Digital Innovation in Distribution
Pilot scheme for innovative digital campaigns
In August 2009, the UK Film Council (now BFI) launched a pilot application process as part of the P&A Fund that allowed rights holders the opportunity to apply earlier for funding towards innovative, long-lead digital campaigns. The objectives of the scheme were to
a) help independent rights holders better utilise new online tools and services to reach their audience and;
b) share data and learnings from the supported projects with the wider industry so that the scheme had the largest possible impact.
The scheme was initially launched for five awards of up to £30,000. Following a successful uptake of these a further seven awards were made available, making a total of 12 awards across the scheme.
Projects were selected based on the criteria laid out in the fund guidelines which are available here: http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/printsguidelines
Case studies for the first six awards are presented here. These aim to provide an objective overview of the campaign and its relative success or otherwise. Each case study includes details of what worked, what didn't, relevant data and key performance indicators as well as the full campaign budget.
Key Learnings and Observations
The case study format was chosen because of the inherent difficulties in judging the success or failure of innovation relating to specific titles. Since there are many factors that affect the performance of a film, not least the film itself, but also the execution of the strategy – an account of the entire project is likely to be more useful that simply looking at the resulting statistics.
Despite the varying nature of each project, a number of recurring themes emerged, including:
1. It is never too early to start planning your digital campaign
The Fund's guidelines were for applications to be received 16 weeks before release at the latest but several of the case studies report issues arising due to underestimating the necessary lead time. Equally, it is important to have built in the flexibility to adjust a campaign post-launch.
2. Simplicity of concept and design
A user experience that is clear, uncomplicated and doesn't require too much time or effort from users appears to be an important quality.
3. Identify a clear target audience
Projects reported particular success when they identified a very specific target audience. Careful targeting and a clearer focus on a target audience generally lead to more efficient and effective campaigns.
4. Creating traction and driving awareness
A recurring issue with many of the campaigns was the challenge of creating awareness of the campaigns in the first place. Those which relied exclusively on online PR and seeding to do this struggled to bring in the numbers to make the campaigns effective. Conversely, the inclusion of an offline hook was an effective way of translating online awareness into something wider.
5. Integrating social media
Without exception all campaigns employed Facebook as a core part of their strategy. However, there were different approaches to this, ranging from applications built directly on the Facebook platform to those simply using it as a communication channel. The platform's constantly changing Application Programming Interface (API) means that the question of how best to integrate Facebook and other social media platforms into a campaign is one of the key strategic decisions to be taken at the outset.
6. Conversions and measuring success
It was apparent that exposure to a campaign doesn't necessarily translate into audience. The ultimate challenge, therefore, is one of conversion which means that the measurement of conversion is extremely important.
Next Steps
Case studies will be added to this page on an ongoing basis as and when the projects have been completed and reviewed.
Anglia Ruskin University Research Project
Anglia Ruskin University has also reviewed the UK Film Council's Digital Innovation award scheme as part of a wider research project on the Culture of Digital Economy and new business models within the Creative Industries. The findings are presented in a short film which features clips from the films and campaigns, and interviews with those people involved. The film runs for approximately fifteen minutes and can be viewed below:
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The awards to date (in order of the dates awarded) are:
Film | Rights holder | Release date | Campaign in a nutshell | Case study available? |
Motherhood | Metrodome Distribution | 05-Mar-10 | 'House Parties' a multi tiered digital PR campaign including the opportunity to preview the film at home | |
The Disappearance of Alice Creed | CinemaNX Distribution Ltd | 12-Feb-10 | 'Win the Premiere' online game and competition | |
Heartless | Lions Gate UK Ltd | 12-Oct-10 | Facebook polling ad campaign | |
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo | Momentum Pictures | 13-Jan-10 | Multi-tiered digital campaign | |
The Infidel | Revolver Entertainment | 09-Apr-10 | 'Which Religion is the Funniest' – viral online comedy competition | |
4.3.2.1. | The Works UK Distribution | 02-Jun-10 | 'Put you and your friends in the movie' – Facebook app that inserted you and your friends pictures into a scene from the film | |
The Flying Machine | Breakthru Films Ltd | 01-Dec-10 | Browser based game of the film | |
Mr Nice | E1 Entertainment UK | 08-Oct-10 | Online competition and promotion |
Yes |
The Girl Who Played with Fire | Momentum Pictures | 27-Aug-10 | Multi-tiered digital campaign |
Yes |
Monsters | Vertigo Distribution Ltd | 13-Dec-10 | Foursquare-based competition |
Yes |
(Two awards have yet to be allocated)
