BYRIVER’SEDGE An marketing planplan by Antonina Ruszkowska Anentertainment entertainment marketing by Tia Ruszkowska
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BYRIVexecutive ER’SEDGE Entertainment Marketing Plan By Antonina Ruszkowska December 5, 2017
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summAry
table of contents phase 1: overview
Executive Summary...............................................................................................................5 Positioning Statement & Synopsis......................................................................................6,9 Film Information.................................................................................................................... 10 Target Audience....................................................................................................................12 Marketing Obstacles & Opportunities.............................................................................. 14,15 Big Idea................................................................................................................................ 16
phase 2: film festival strategy
Film Festival Strategy........................................................................................................... 20 Film Festival Kit & Key Art...............................................................................................21-25 Crew & Cast Bios............................................................................................................ 26,27 Photography.................................................................................................................... 28,29 Festival Marketing Activities............................................................................................ 30,31
phase 3: b-2-b strategy
Distribution Strategy....................................................................................................... 34, 35 Screenings & Reseach......................................................................................................... 36
phase 4: consumer strategy
Release Strategy & Competetive Environment.................................................................... 40 Creative Advertising........................................................................................................ 42-44 Media & Digital Marketing.................................................................................................... 45 Publicity And Promotion.................................................................................................. 46-48
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executive summAry
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Phase 1:
OVERVIEW
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executive summAry The goal of the marketing plan is to spread awareness about Alzheimer’s Disease and to tell an emotional story based on the director’s personal experience. The idea behind the campaign is to use traditional media to start a conversation about Alzheimer’s, and to use social media and experiential marketing to create a buzz around the film. Since space is the most marketable element of the film, all marketing will use the image from the key art of Patrick in an astronaut suit . Even though VR doesn’t play a big role in the film, as part of the campaign, VR pods and headsets will be used to engage with the audience by enabling them to put themselves in the shoes of a person with Alzheimer’s disease.
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executive summAry
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positioning statement A warm-hearted family drama about an elderly man with alzheimer’s disease who rediscovers his dream of reaching the moon when a mysterious girl shows up at his doorstep.
synopsis Patrick is a retired rocket engineer suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. His wife was an astronaut who got into an accident and never came back from space. One day a mysterious girl shows up at his doorstep and introduces herself as his granddaughter. Patrick has no recollection of who she is and wants her to leave. Once they start talking he begins to suffer from conflicting hallucinations about his wife. Progressively throughout the movie Delia and Patrick build a strong relationship as she helps achieve his dream of going to the moon.
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executive summAry genre Drama, Family
runtime 15 minutes
anticipated rating PG
tagline “I love you to the moon and back�.
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executive summAry target audience Primary • • • •
Adults 40-60 Their parents will soon pass and may have Alzheimer’s Strong emotional connection to the story Story allows to reflect on their life and relationship with their parents
Secondary • • • •
Adults 25-60 People interested in Alzheimer’s Disease Know someone who is affected by it Want to spread awareness
Tretiary • • • •
Males 25-60, mostly 25-35 Interested in space and VR Nostalgic about building rockets as a child Wouldn’t be interested in the film if it wasn’t for the rocket
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executive opportunities summAry Marketing Emotional appeal The film focuses on family relationships and especially resonates with people whose loved ones have been affected by Alzheimer’s. The film establishes a strong relationship between Patrick and Delia and lets the audience connect with them emotionally. The story is based on the director’s personal experience with his grandmother, which makes the story more even more heart-warming and is a great tool for publicity.
space & vr The rocket and space are very marketable as it excites people of all ages. It creates nostalgia as we’ve all wanted to go to space at somepoint and/or have built a rocket out of a cardboard box. Even though the rocket isn’t real, it makes the story about Alzheimer’s original. Exploring VR as way of improving Alzheimer patients’ lives allows for the creative strategy to go towards experiential and create buzz for the film.
alzheimer’s Having Alzheimer’s as a theme allows for a marketing approach that starts a conversation about the disease and through that creates buzz about the movie. It also allows people who have been or know someone who has been affected by the disease to connect with the story personally. There’s plenty of Alzheimer’s related film festivals the filmmakers could apply to.
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Marketing obstacles Title The title “By River’s Edge” is inspired by a Greek mythology story, however not many people seem to understand it right away, if ever. Even though there’s an actual scene in the movie filmed by a river’s edge, it still doesn’t tell us what the movie is about.
limited audience The film does not reach a younger audience. Most of the people who would be interested in the movie are older and interested in Alzheimer’s or compelled by the emotional story. Even though the campaign includes many experiential and VR stunts it still doesn’t guarantee that the younger audience will go see the movie.
alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s can be as much as a marketing opportunity as it can be an obstacle. A lot of people – even those who have been around it and should supposedly be interested in it – may think the topic is depressing and will not want to watch it. Additionally, people who are not familiar with the disease will have no interest in watching it either.
