify their audiences.
Our marketing strategy not only reduces costs by using the Internet, and spending less on traditional print, television, and radio advertising, but also uses the Internet to reach audiences directly. Filmmakers who take this approach make much higher margins on direct sales from their websites and at screenings than they do through retail sales. Direct sales to consumers also provide valuable customer data, which enables filmmakers to make future sales to these buyers. They can sell other versions of a film, the soundtrack, books, and other merchandise. In this case, due to the nature of the script, it is likely that we will be dealing with book as well as soundtrack sales.
It is important today to be aware of the larger structural changes that are changing our ability to access the core audience for a film, as well as understanding how, when and where they consume their entertainment. It is important to recognize that video-on-demand and digital downloads will become more significant revenue streams, and to understand the fundamental importance of the Internet. By making it possible for filmmakers to reach audiences directly, while dramatically reducing their distribution costs, it empowers them to keep control, and maximize the exposure and financial results of their product.