Marcus Peterzell of Passion Point Collective on Creating Brand Films for Prestigious Festivals

'Always swing for the fences'

Marcus is an industry leader in entertainment marketing who has led award-winning agency teams. He was a partner and EVP of entertainment at Ketchum PR for eight years. In 2019, Marcus launched Passion Point Collective, a boutique agency with a specialty in marketing and distributing brand films. Clients include Aflac, HP, The North Face, AbbVie, Yogi Tea, Proximo Spirits and Logitech. Passion Point’s films have been selections at over 300 festivals, including 48 Oscar-qualifying shows.

We spent two minutes with Marcus to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he’s admired. 

Marcus, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I grew up In Rockland County, N.Y., and now live across the river in Westchester with my wife and rescue beagle Presley.

How you first realized you were creative.

My first job out of college was to promote rock concerts. We had some big artists but very small budgets, so I had to be creative. For our radio spots, instead of featuring the bands’ biggest hit, I would do a montage of their top-5 tracks and add cheering to simulate a concert.  I did this for Genesis, Meat Loaf, Little Feat, the Doobie Brothers, Beach Boys, Billy Joel and Styx.

Your most important creative inspirations, and some recent stuff you love.

I love how brands are innovating with premium content. I’m a huge fan of The Final Copy of Ilon Specht from L’Oreal, directed by Oscar winner Ben Proudfoot. Gucci just announced the film The Tiger starring Demi Moore that they funded by repurposing  their Fashion Week budget. Many brands are creating new platforms with creative executions instead of opting for traditional marketing.

What projects are you most excited about right now?

We have a new brand film series The Theory of Spice from our client The Yogi Foundation, a non-profit established by Yogi Tea. It includes three immersive short films that feel more like visual poetry. Each film features a different spice, and explores the culture, places and people that grow and harvest the spices. Narrated by three Grammy-winning artists, including Jon Batiste, it is the first brand film series featured in the L.A. Times Short Docs. It will be available soon on VOD. Gaby Moreno created an original song for her film, which is simply beautiful. I love this project since it breaks the trends of so many traditional brand documentaries. A must watch!

Your biggest strength or weakness.

I always sweat the small stuff and try to make sure every “i” and “t” is dotted and  crossed. It’s hard to let go.

A mentor who helped you navigate the industry.

Early on in my career I worked with the music powerhouse duo Charles Koppelman and Martin Bandier. They taught me how to think big and always swing for the fences. If you believe in yourself and your passions, success will materialize.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.

It’s a cross between opening up a sourdough bagel shop or a 24-hour breakfast bar called Bloody Marys.