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executive summAry
BIG IDEA “I love you to the moon and back” is a reocurring sentence taken from the film, and a crucial element to the story. As a marketing tool, put together with the image on the key art, it touches base on the three elements the film is trying to sell - family, alzheimer’s and space. While it includes all three things, it also doesn’t give away what the movie is about, keeping it mysterious, intriguing and memorable.
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executive summAry
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Phase 2:
film festival strategy
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executive summAry FILM FESTIVAL STRATEGY The film festivals were carefully chosen based on the family-drama genre and themes related to time, space and Alzheimer’s Disease. The selected festivals care about seeing an interesting story rather than the production size of the film. This gives the filmmakers equal chances of winning and creates a unique atmosphere at the festivals. They all encourage young filmmakers to participate and mingle with the attendees, which gives them many opportunities for networking. Each of these festivals focuses on certain aspects of the film that would make it a strong candidate.
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FILM Festivals International Film Festival Rotterdam January 2018 International Film Festival Rotterdam focuses on independent films and emphasizes building relationships between filmmakers and audiences. It offers the filmmakers opportunities to network and build relationships. Space And Time Film Festival February 2018 Space And Time Film Festival seeks thought provoking films relating to “space” and/or “time”, both of which are important motifs in By River’s Edge.
Living With Alzheimer’s Film Project January 2018 Living With Alzheimer’s Film Project is a competition dedicated to improving the lives of people through storytelling. It encourages young filmmakers to contribute and spread awareness about the disease. This is ideal for the heartwarming story of Delia and Patrick.
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executive summAry FILM FESTIVAL KIT
BYRIVER’SEDGE www.byriversedge.com
BYRIVER’SEDGE www.byriversedge.com
Dodge College of Film & Media Arts Chapman University Orange, Calif. December 1, 2017
Dodge College of Film & Media Arts Chapman University Orange, Calif. December 1, 2017
“By River’s Edge” is a 15 minute short film from Dodge College of Performing Arts. It is a warm-hearted family drama about an elderly man with Alzheimer’s Disease who rediscovers his dream of reaching the moon when a mysterious girl shows up at his doorstep. The film explores Alzheimer’s Disease through the director’s personal experience with his grandmother as well as how Virtual Reality can be used to improve their lives. It captures the times of forgetfulness and remembrance as well as witness the strength of people affected by the disease.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The film hopes to spark a conversation about the disease and how modern technology can be used to improve people’s lives. For those who connect with the story personally, it can be very emotional, and for those who don’t, it can be used as a compelling way to educate them about the disease. We believe our film would be a great match for your festival.
“By River’s Edge” is a 15 minute family drama hoping to spark a conversation about Alzheimer’s Disease and how Virtual Reality can be used to help improve people’s lives.
In the press kit you will find a DVD of the film, a press release, key art, cast and crew biographies, and photography from the film and set. Please feel free to contact us me at any time if you would like more information about the film. Sincerely, Antonina Ruszkowska Marketing Rep for “By River’s Edge” byriversedge@gmail.com (310) 480 3805
ORANGE, Calif. - Chapman University’s Dodge College of Performing Arts is proud to announce “By River’s Edge” a heart-warming drama about Alzheimer’s Disease written and directed by Daniel Woo, based on his personal experience with his grandmother.
Patrick is a retired rocket engineer suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. One day a mysterious girl shows up at his doorstep and introduces herself as his granddaughter. Patrick has no recollection of who she is and wants her to leave yet she convinces him to let her stay. Once they start talking he begins to suffer from conflicting hallucinations of his wife – he doesn’t seem to remember she passed away. Progressively throughout the movie Delia and Patrick build a strong relationship and she helps him rediscover his dream of reaching the moon. The film is based on the director’s relationship with his grandmother who passed away from Alzheimer’s Disease in 2016. The film explore the times of forgetfulness and remembrance as well as witnesses the strength that his grandma displayed throughout her life. At the end of the day, the story of Patrick and Delia is one of the relationships between a grandparent and grandchild and the eternal connection we have to our family. For more information of the film, please visit www.byriversedge.com or contact Daniel Woo, writer and director of the film at byriversedge@gmail.com.
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KEY ART When looking at the key art for By River’s Edge the first thing you notice is the main character in an astronaut costume. You can tell by the look on his face that something is wrong. You won’t be able to get that he suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease but you’ll get that his expression is alarming and you’ll be intrigued as to why. The space element, besides being marketable and attention grabbing, is also a really important theme in the film. The overall visual for the key art is modern yet futuristic and intriguing. It introduces the space theme and the main character who, unlike in most space movies, isn’t a younger man, which makes the poster more interesting.
