TASK 4

Who else is out there – how good are they?

Based on the principles that have been introduced in lecture 4 of the Enterprise module, evaluate the Strengths and Weaknesses of two or three practitioners or design agencies as objectively as you can.

What opportunities for your own practice have revealed themselves to you as a result of this analysis and evaluation?

Do not use subjective language or make unfounded comments about other people’s businesses.

It is essential that you make references to SWOT and evaluate its usefulness as an analysis or evaluation tool.


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Verve Productions

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REX Entertainment

From doing this research into my competitors I realised how much I think being clear and informative is in my website but in a personal way that engages the viewer to feel that my company is accessible. For example the companies that did introduce their team and gave short biographies on their careers and lives made me feel like I already new the company and would make me feel comfortable in contacting or working with them.

Even though I only did in-depth research into 2 websites I viewed many others and one main thing I noticed was that there were no websites that mentioned their environmental efforts in their practice. I saw this as an opportunity to make this a key concern of my company and I found a company in New Zealand called Greening the Screen that gave in-depth tool kits for production companies, regardless of size, to work environmentally responsible in their practice.

TASK 3

How will I promote myself – what do they want to hear?

Based on the principles that have been introduced in lecture 3 of the Enterprise module, evaluate the most suitable marketing methodologies for your own practice and the most effective methods to reach your potential customers.

It is essential that you make references to some of the methodologies in the ‘Marketing Communication Mix’ and evaluate the ‘Place’ that will give you the greatest competitive advantage and be convenient for your clients / customers.

ANSWER 3

In thinking about place and the 6 methods of the Marketing Communication Mix I think I will need to use a mixture of all 6 methods to optimise my marketing strategy.

A good place to start would be to directly contact my local independent cinema about showing a screening of my films, as they are generally always keen to promote local independent film. Such cinemas include The Rex, the ICA, Roxy Bar and Screen, Soho House, The Rio Cinema and Rich Mix.

Advertising
I would then advertise my film screening through local newspapers, putting up posters and postcards in local shops, cafe's and bars which would be expensive and one way but it is long lasting and would build my brand. As film workshops are also part of my company I would the same methods to advertise my workshops but would place them in slightly different places such as schools, colleges and community centres.
Internet

I also would have my own website providing clips of trailers, details of places of screenings, an introduction into the social and ethical issues we approach as a company; so our manifesto, and ways in which people can contact us to give script/subject ideas and ways in which they can work with us. From my webpage I would have links to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter where film discussion groups could form that would also act as an advertisement of future screenings and are obviously cost effective as they are free. This would form an interactive relationship with my customers and show more credibility as a business. A website can be expensive however and it needs to be regularly updated but it is a necessary link where I think a lot of customers would go to find out more about my films.

Personal Selling
I could also use a form of personal selling where I could go on tour hosting an after party premiere night out where cinema goers would be invited out to a local bar/cafe to discuss the film with myself, crew and editor. This would be time consuming and would involve a lot of time travelling so I perhaps wouldn't offer it to every screening but its a relatively inexpensive form of marketing, unless I buy the first round of drinks! but I think a useful method of reaching my target audience, forming a relationship/following and obtaining their critique on producing new documentary subjects and altogether better film. This can also be an opportunity to inform people of my film workshops that their children can attend.
Personal Relations
This idea also links in to the idea of PR and being involved with the community and direct marketing as I could gather audience info from attendee's and send out future invitations to new screenings.

For a more wider release I would need to find a distributor, one of which could be Dogwoof Ltd, which is a London based distributor specialising in social issue films, documentaries, independent films and world cinema. Dogwoof would therefore help with releasing films nationwide into independent cinemas and film festivals, backing this release with their own marketing campaigns. For this I would either lease my film to the distributor and pay them a fixed amount or have a profit share relationship where we would agree a percentage of net profits to be shared.

One method I found that didn't really apply was promotions. I wouldn't be in charge of ticket sales at cinemas so I couldn't offer an introductory price or children under 16 go free on say the premiere viewing of my film.


When considering more about place I initially want to begin my marketing locally such as the very cultural town of Hebden Bridge, gaging on receiving a good response to this move to  major cities such as Leeds and Manchester to nationwide, then to Europe and the final dream Hollywood, US. 
Nationwide film festivals are great places to get noticed such as Edinburgh Film Festival, Leeds Film Festival but there are also specific documentary festivals such as Sheffield, London International. 
In Europe there is Cinéma du réel - International Documentary Film Festival in Paris and an International Documentary Festival in Munich. One of the biggest and most prestigious festivals is the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, US which is the largest independent film festival in the US.


When considering place for my film workshops I would approach community centres and town halls such as Hebden Bridge's new Town Hall, to use their facilities as a base but in the long term I would like to use my own studio facility.