What is a marketing strategist? An In-Depth Interview with Sheri Candler.
by
Kelley Baker
[Editor's Note: Readers of MFM know that one of our most salient and prolific writers is Sheri Candler, the marketing strategist who was recently honored as one of the prestigious Top 10 Brave Thinkers of Indie Filmmaking by Ted Hope of the Huffington post. However, many low-budget filmmakers don't really understand what a marketing strategist is or how this position can be of life-and-death importance to how people perceive and find out about your film! As such, when Kelley Baker, another friend of MFM, mentioned that he had just done an in-depth interview with Sheri talking with her about what it is she does for filmmakers, we were excited to reprint it here. Additionally, Kelley added an extra question aimed specifically at our audience, so that this would be a unique version of this piece. In future issues, Kelley will interview other notables in the filmmaking community, with his interviews debuting here at MFM! -JH]
Sheri Candler is an inbound marketing strategist who helps independent filmmakers build identities for themselves and their films. Through the use of online tools such as social networking, podcasts, blogs, online media publications and radio, she assists filmmakers in building an engaged and robust online community for their work.
Sheri was involved with promoting 2009 NFB Cannes Short Film Corner winner "Sebastian's Voodoo"; "Butterflies," one of the first films to utilize the YouTube rental program; 2010 Slamdance official selection "YELLOWBRICKROAD;" and the feature documentary "Ride The Divide," which utilized a unique hybrid distribution strategy partnering with LiveStrong and mountain biking organizations.
She collaborates with Jon Reiss, author of Think Outside the Box Office, and participates in his TOTBO workshop series by teaching filmmakers about utilizing social media and building personal brands; she consults with non profit film distribution, marketing & filmmaker education organization The Film Collaborative; she writes articles for Microfilmmaker Magazine covering the issues of marketing and distribution for microbudget films; and she is a featured expert in the new Guerilla Filmmakers Pocketbook by Chris Jones, Genevieve Jolliffe & Andrew Zinnes.
Sheri is currently working with the transmedia project that Editor Jeremy Hanke of MicroFilmmaker Magazine is spearheading, "World of Depleted," which is currently in production, and is handling social media outreach in the US for the feature film "Undertow (Contracorriente)" recently submitted for Oscar consideration of Best Foreign Language Film. She will be handling festival publicity for "THE HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE," a short film from Canadian filmmaker Trevor Anderson at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and she is a co founder of @filmin140, a bi- monthly Twitter discussion panel exploring controversial issues and providing a unique aggregation of filmmaker resources for the independent film community.
With that said, the following is an interview I was able to engage in with Sheri about how she got started and what she does...
KB: How did you get in to the crazy business?
SC: I graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor's in Broadcasting and Film so I had taken film, radio and TV production courses. After seeing that my talents didn't lie in filmmaking, I chose the broadcast track and went to work after college in TV and radio working at various stations including a stint at Radio 7 Moscow, Russia as the morning and evening drive time English news announcer.
While I had studied marketing as part of the curriculum in school, I wasn't that enthusiastic about it until I moved to Vladivostok, Russia with my husband where he was in charge of developing a cellular telephone company from the ground up and they needed someone with Western marketing training. So out came the textbooks and I set about making the marketing plans and hiring Russian personnel to help get a marketing department up and running. I found that I actually enjoyed the work, much more so than media production and spent a lot of time researching, studying and experimenting on making the company successful. It was B2C (Business to Consumer) work. It turned out to be the best performing of all the Russian cellular entities in the company and from there we moved to the corporate headquarters in London.
There wasn't any work for me in the corporate office, so I took a job that incorporated my knowledge of broadcasting and marketing and started working as the Marketing Manager of a Japanese broadcast equipment manufacturer. My territory was the Middle East, Africa and Europe dealing with the dealerships in each country. So B2B (Business To Business) work.
We moved back to the States and I started working with a local film festival as the marketing and sponsorship manager and this is where I started meeting filmmakers again. It was 2008 and the time when distribution started getting harder to obtain but the means to reaching people directly using social media and online tools were far easier than in the past. I started thinking that rather than despair at all the job rejections I was getting at distributors and studios, maybe I should just work directly with filmmakers and that is what I have been doing.
KB: Okay, here's a question I bet you get a lot: "I am an Independent Filmmaker and I am going to get my film in to Sundance, why do I need someone like you?"
SC: HA! My first question would be 'what makes you think so?' With over 10,000 entries this year, what connections do you have, what stars do you have, what labs have you participated in that would make you think you'll get in? Hard as it may be for many filmmakers to understand, even if you have a superior film, there's usually more that you need. However, I'm game. Let's say you did get in..
I see my role as marketing a film, with publicity as only one tool in the mix. I want to help you break down who your audience is, specifically not generally, and figure out how to reach them best. Most filmmakers going to Sundance have not done this. They STILL think they will just hire a sales agent who will bring them distribution deals with no thought about who the audience is or building up a following. Doing that work all along in production will only HELP you in getting your film sold to a distributor if that is what you want or having leverage to get a good hybrid deal where you sell to the audience you have built up and they sell to the audience you can't easily reach. I'm all about retaining as much control over your work as you can. I am not at all about signing over all rights to one entity.