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executive summAry FILM FESTIVAL KIT
BYRIVER’SEDGE
DANIEL WOO Director
M:3104803805 E:daniel.woo@gmail.com W:www.byriversedge.com
Folder
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Business Cards
Branded DVD Case
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executive summAry crew bios
Daniel Woo is a senior Film Production major, from Chapman University. Daniel has always been passionate about writing and directing. He started working on the story for his thesis his freshman year and since then the story has switched 180 degrees after his grandma passed away.
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Justin Rympa is a cinematographer at Chapman University. Him and Daniel were roomates freshman year which is how they ended up working on the movie together. Justin puts a lot of research in his projects and strives for perfection with everything he does.
Merrill Gardner is a creative producer from Chapman University. Merrill served the leading role on this film they stay on track even at crisis situations like when one of the locations burned down two days before the shoot.
Sean Colby studies Film Production at Chapman University. Sean has always been interested in music. He has sound designed various films from Chapman University before and he aspires to work on feature films in the future.
cast bios
William Knight played the role of Patrick. He is an actor and writer, known for Ghost in the Shell (1995), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003) and Akira (1988). Best known for his voicework of medieval men of either a wise old man with/ without a stylish UK style accent in animes and video games.
Xochitl Gomez-Deines plays the role of Delia. She is an actress, known for Evil Things (2017), Light As A Feather (2017) and The Letter (2017). Xochitl is young aspiring actress slowly getting her foot in the door. She originally started her career in musical theatre.
Christine Ferguson played the role of Liz. She originally started her carreer in the film industry as a makeup artist. She’s known for Der Kish (2004), Ghost Soldier (2006), September 12th (2005) and Flower of a Girl (2007). She’s currently puruing her career as an actress.
Eric Ferguson is a loving husband of Christine Ferguson and agreed to play the supporting role of young Partick in the movie. He has no previous background in acting.
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behind the scenes executive summAry
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film still shots
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executive summAry ACTIVITIES festival marketing Grilled cheese Through partnership with The Melt, there will be a rocket-shaped food truck where you can get rocketshaped grilled cheese just like in the movie. The plates they’ll be passed on will have information about the film.
vr pods There’s gonna be VR pods where you’ll be able to choose to either to go into space or be placed in a peaceful setting, just like in modern therapy for Alzheimer’s .
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festival marketing ACTIVITIES edie & vr As mentioned in the promotion section, Google Cardboard VR headsets will be given away at festivals. Through the use of these headsets and the EDIE app, people will be able to put themselves in the shoes of an Alzheimer’s patient.
postcards Postcards will be handed out at the festival. Besides postcards with the key art on it, there will also be regular ones with just the tagline “I love you to the moon and back”. You’ll be able to send them for free to your loved ones from the festival.
BYRIVER’SEDGE
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executive summAry
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Phase 3:
b-2-b strategy
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executive summAry Distribution STRATEGY Once festival season is over we will start looking for a distributor. The top two distributors that we’re considering were based on the fact that they worked on “The Notebook” and “Still Alice”, both of which are very similar to By River’s Edge. While looking for distributors, we will also be hosting a series of screenings in order to gain research on the film based on how people respond to it as well as to expose it to the public and get critics to watch it.
Target distributor Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics distributes, produces and acquires independent films from around the world. It handled the distribution of the award-winning movie Still Alice (2014) – a film with a similar storyline – about testing and reestablishing family bonds while living with Alzheimer’s Disease. New Line Cinema New Line Cinema has a history of producing critically acclaimed hit films that resonate with both mainstream and niche audiences around the world. It distributes films like The Notebook (2004), which, despite being a romance, strongly resembles By River’s Edge by having the main character suffer from severe dementia, trying to remember her past.
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executive screeningssummAry and research Prior to the release, small screenings will be held in the states of Arizona, Maine, New Jersey, and New York. These states were chosen based on their Alzhaimer’s awareness plans, which stood out from other states. There will be private screenings at select theatres for adults 40-60, as well as screenings at retirement homes and high schools. We’ll be screening at high schools for educational purposes and targeting retirement homes and people 40-60 for the emotional appeal. The success of the film will be based on polls conducted after each screening. The will also be special screenings for Alzheimer organizations such as the AZL as they might be interested in donating and using the film to spread awareness.
