It’s that time again! Team Smarthouse loves seeing all the innovative marketing that goes into films – both big blockbusters, and small indie features.
Read MoreEarlier this year Team Smarthouse’s Ryan Davis and Amie Simon were honored to present a three-hour online Master Class for Sundance Collab, discussing the basic elements of a digital marketing strategy for filmmakers …
Read MoreWhile some of those marketing campaigns got pushed along with release dates, we still saw some great trailer and poster campaigns, unique promo items, and some “killer” swag deliveries.
Read MoreIn this time of important social movements and awareness, it’s good to think about how your organization or business should respond. Change happens, and how you choose to address that change and talk about with your patrons matters.
Read MoreThere are about 186 million users on Twitter sending 500 million+ tweets sent each day, which comes out to approximately 200 billion tweets per year. Instagram users post more than 95 million photos and videos per day, or about 34 billion pieces of content per year, and if you’re brave enough to jump into TikTok, you’re joining 600 million users who post almost every day. It’s time to get smart about your hashtags.
Read More2020 was obviously a VERY DIFFERENT year when it came to film, with many releases skipping their theatrical run, choosing a hybrid drive-in/virtual event approach, or just heading straight to a streaming release. As always, Team Smarthouse kept their eye on how these films were being marketed, and were wowed by the poster campaigns, innovative ideas, and other marketing bits that people and agencies came up with!
Writing the perfect logline is a meticulous pursuit. Equal parts creative inspiration and fastidious editing, the logline, along with the title, poster and trailer, is one of the four key marketing elements of your film. Your logline is both sizzle and steak, so you better make sure it whets the appetite of your intended audience.
Read MoreAs a filmmaker and an entrepreneur, I’ve made a lot of pitches. I’ve pitched start-up ideas, apps, screenplays, and myself to a variety of decision-makers. I’ve also taught workshops on how to make an effective pitch. But, it wasn’t until I rewatched the Season Eight finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones that I noticed what turns out to be a near-perfect example of a pitch that makes people literally sit up and take notice.
Read MorePlanning your film, no matter how thrifty you can be with sets and equipment, is a daunting enterprise. Including a little extra for a publicist before you even begin shooting can seem like a luxury. So why is it worth it? Well, why make a film if no one sees it? A publicist is your best advocate for outreach, press coverage, and generally putting a good face on your project.
Read MoreBecause social media is an ever-changing landscape, it can be hard to know where to spend your time, effort, and budget in order to get the word out about your project. Earlier this year, I participated in an “Ask Me Anything” marketing forum and answered questions about social media and digital marketing.
Here are some highlights that small biz owners may find useful:
Read MoreThe Seattle International Comedy Competition (and its sister event, The San Francisco Comedy Competition) is one of my favorite projects to work on. It’s a great showcase for emerging talents, delivers an evening of raucous entertainment to audiences, and is presented by one of the undersung OGs of comedy: Jon Fox.
That’s why it’s so great when we’re able to successfully convey all this to the media and get some awesome coverage. Here’s a round up of this year’s highlights:
Read MoreMovie posters are works of art. When done right, they can be iconic, collectible, and set the tone for your entire marketing campaign — but their first purpose is to be effective tools for getting people to watch your movie. Here’s what to consider when creating your one-sheet.
Read MoreAlmost all of our independent film clients have questions about the appropriate size of their respective digital advertising budgets. It’s a tough question mainly because there isn’t a simple, one-size-fits-all answer. Of course, it would be great to have unlimited resources but, as I’m sure many of you reading this already know, that is almost never the case when it comes to independent artists.
And that’s why Smarthouse created our online ad budget calculator tool!
Read MoreIf you’re serious about making a splash, you need to be serious about your marketing campaign. But, that doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune on your ads in order to make it work. You do, however, need to be smart about your platforms and your audience targeting.
The following case study will help illustrate, in practical terms, how an independent filmmaker might approach this data-intensive process.
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