Indie Film Marketed Through Social MediaShannon Delatorre, Kate Makai, Josh Wellins, Mariel Espejo, Hannah Waitt, and Marc Milberg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d_jQycdQGo

Cast: • Miles Teller• J.K. Simmons• Paul Reiser• Melissa Benoist

Plot: • A promising young drummer enrolls at a cutthroat music

conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student’s potential.

Released via Sony Classics

Overall Operating Budget

• Total Budget: 3.3 Million

Includes production, marketing, and distribution

• Marketing and Distribution account for 20% of Operating Budget

• 12.5% Marketing

Sou

Industry Analysis

• Over 900 Independent Films were released in NYC in 2013

• Independent box office in North America in 2012 was $4.5 billion and 41.7% of the $10.8 billion total

• 45 films were picked up by Sundance Film Festival for 2013, second highest number in this century – the highest was 51 in 2011, 39 in 2012

1 http://www.moviemoney.com/newsletter/JANUARY-FEBRUARY2013NEWSLETTER.pdf2 http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/?view=company&view2=yearly&yr=2012&p=.htm

Marketing Objectives

• Increase Audience Engagement

• Transmedia Storytelling

• Digital Media Management

• Pre-Distribution/Post Distribution Mindsets

Key Strategies

• Pull tactics– Polls and questions let fans share their opinion and engage with other

fans. Ongoing dialogue will create a stronger community.

• Behind the scenes/exclusive content– “Exclusive” behind the scenes footage, crew photos and sneak

previews

• Media mix

• Competitions/giveaways– Give fans the opportunity to meet the film’s stars, attend the

premiere/launch or have an exclusive pre-screening.

– Brand partner giveaways.

Brand partnerships

• Sakae, Gretsch, Bospherous (cymbals), Yamaha

• Interview with iconic drummer

– Reddit AMA

– YouTube series

– Brian Blade, Mike Mangini (Berklee)

• Existing social network

• Brand halo affect

• Competitions/giveaways

What is available for us to use…

• Facebook Page– Whiplash (2014) Official Page– Brand Partnership Pages– Cast Facebook Pages

• Miles Teller: 190,718 Facebook Likes

• J.K. Simmons: 11,493 Facebook Likes

• Twitter – Whiplash Official Handle

@whiplashmovie– Cast Twitter Accounts

• Miles Teller: 285,000 Twitter Followers

Target Markets

Segmented approach

• Jazz fans

• College students ages 18-29– Music school: Berklee, Julliard, NE Conservatory

– 89% of social media users are between the ages of 18-29

• Major metropolitan areas– Initial limited release in major cities

– Opportunity to use social media pull tactics to increase demand for wider release

Main Channels

• Facebook

• Twitter

• YouTube

• Instagram

• Vine

• Snapchat

Up to 40% of the audience that is following an independent film on Facebook is most likely living in a country where the film will never be released.

• Cost to reach 1,000 viewers: $0.25

• Spend $1 per day for the month leading up to the film: $30 dollars to reach 120,000 people

http://moz.com/blog/1-dollar-per-day-on-facebook-ads

• Aim to have 3 posts daily leading up to the release of the film– 9:00am, 1:00 pm, and 7 pm to catch fans

at the times they are most likely to check their Facebooks

• Drive viewers through cast’s own Facebook pages

• Advanced Screening contests– In key markets (NYC, Los Angeles,

Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Salt Lake City) have music trivia contests for fans to win tickets to advance screenings.

– Targeted posts for specific areas – Advertise the contests across all socials

the days before to build awareness before actual contest.

http://blogs.constantcontact.com/social-media-marketing/best-time-post-facebook/

• Hashtag (#whiplashmovie) utilized in all posts by cast and corporate page to facilitate “trending” – Enables tracking of demographics

• Sponsored ads in key markets • User Generated Content Contests

– Merchandise and swag give away for drum solos submitted on the Official Facebook Page• 1st: Place: Sakea Starter Drum Kit • 2nd Place: Sakea Snare Drum• 3rd Place: Signed Drum Heads by Miles

Teller

• Twitter will be the hub to circulate content from all other social media channels

• Create pre-release buzz

– Promote direct links to the movie’s website and ticketing site

• Promote Whiplash at independent festivals

– Sundance Film Festival, Sunday Jazz Fest, Tribeca Film Fest

– Highlight any awards or prizes

• Connect with influential users

– Use tools such as followerwonk to identify key users to add, request re-follows

– RT influential content, tagging #whiplash for word-of-mouth buzz

• Premiere ticket give-away RT contest

@WHIPLASHMOVIE

BASIC ACTIVITY

Social Media Recommendations

• Create content with keywords and actor tags to reach a wider audience

– E.g. #whiplashmovie, JKSimmons, @Miles_Teller

– Cross-tagging between cast and official @whiplashmovie will maximize audience reach

• Optimize hashtags and keywords

– Use tools such as Ritetag to find the most effective hashtags

• Use Promoted Tweets to increase awareness

• Live Twitter chat with the directors and actors to drive engagement

Twitter @WHIPLASHMOVIE

MAXIMIZE REACH

Below graph shows engagement peaks during the two weeks prior to the premiere.

WHIPLASH – Official TrailerShares on social media:

@Whiplashmovie

• Whiplash Official trailer has 7,305 shares across social media channels.

– Opportunity for further reach via RTs

Source: www.buzzsumo.com

@WHIPLASHMOVIE

Current Twitter content that is not being RT by any Whiplash official properties

TwitterMAXIMIZE REACH

• Behind the scenes content

• In every social media platform’s bio, incorporate the link to the Whiplash YouTube Channel to drive traffic

• Exclusive interviews with cast and director

• 10 part drum lesson series from Miles Teller.

- Hard to keep interest for indie films on YouTube

– Drive viewers to Youtube through posts on Facebook and Twitter

– Creating a series maintains attention.

• Candid shots from Press Tours leading up to premiere

• 15 second videos of practices

• Stills from the filming

• Incorporate #whiplashmovie into cast’s Instagram accounts to gain trending status

Snapchat

• Cast snaps on set

• Snap stream for red carpet premiere of ‘Whiplash’– Snaps with other

celebrities on the red carpet

– Cast selfies with the movie poster

– Videos of other cast mates doing interviews or being silly on the red carpet

• 6 Second Videos• Video Selfies of JK Simmons & Miles Teller • Release on official @whiplashmovie handle and

@milesteller & @jksimmons• Tag #whiplashmovie on all Vines• Countdown from 10 Days out until Film is released• Release One Video everyday saying that there are

(ex. “6 days left until Whiplash is released”• Backgrounds ideally showing instruments (Gretsch,

Bospherous (cymbals), Yamaha in background• Official brand vines accounts (i.e. Yamaha) re-posting

Miles Teller and/or JK Simmons Vines– A branded Vine video is four-times more likely to be seen

than a regular branded videohttp://digiday.com/brands/15-stats-vine-and-instagram-video/ (7th Chamber)

• Other potential backgrounds for Vine Videos are orchestras, school campuses, anything related to our target market

Thank you!