Here is the Jon Reiss TOTBO three step approach to audience development and engagement: 1. Know WHO your audience is. This is not 18-25 year old boys/men. Or 35 – 55 year old women. As an independent filmmaker, if you cross over into a mass audience
In order to successfully execute a marketing plan for your film, a budget must be developed in tandem with your production budget. This is not an optional expense to be decided at the end of post production. A marketing and distribution budget is a tool
Two helpful ways to think about marketing: 1) Reaching the audience that already exists for your film and 2) thinking creatively of what audiences might be interested in your film. I recommend that you consider and conceive of a marketing strategy for your film early in
I cannot stress this enough. I cannot repeat this enough. There are multiple goals that you can strive for in the release of your film. You must prioritize what is most important to you. I categorize the goals for the distribution and marketing of your
Each film is unique and requires its own individual distribution and marketing strategy. A comedy about stoners will not have the same audience as a documentary about AIDS orphans in Tanzania. Similarly each filmmaker has a different set of goals, needs, and resources. While the
Many of you might know me from the book that I have written recently, Think Outside the Box Office (TOTBO for short). The primary reason that I wrote it was to share what I had learned while distributing my film Bomb It with other filmmakers