I think you should use a traditional publicist who is very connected with major media to get you and your film in the spotlight. But you had better have some cash stashed to pay that person because those connections come from years of work and they aren't cheap. At a place like Sundance, those connections can really make a difference. I'll freely admit that I don't have those connections yet, but I can certainly work with that person to get marketplace attention from all sides.
Most traditional publicity firms are not focused on affinity press (bloggers, grassroots outreach, data mining for influencers and cultivating those relationships for a film, using social media the most effectively i.e. NOT as an advertising mechanism), but that is where I focus and having as much time in advance of a launch is key to being successful because working up those relationships and keeping them interested takes time. Hopefully you are starting well in advance of your acceptance.
KB: If I am looking for someone to do Marketing & Publicity for my film, what should I look for?
SC: My friend Jon Reiss has coined the term the PMD: the Producer of Marketing and Distribution. That is the person on your team responsible for this work, and ONLY this work, while you are in preproduction, production, post production and distribution. There really aren't many people experienced in all the facets of this work yet. Some come from a publicity background, some from sales, some from advertising, some are filmmakers who are more interested in marketing than making films.
I think you need to look for a combination of skills, enthusiasm and willingness to learn on the job. There are some skills necessary to starting the job though:
A big picture thinker, but can handle getting the details taken care of. If the production has money allocated to put together a small crew, the PMD would be the person to hire specialists like graphic designers, web designers, publicists with connections etc. People who are highly trained in one area. If the production can't afford all that, then the PMD will be doing a lot of learning and beg/borrowing.
Marketing training is pretty essential. Distribution in some fashion is not that difficult to figure out, it is the marketing and attention getting for a project that determines its ultimate success. A good strategy and implementation of the strategy is key.
Great writing skills. There is a load of writing to this job. Blog posts, articles, press releases, pitch letters, synopsis, advertising copy, newsletters, eblasts, introductory emails, festival submissions applications, just tons of writing so ask for a writing sample.
Online research skills. When paring down your audience to a granular degree, this person needs to be able to find out where those people can best be reached. It may not even be online, but you can still find that out using the internet.
Great communication skills. Someone who is comfortable talking to people both online and offline. The person you work with in this role will be the face of your project. They are speaking in the name of the film in every piece of communication. You want to be able to trust them in front of your potential audience and with your career. This is why I say not to leave this job to interns who rotate in and out and are a little young and immature. The impression that this person makes in representing your film to the public needs to be professional.
Great listening skills. Not only will this person be talking to audience, they will also be using tools to listen to what people are saying, what they care about, what is happening in the world that your film might be positioned with.
They will also be forming relationships with influencers, organizations, publications, bloggers, festival, screening venues. This has to be done with tact and a real attitude of friendship. If this person is constantly shilling or coercing with no thought to what your production can do for these people, the response will not be as you hoped.
Knowledge of online tools. Without huge budgets for media spend, you will be relying on using social networking to spread the word on your film which are free, but slow. You should be looking for someone who demonstrates they know how to use social networking. I don't mean they have a lot of "friends" and "followers" but they actively use it every day in engaging ways. What you are trying to do with social networking is build a network or expand the one you already have, so take a look at how they have built their own and how they speak to them online.
Don't underestimate the enthusiasm factor though. Even if a person has a lot to learn, they MUST be as passionate about your production as you are. This is a very long and hard slog and someone who is only there because of a paycheck or until a better offer comes along is not going to do the best job for you. I would take passion and a willingness to learn over highly trained and couldn't care less about what they are marketing.
KB: You spend a lot of time using Social Media. Why do you think this is so important?
SC: I spend a ridiculous amount of time using social media! I love making connections, introducing people and projects to audiences (and other industry people) when I know it is something both will enjoy. I do not like using social media to shill and I try to avoid doing that. It isn't genuine, the response is generally low and it is usually something that is done out of desperation when enough time hasn't been allocated to developing relationships.
People need to understand that social networking is for relationship building, not a spray and pray form of free advertising. People who do use it to just shill are kind of like those postcard hawkers, the ones just randomly giving out a message to anyone who walks by. That hawker doesn't know you or anything you are interested in and they don't care. That is how you are perceived when you use social networking to only talk about your film.
If film is meant to show the human experience, tell a story about a condition, then why would you depersonalize it by not talking with your audience? Before, this really wasn't possible or encouraged, but now it is ridiculously easy to do and people are growing to expect it. It is a fundamental shift in how people see doing business, a very personalized shift. Everyone needs to know how to connect online, not just for their business, but for their lives. It is getting to the point that you are really outside of society if you don't know how to use these tools.
I have met so many interesting people over the last few years that I have been active with social networking. It wouldn't have been physically possible for me to meet people from all over the world and hear their ideas and share mine. It is revolutionary, this change in how we communicate, and you must embrace it.
KB: What is the most important thing that most filmmakers forget/don't do, when it comes to Marketing and Publicity?
