July 18, 2024
Just last week, the Arthouse Convergence released their National Audience Survey, and the results were pretty awesome. Survey respondents reported that they love their local arthouse cinema, and the survey also showed audiences showing up more often, and getting younger (that link takes you to a lot more data). They also just finished their Ind/Ex Conference in Chicago, and while I didn’t attend, Jordana Meade from Sub-Genre did make it there, and she and my other friends who attended reported high spirits and lots of great things happening.
Arthouses are thriving, and audiences are coming back (for certain films). Sure, not everything is rosy – don’t go into one on a Tuesday looking for an audience watching a social issue documentary, for example, but things are on the up and up. Most of my readers know this, as many of you are probably arthouse cinema fans already. But too often, we lose track of these good things. Or as Kate Markham, the managing director of the Art House Convergence puts it, “While we’re constantly met with click-bait analysis about the perilous state of theatrical exhibition from Hollywood’s perspective, it was remarkable to hear from the audiences of independent cinemas […] (they) are still attending their local cinemas, new and younger patrons are discovering these independent exhibitors, and the creativity and variety of programming is what keeps them coming back.”
If you dive into the data, it also tells an interesting, overlooked story – audiences love arthouse cinemas. Think about that for a second – do you read reports about them loving their experience on Netflix and other streamers? No. They’re getting frustrated with a crap user experience, spend hours trying to find something they want to watch, are starting to get bombarded with the ads that they went to streamers to avoid, they constantly churn (subscribe, unsubscribe) just to watch the few things they want to see. Of course, all of us keep putting up with this experience because there’s also some great stuff mixed in there – I watch a movie or series almost every night on one of many streaming services, too – but no one can say that audiences love the experience, exactly.
Contrast that with these results from the Arthouse Survey. It found:
74% of patrons report that their art house theater is “extremely” or “very” valuable to their overall quality of life, up from 66% in 2019. 43% of respondents have paid to be members of their local art house organization. 92% of respondents said that their art house cinema presents films that are profound, 83% agree that their art house exposes them to new ways of thinking, 82% believe that attending their art house cinema makes them a more well-rounded person, 75% say that it raises their consciousness of important issues and 67% say that attending their art house connects them with people with shared interests and beliefs.
Art houses serve as the backbone for the artistic, civic, and economic vitality of communities. 93% say their art house sparks art and culture, 90% agree that their art house is one of the best things about the community, 89% say that their cinema helps tell important stories that would otherwise not be told, 87% say their cinema is an anchor in their community and 77% say that their cinema enhances their community’s economic vitality.
I dare you to find anywhere close to those sentiments about the home viewing experience on streaming. Arthouses are curated spaces, where community comes together, and that are anchors in their community.
This is something that I wish my brand film world friends would pay more attention to as well. What the survey shows about arthouse cinemas feels like the kind of space I’d want to be associated with if I was a brand. But instead, literally every day, all I hear is - how do I get my film/show on Netflix? And I think to myself – well, it’s nearly impossible, and if we do it, you’ll likely get lost in the algorithm, and have to spend many millions more than you want to spend in order to make sure people see it, because they (the streamers) are going to be promoting a million other things at the same time, and the algorithm is rarely going to kick in for your project. And you’ll just be fighting to stand out from the crowd, in a space only getting more crowded by the second, so why don’t we think about making a movie people would pay to go see in person at an awesome arthouse cinema?
Ok, quick aside – I get it. Streaming is hot, and every brand wants to be there for some good reasons. And you reach millions, potentially, very quickly. And my company will keep helping with that, of course. But… when everyone is going one direction, shouldn’t your brand be looking at doing something different? And if you start looking behind the curtains a little – how many millions are actually watching your show/film? Are you really in a curated space that feels like your brand? And if this is about brand building, not sales, shouldn’t we move away from CPM type metrics and towards things that truly build our brand with a core audience?
Do you want to be just another one of thousands of titles in a big endless queue? Or do you want to be somewhere curated, beloved, and with a built-in community? Oh, and guess what – if you do things right, you can do both – you can show your film (or even series, actually) at an arthouse cinema and still get it onto a streamer later. In fact, this is the best way to operate, and most of the film world is realizing we need to have a theatrical window again, but my brand partners consider it a success just to get to the streaming part.
You also don’t necessarily even have to make the movie. Sure, everyone really wants to be a director, which is the secret reason so many brands are making films these days, but there are plenty of movies and shows out there already, and each year there are literally hundreds of them that have played prestigious festivals like Sundance and Toronto, but they still need distribution. And at least a few of those probably align as well with your brand as that pitch being pushed on you by an ad agency, brand division of a production company, or me. You could curate a film or three and bring them to arthouses, and guess what – now you have a package of films that have a brand, a campaign, a chance of breaking through the noise, and… the possibility of making a deal for all of them with a streamer… brought to you by Brand X.
Heck, with curation being the name of the game (i.e., the only thing that matters online other than Generative-AI, the creator economy, gaming, and TikTok) – you could curate a selection of films for multiple arthouses, or sponsor them to curate a series for you. The possibilities are endless.
But they aren’t easy. And that’s why this isn’t done more often. What makes most arthouses so great – their independence – is also what makes them hard to work with for most brands. Try to coordinate a tour of a film/series to 100 arthouse cinemas. I’ve done it, and it ain’t easy. Try to sponsor 50 of them and have some level of consistency in the presentation of your brand. Also, not easy. Try to work with even one indie filmmaker on a release of a film, much less a handful of them… not easy.
But neither is streaming.