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executive summAry
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Phase 4:
consumer strategy
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release strategy executive summAry The film will start with a platform release in the states of Arizona, Maine, New Jersey, and New York – states with the highest interest in spreading awareness about Alzheimer’s Disease, as well as states with a high population of elderly people and/or interest in film making. The screenings will start with a platform release in January and end with a wide release in March. This way the film will gain a lot of traction from festival-watchers. People are more inclined to watch nominated movies after award season. With By River’s Edge being similar to the awardwinning Still Alice, there’s a lot of potential for winning awards and reaching a similar audience. 3 weeks after the wide release, the film will be available to rent on services such as iTunes, Amazon and Netflix.
release date January 5th 2018 The release date was based on a successful release strategy of a film with a similar storyline – Still Alice (2014). The movie was first released on January 25th 2015 with 38 screens and then increased its screens to1,318 by the end of March after last film festival screenings. Similarly, By River’s Edge will start as a platform release and later expand to a wide release.
Competitive environment There’s currently not a lot of competing movies being released near the dates of By River’s Edge. Most of them are adventure, action or animation movies such as Amusement Park or Captain Marvel. Considering the target audience is adults 25-60 years old, most of them won’t be targeted by the movies released during that time.
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executive summAry advertising Strategy All creative advertising will include the key art and “I love you to the moon and back”. This image captures the essence of the main character’s emotional journey. It’s supposed to feel like he’s trapped in the poster, which is a metaphor for being trapped in his own mind. The space element is something that excites people of all ages which is why we want to use it as a marketing tool. Additionally, “I love you to the moon and back” draws attention with it’s graffitti-like style.
tagline The tagline “I love you to the moon and back” plays an important part in the film. Having the audience see it prior to seeing the movie would make them connect more with the story.
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Trailer and tv concept executive summAry concept nr.1 The fist concept will include the heavier parts from the film - such as when Patrick can’t remember his granddaughter and yells at her or when he cries over having severe hallucinations. This emotionally heavy content is supposed to appeal to those who are looking for a tear-jerker family drama about Alzheimer’s.
concept nr. 2 The second concept will be more uplifting than the first one. It’ll focus on building the rocket and going to the moon. It won’t include the hallucinations and it’ll try to target people through nostalgia and exploring the space theme in the film.
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MEDIA & DIGITAL MARKETING Overview Considering the target audience is adults 25-60, there will be a bigger focus on traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, billboards, bus stop ads, bus wraps, radio ads. The outdoor media is supposed to create awareness about the movie, whereas the social media is supposed to spread awareness about the disease and create buzz. While the outdoor media will reach the older audience, social media will target specific personas. There will also be a lot of experiential marketing involved, making the campaign more interactive and engaging.
Social Media Social media ads will be divided into those marketing space and those marketing Alzheimer’s. The ads will be directed towards organizations supporting Alzheimer’s Disease such as Alzheimer’s Association or Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, people in the medical field, people interested in space – all based on data gathered through social media.
Guerrilla Considering how big experiential marketing is right now there will be a lot of guerrilla advertising involving VR. There will spaceships mimicking a child’s imagination – made of cardboard, yet once you’re in it, you’ll enter virtual reality that will give you the impression of traveling to space.
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executive Publicity &summAry Promotion Overview Considering the goal of this campaign – besides attracting people to watch the film – is spreading awareness about Alzheimer’s Disease, most of the publicity stunts go in hand with educating people about the issue. Together with the traditional media, Online marketing and experiential, the integrated plan will help people understand more about the disease and establish an emotional connection with the filmmakers and characters in the movie.
Screenings Prior to the premiere, test screenings will be held at select theaters for invitees ages 40-60 years old. Considering this is our primary audience it will allow us to gather data as well as get early buzz in this age range. Additionally, there will be screenings held at high schools. These would be a part of the education program and would allow the students to learn about the issue through a unique way. There will also be screenings held and retirement homes at which the director will speak. The older audience will be moved by Daniel Woo’s emotional story and hopefully utilize word of mouth within the family to enhance awareness.
Ted Talk As part of publicity, in June – Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month – the director will present at a TED Talk where he will talk about Alzheimer’s Disease and share his personal experiences with his grandma.
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Publicity & Promotion EDIE and google cardboard Through the partnership with Google Cardboard – a $15 VR headsets – and EDIE – a virtual reality app that puts users in the position of a person living with dementia – for the first month of screenings cardboard VR headsets will be given out at selected theaters to the people who saw the movie. The headsets will also be available at film festivals. They will come with a QR code for the app and allow you to put yourself in the shoes of the main character. There will also be a Snapchat filter within the range of these theaters so people can share it.
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Publicity &summAry Promotion executive Interviews There will be interviews with the cast and crew who will talk about their personal connection with the story as well as how it was working on it. Some interviews which have already been made will be shared online and used to reach out to other media platforms that may be interesting in conducting an interview.
Competition There will be a competition held for kids and their grandparents to build a rocket. The contestants will have to film themselves and show the process of making the rocket. The prize is 2 VR sets, yet the goal is to allow grandparents to strengthen the relationship with their grandkids because time is limited and family is so important.
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