SC: They forget to think about their audience. They might have a vague thought about who might watch their film, but usually their description is so wide that they can't possibly reach them, or not reach them without millions in advertising money!
Also, they don't start this process early enough. I heard a filmmaker today tell me "first I concentrate on writing the best script I can, then I concentrate on producing the best film I can, then I worry about who might watch it." UGGGH! Why would you go through all that work to find out that there is no audience for your film? Better to be very sure about who those people are from the start, connecting with them all along so that they are waiting with excitement, ready to tell anyone they can to go see/buy your film. This can be used as leverage with distributors, if you want to go that route. You will already have people with their wallets out for your work. Don't leave it to the last stage.
KB: What's the best advice you can offer an Independent Filmmaker? Besides get out!
SC: Ha! I would never say that. I do think it is almost a compulsion to want to make art, make films. It isn't something you can easily walk away from, nor should you. But I think you shouldn't go into it thinking you'll make money. Money shouldn't be your motivation. You have to do it because you love it. It still means you have to work at it, both the business side and the artistic side. The business side less for the money, but for getting people to watch it, which I think all filmmakers want. I do NOT think "if you make it, people will come."
Turning it into a career takes way more time than most people imagine. A sustainable career that is. I think to be sustainable, you have to find lots of different revenue streams, not think all your money will come from a film.
For a while, you will make nothing, so budget for what you can stand to lose. When you are just starting out, it is just crazy to be spending large budgets. You don't know what you are doing; there is no way you'll make back large investments. Start small, ramp up gradually and recognize that this is a process like any other career. Almost no one walks out of school and into a well-paid CEO job, but for some reason filmmakers expect to be the CEO of their own companies right out of the gate, with little to no business experience, and to make that multimillion-dollar deal at Sundance. No wonder most fail. The film industry attracts a lot of dreamers, just be realistic in what it takes to achieve those dreams.
By all means, pick up a camera and make a film. just remember to Involve as little money and as few other people as possible when you start. As you get better, start ramping the money and the people up slowly.
KB: So with that said, what would be the best advice be that you would leave with the microfilmmakers, those who are on the extreme end of microbudget and no-budget filmmaking?
SC: Best advice? Hmmm... The advice I give will be about career building, audience building, getting your work out there, and variety, as opposed to how to make a better film. (There are plenty of other, more qualified people to do the latter.)
All around me I see filmmakers learning to make their work with far less expensive tools. This is on one hand great for artists because they don't have to depend on the "magic script" option to get their work made or the magic distribution deal to get their work in the market. But it is bad in that LOTS more work is being produced and the sheer volume means your work competes with so much more.
YOU MUST BUILD YOUR AUDIENCE. I write that in caps and I don't care if you disagree. The idea of the overnight success is a myth, ask any band, script writer, painter and they will tell you it was years in the making. There is absolutely nothing holding you back from doing this except yourself and the work required. If you are making microbudget work, THIS is what that is for.
You can afford to experiment, connect with audiences, and keep their attention with lots less to lose than someone working at the millions of dollars level. Use it; even if it means giving your work away in order to monetize your more expensive work later. In fact, if you crowdfund, you are able to give it away. It was presold in the first place, you have little to no debt and you can use this work to give people a "free trial" of the kind of work you make. I am not saying you have to do this, but you can do this.
The microfilmmakers are nimble, resourceful and creative. You do your work for the sheer love of doing it. If you want it to sustain you, if you want to live freely to create whatever you want, learn to use all the online tools, the free and low cost ones, to build up your name recognition. You have nothing to lose, only to gain, by doing this and it is a huge mistake to write this idea off. Who has better leverage with those in higher positions to help you? Someone with a name and an audience they built, or a total unknown, unproven person? I will not say it is easy work. It is damn difficult, HARD, time consuming work. But it will pay off.
I know what position I would rather be in.
KB: How can people get hold of you and are you looking for any new clients?
SC: People can reach me online because I am there all the time. I am on Twitter @shericandler and on Facebook "Sheri Candler Marketing and Publicity" and I have a blog ( www.shericandler.com ) where I give a lot of free advice and my own thoughts about…stuff.
I won't say I am not looking for clients, but I usually have a lot of work. I only choose projects that I am really a fit for, as I am in a lucky position that work finds me and since my available time is limited, I choose projects that I can really see a benefit in becoming involved with, both for me and for the project.
Most who have contacted me will find that even when I cannot work on their projects, I am willing to give some ideas or advice or resources for them to check out and I don't charge for that. I truly do want to help when I can and if I have a connection that I think might help someone; I go out of my way to introduce it. I expect that one day those favors will be repaid in some way and they usually are.
Many thanks to Sheri Candler for her insightful advice. Tune in next issue here at MFM when I'll have an all new interview with another expert in their field related to filmmaking!
Sheri Candler is an inbound marketing strategist who helps independent filmmakers build identities for themselves and their films. Through the use of online tools such as social networking, podcasts, blogs, online media publications and radio, she assists filmmakers in building an engaged and robust online community for their work.
