From HP to MIT, Brand Films Fly High at Major Festivals

Screen time is prime time for reaching your audience

Brand-funded films continue to infiltrate the marketing ecosystem as players including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A recently jumped into the fray. They’ve joined a plethora of brands including REI, Northwell Health, AbbVie and The North Face, which have leveraged this style of storytelling for years.

The biggest challenge brands have faced is not creating premium content, but devising an effective distribution strategy. While most companies have used their YouTube channels and paid-media partnerships, traditional film festivals, which have been around for more than 90 years, have become growing and viable outlets.

While industry pundits initially thought festivals would be too competitive and precious in their selection process, we have found that a great film will always break through, regardless of whether it was backed by a brand or a traditional Hollywood studio. There are over 12,000 accredited festivals across the globe, all of which accept brand-funded films.

A few festivals have a separate brand category, such as Tribeca X; but for the most part, such content will screen along with traditional independent and studio films. In terms of metrics, Passion Point Collective, our boutique agency for brand films, has had over 300 such screenings, including 50 at Academy Award-qualifying festivals. All told, these films have won 64 awards. In fact, our MIT Solve film series, “The Big Idea,” was accepted into 17 festivals and won eight awards.

Play

So, the question becomes, “What’s in it for the brand to have their film screened?” The answer is threefold:

• It provides earned opportunities as accredited media can review the film.
• It creates word-of-mouth buzz with the influencers who attend festivals.
• It provides accolades for the C-Suite to merchandise and something extra for their employees to be proud of.

Another benefit is having media and influencers watch the film on a big screen. Many brand efforts are shot by top-notch directors with amazing cinematography and audio which can get lost in the smaller dimensions of our phones.

While it is hard to call “bragging rights” a KPI, whenever a film does screen at a prestigious festival, the C-Suites will often be excited to attend, walk the red carpet, raise a glass and even hop on stage for the Q&A.

Also, festivals will celebrate and amplify a film beyond the initial screening. For example, our HP film series, “Generation Impact,” was accepted to the New York International Children’s Film Festival. After winning an award, it was invited to tour museums nationwide along with the best festival entries.

Play

There were no extra costs for HP, and they also received a check, which was donated to the non-profit featured in the film. So it was a win-win for everyone.

Of course, nothing is easy and navigating the worldwide festival landscape takes specific expertise. Knowing which are the best to enter, how to navigate strict deadlines, how to interpret the eligibility requirements and, most importantly, how to lobby the festival programmers once your film is submitted, are all key skill sets.

Luckily, there are individuals and agencies including ours that can help out. Then it’s time to go make a great brand movie.