Our initial marketing strategy was composed of a number of different elements that we hoped would attract attention. The film itself was surprisingly bare in terms of content, and our main target audience would be Mods. But since the people who practice this lifestyle are not quite widespread or high in volume, we needed to place some focus on separate sub-audiences. After studying the film and exploring its strengths we discovered four main hooks that we were going to push throughout the entire marketing process, including scooters, mod fashion, the gay and lesbian crowd, and the soundtrack. Given the fact that the soundtrack was the most enticing hook in the film, we originally planned on centering everything around it, but early on we received news from the filmmaker that due to some licensing issues they were having in Las Angeles we were not allowed to market the music. Needless to say, we had to modify our strategy to overcome this loss.
Other than exploiting these hooks, our initial marketing plan also consisted of online advertising using myspace and facebook, the creation of a g-mail account and blog site (since their was no pre-existing website prior to the screening of this film), a radio announcement or interview, and the cultivation of an extensive network of local street interaction. Coming to grips with the reality that our film contained no name actors, no distribution, little workable content, no marketing budget, and practically no physical marketing tools (flyers, posters, exc.), we realized that the most effective way to market this particular film was by using primarily street tactics. Taking these factors into account, we felt that it would be unwise to rely on tactics that would most likely end up in failure; but by relying on street tactics we could ensure face to face contact with many people of varying demographics.
Despite these uncontrollable setbacks, we were able to keep in regular contact with the filmmaker via email. It was this communication that allowed our team to have a single flyer from the filmmaker in hand before spring break. Although we were only able to acquire one flyer, we used this flyer effectively by breaking it down into all of its components, such as its images and information, in order to construct our own flyers, posters, and other creative media.
Apart from face to face interaction, a large portion of our marketing effort went into online advertising. Our online marketing was based on finding the demographic that most closely matched our film such as gays, lesbian, and mod fashion. We chose to pay per click, which was the most economic way because we paid for the people clicking on the ad instead of paying for every time the ad was displayed to a user. Using Facebook as a tool, we were able to procure an effective rate of thirty seven clicks over a twelve day period.
Altogether, we managed to spread the word effectively to the target audiences whether in person, on the web, or by visual aids and posters. Each of us is very pleased with the work we put into this project, and our strategies proved to be effective in most regards. At the Q & A with the filmmaker, the audience raved about all aspects of the film. Unfortunately for us they raved mostly about the soundtrack. Despite our many uncontrollable hindrances, we collectively feel proud of the work we accomplished as a team, and although our lack of experience in this area of filmmaking limited our abilities, we made up for it in hard work and determination.
Jarrod Cain:
Apart from being somewhat of a foreman regarding the stimulation of our work, I was also responsible for maintaining an organized marketing campaign. After creating a g-mail account specifically for this film, I stayed in frequent contact with the filmmaker E.E. Cassidy, asking her questions, providing updates, and sharing information. I also corresponded regularly with my team, organizing dates, names, tasks, and possible outcomes. Despite my administrative duties I was also part of the creative aspect of this film. I designed the flyer that was used during our local, interactive operation, and I was responsible for printing the required media, including approximately 1000 flyers and ten posters. I was also responsible for creating the “We Are the Mods” t-shirt that our group members wore during the campaign. Although the frontal image was taken from the flyer sent by the filmmaker, the concept and its subsequent success can be attributed to our team. On Sunday March 22nd, I began my face to face interactions with the people of the Winter Park area. My specific goal was to exploit the ‘mod fashion’ hook of our marketing strategy; so I visited four vintage clothing stores in that area, targeting them specifically for their beneficial locations. I went to the Banana Republic, Dechoes, Déjà vu Vintage Clothing, and Oldies but Goodies. Apart from face to face interactions, I also tagged numerous car windshields and left copies at the stores for walk-in interests. I also took the liberty of calling two radio stations in order to further our advertisement in mass, but I was unsuccessful in securing an interested host. In regards to our post-marketing work, I was responsible for putting together the power point presentation for our oral report, as well as consolidating, compiling, and printing this final report.
Alex Figueroa:
I worked doing certain creative aspects of the process such as designing the posters, websites and facebook ads. Because of the limited art work given by the filmmaker we decided to create new images to advertise the film. I created a poster that represented mod fashion and that attracted the viewer’s eye to a focal point on the poster by adding photos and graphics. Another poster was created to give an idea to the viewer about the film by using colors to complement the images. In each poster I listed the information that was absolutely needed such as location, screening dates, and times. In addition, I created a Myspace profile that described the film. I contacted people that were interested in the mod culture; however, I was not successful. People were not very interested in being contacted by unsolicited advertising, and I received little or no attention from the people that became friends. I also collaborated in handing out flyers at Regal Cinema.
Salvatore Depasquale:
My responsibilities during the course of this semester, involved street advertising, conversing and persuading, and putting together some of the internet works. Most of my contribution was physically speaking with people. First, I met with Jon Jones about the flyers’ the filmmaker had made to advertise her world premiere. Also, I went out into the town to tell individuals and companies about our film. I visited many places, and at each one, the owner’s were always willing to assist me. Whether it was to hang a poster or keep a stack of flyers to handout to customers – I came across only the most helpful people. Since we did not devise specific places to advertise, I had to drive around and search for those pertaining to the target audiences we concluded from the film. The locations I went to include: Ride Green Scooters, Frames Forever, the Art Gallery, Vespa, Back Booth, Austin’s Café and Film, The New Phoenix, and UCF. Aside from individual handouts and posters, I also spent many hours tagging garages and parking lots with flyers for our film. These garages and lots were located at Rollins College, Downtown Orlando, as well as UCF. Not only did I go out on my own, but as a group we also went around the Regal Winter Park Village for some time before the first screening for last minute advertising, which we were quite successful in. I also took it upon myself to print out more handouts since I was going through them so fast. Throughout the course of the project I printed approximately 450 handouts. Another contribution I made to my group was taking care of the blogs we used. I assembled the “We Are the Mods” blog, my group utilized to direct people to all the information for the film and the screenings. Lastly, I created the blog to showcase this final report.
