When Do You Hire A Film Publicist: Part One of Two (or maybe Three I haven’t decided yet)
Plus a special discount code at the end of this post for $50 off a consulting session that you can use anytime from now through 2024.
The promo code is for a strategy session that will include marketing, PR, distribution, strategy, whatever you want to make of the session. It’s your time and we’ll cover a ton of ground and get you set up for success.
These strategy sessions are intended to be a one-on-one to address your unique needs and come up with actionable things you can do for your film or small business to move closer to your goals. We’ll go over a LOT of things including angles, strategies, the current marketplace and more.
I recently signed up to donate one of these strategy sessions for to a friend’s low-income grade school for their annual fundraiser and the response was TREMENDOUS. I was really moved, as I sometimes have imposter syndrome and I wonder why anyone would want to listen to what I have to say let alone pay for it. It’s times like these I’m grateful to be reminded of the value I bring to creatives and small businesses.
Okay, so this is going to be my last free post for awhile not just because I am absolutely slammed at the moment repping four stellar films (including my own AND prepping for a festival screening in New York and please check out this banging coverage I got for an amazing LGBQTIA film I’m repping in Variety YEAH!!!!!) but because I have some bigger news I need to work on and get ready to share out…. so stay tuned for that.
But I’m keeping the post in front of the paywall though I hope you all will sign up for paid posts because I’m offering year-round advice and insight that is of tremendous value. I’ll be discussing things about PR, marketing, filmmaking and distribution I have not been able to find answers anywhere else to online. This is a knowledge base and its growing and evolving over time and with the landscape of indie filmmaking so perilous at the moment, the monthly contribution of $5 (or annual at $50) is incredibly good value for what it is.
One of my favorite stories is of a guy who saw Picasso in a bar, and he asked Picasso to make him a drawing. So Picasso did so on the back of a bar napkin. He handed it to the guy and said, “that’ll be $30,000 please.” WHAT, the guy balked. That took you like 30 seconds to do!
Yeah, Picasso said. But it took me a LIFETIME to learn how to do THAT in 30 seconds.
So if you can subscribe please do. This Substack is like the cheat code to a lifetime of knowledge, experiences and information I’ve put together at my own time and expense and I’m sharing it with people who I hope to help.
Alright, so in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’m going to address a question a filmmaker asked me a little while ago regarding the need to hire a publicist at all for their upcoming film festival and I think all of you can benefit from this.
This filmmaker asked in a roundabout way what benefit it was to them to hire a publicist and if they should do so at all. They said they were playing in their hometown and managed to get two sold out screenings for a relatively well-known festival.
The question was if I’ve done this much on my own, what do you I need you for and maybe I should save that money for a publicist for a different, BIGGER festival we hope we get into.
They asked me to weigh in. So… I did.
So first of all, amazing job selling out two screenings, not an easy thing to do. But selling it out in your own backyard where your support base lives and works is WAY easier than taking the show on the road and expecting the same kind of turnout.
PLUS – you have to brace yourself for the fact that… you might not get into a bigger, better festival or realistically, ANY other festival. Why is that? Certainly, after seeing the value and the draw your film had, wouldn’t other fests want to replicate the same recipe for success?
Well, yes, but (and there’s always a but), most festivals want to be the one to premiere a film. So if you’re having your premiere you have to realistically understand that this might be as good as it gets.
And knowing that, this should be the time when you strike the hardest and the fastest.
I counseled this filmmaker that this would be the BEST time to hire a publicist because not only are they in their own backyard with two sold out screenings but this is the premiere of their film. This is SO MUCH FOR A PUBLICIST TO WORK WITH. The more a publicist has to work with the better the results you’re going to get.
I hate to say it but it only gets harder the more you go along and angles to promote just get more challenging to come up with. The reason for this is because you’re no longer shiny and new and you keep having to level up to the next big thing that’s going to trump all that you already did.
It’s going to be HARDER to climb up the hill now that you have a foothold, and I mean this in all sincerity. I recently turned a project down, not because I didn’t believe in it, but because I felt that they had run the course of all the interest they were going to realistically generate until they leveled up (and I will explain what that is in the follow up post to this under the paywall).
Me taking them on as a client would have been a disservice to them and myself and I don’t think it would have gone well for either party – them feeling disappointed like I hadn’t done anything and me just covering old ground their previous publicist had already trodden.
Knowing when, how and where to strike is one of the many things that sets good publicists and strategists apart from bad ones, and a good one will always be honest with you and tell you the truth about your prospects before taking your money.
Part of my JOB is to look at all the of angles we could play with your film (from PR, distribution and beyond) and it’s my JOB to help my clients strategize the best path to do that. Again, I’ve spent TWENTY YEARS of my life doing this professionally for businesses, so I do know a thing or two (imposter syndrome be damned).
So even though this filmmaker wasn't a client, I knew that this was the time for them to go for it and I said this: If you’re about to premiere, don’t go lightly. Go as hard as you can because you only have the one time to premiere anywhere and you might not get another screening.
Also, I counseled this filmmaker that a sold-out screening in your own backyard DOES NOT mean you’ll get a sold-out screening anywhere else.
We sold out the Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles with our premiere of Daruma at Dances with Films and had a waiting list. Almost 500 people came to our screening. It was an incredible night I’ll never forget and we had a packed after party with incredible brand sponsors that went late into the night (seriously our gift bags were off the chain from some of these incredible brands – another aspect of the work I do is brand partnering and promotion, I’ll get into that in another post).
But at our next screening, away from home at a location that we didn't have any connection to, we barely got 40 people in the audience let alone nabbed any press.
And it makes sense from my publicist POV – the people of that town didn’t know us, we’d already premiered and we didn’t have a geographic hook that a lot of news outlets need to lean on when running stories about film festivals and their creators. There was nothing special or new for them to cover especially because our cast wasn't in attendance.
Because of all this: why should they care? And I knew that we’d be facing these challenges going in. The sad reality is that most news outlets don’t care about indie films unless there’s a specific hook and most times a geographic tie-in makes the most sense.
So my vote is this: if you've got this perfect storm brewing, seize the moment. A bird in the hand and all that. You might not be so lucky next time and it only gets harder from here.
I’ll detail in a paywalled post the other times you should get a publicist for your film. Most people and films don’t need one year-round (businesses are different, they may!) but for times like these, it really can make all the difference.
And because it’s Thanksgiving and because I’m feeling generous (I won’t say this is a Black Friday sale but if that makes sense then sure), I’m giving $50 off my one-hour consulting sessions with code DANCES if you purchase before 12/31/23.
The session will expire on 12/31/2024, so you’ll have a whole year to use it whenever you want through out the New Year, but you can purchase the session and get $50 off now through the end of the year. Come 1/1/24 full prices go back into effect.
It’s been a tough year with all the ongoing strikes and I have to remind myself that I have a LOT to be thankful for, including all of you, but truly I am. So Happy Thanksgiving to you all and wishing you a safe, happy holiday and if you’re at Dances With Films in New York, come say hi. This is a GREAT festival and you’ll make a lot of friends!