The arthouse audience and experience is not for every brand. And this isn’t me trying to say brands can save the world for us – like everyone else seems to be hoping for (in vain, I think). But just like brand storytelling should be one part of your marketing spend, along with advertising, and everything else, perhaps arthouse cinemas should be part of a few brand’s smart brand storytelling strategy. 
Not sold? Or curious, but thinking – “I don’t remember the last time I set foot in an arthouse”? Or not a brand rep and you just want to go see a good movie at an arthouse? Well, don’t just rely on my telling you, you can go experience a great arthouse for yourself on National Arthouse Day! Another program of the Arthouse Convergence (busy folks, right), this year, more than 85 theaters across the country will celebrate Art House Theater Day 2024 on Thursday, July 25th (next week) with a variety of programming – “including the 40th anniversary 4K restoration of The Terminator released by Park Circus, along with an exclusive Q&A with Director James Cameron and Producer Gale Anne Hurd on the film’s indie roots and the critical importance of art house theaters today.” You can learn more about that program, and others being held across the country on their website, and you can check out a map of all of the participating theaters. Seems like a program someone should sponsor or something…
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Film
Streaming Giant’s Break A Nielsen Record: This June, streaming accounted for over 40% of all TV usage, the most for a single category (including cable with 27% of TV usage) since Nielsen kicked off The Gauge a few years back. IndieWire’s Tony Maglio has the news/numbers, but in the meantime here’re a couple important ones: (1) A number of streamers saw double digit growth last month including Netflix (+11.8%), Disney+ (+14.8%), Max (+11%) and Tubi (14.7%); (2) YouTube remains the king of streaming, accounting for 9.9% of all TV usage in June (next in line is Netflix with 8.4% of the pie). (GSH) And look at Tubi there - I wonder if their ceo gets paid like the one running Max (into the ground)? (BN)
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Branded Content
Gaming Platforms Cannibalize Social Media Platforms From The Inside Out: Digiday’s Alexander Lee writes an interesting piece about why gaming platforms that host a multitude of branded experiences like Roblox and Fortnite are “thriving by riding the coattails of the very social platforms they aim to dethrone.” In essence, while Brands’ presence is on the rise inside video games (this June, the top 10 branded experiences inside Roblox drew over 13 million visits), marketers have found it necessary to run social media campaigns parallel to the launch of a branded in-game experience to encourage users to spend time there at scale. If platforms like Fortnite and Roblox want to rival the advertising power of Meta and Facebook, they’ll have to create powerful tools on their own and reduce their dependence on socials, but they’re just not there yet. Gareth Leeding, global chief strategy officer at the agency Livewire explains, “When you dig down deep into what’s driving content on those platforms — YouTube has over 100 billion hours of watch time that are driven by gaming content, and TikTok has over 3 trillion views of gaming content…. A large part of the content consumption on social platforms is gaming, so then the answer is actually that gaming is cannibalizing social from the inside out.” (GSH)
Tik Tok To Make Long-Form Content and IG-Reels Says They’ll Sticks to Shorts: We’ve talked before about the issue of app-homogenization (when distinct apps/platforms with unique features race to the latest user experience feels and trends and suddenly, they all start to look and feel the same). Look at Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, for example. These were a direct reaction to the booming success of short-form TikTok videos (which evolved out of Vines….etc). Now, and perhaps not surprisingly, TikTok is expanding into long-form content — they’re testing 60-minute videos with users, thereby challenging platforms like YouTube and Film/TV streaming giants. For now, Instagram will stick to short form content. Forbes’ Ian Shepherd concludes, “Instagram's commitment to short-form content may appeal to brands looking for quick, impactful messaging, while TikTok's longer videos could attract advertisers seeking more comprehensive brand storytelling opportunities.” Despite what they say now, my bet is that in a year or less, Instagram will announce they’re ready to make movies. (GSH)
Elevate 2024 - This coming week, I'll be at the Elevate Conference, in Utah. This is one of the annual gatherings of the Brand Storytelling community, and it's where we talk shop about best practices, worst ones, and the state of the marketplace. We'll be trying to figure out some key things - like how to make a bigger impact, and how to convince the C-Suite that this stuff is worth it, and how to zip line down a mountain without your heart coming out of your chest. I'll be trying to convince someone to pay more attention to the arthouse cinema world, per the above. If you're interested in this stuff, check out their website, and consider attending a future conference. (BN)
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Miscellany:
(When) Will The Metaverse Make A Comeback?: Remember when the metaverse was all everyone was talking about and then… it tanked? Well, check out why Matthew Ball, one of the OG metaverse angel investors / former Amazon Studios head of strategies, still believes in its success. Takeaways: (1) “Ball views advancements in AI and blockchain technology as incremental steps toward the formation of a true metaverse (Alexander Lee, Digiday).” (2) Ball believes that “when the metaverse does arrive, [we probably won’t] call it the metaverse…. it’s more likely we’ll use another term less encumbered by what came before… [like] 3D internet, or beyond that, probably just the internet”; (3) There's a branding issue when it comes to the metaverse. The average consumer associates the concept of the metaverse with Meta itself. If and when the metaverse is repositioned as something belonging to everyone (rather than just Meta) other companies will more readily participate in the metaverse and help build it out. Matthew Ball’s 2nd edition of his national bestseller “The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything” comes out July 23rd, so you can expect the conversation to flare up in a couple weeks. (GSH)
GSH = Articles written by Sub-Genre's Gabriel Schillinger-Hyman, not Brian Newman (BN)
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