Dec 26, 2024
Happy Holidays. As an end of the year gift, I bring you Part Two of Brand Film 101. Last week, I wrote about how brands typically fund films and other forms of entertainment. As a reminder, they don’t usually sponsor/fund existing films, and they don’t really want to be pitched your dream project. They usually commission films directly from filmmakers they either know or get introduced to by someone they trust, an. d they are looking to produce a very specific project.
But people reach out to me almost daily, asking me to help them pitch their project to a brand, or for (free…) advice on how to do this. When I get these emails, I send a form letter response saying that I can’t be of help, as it’s not what my company does (we are hired by the brands not the filmmakers). This new series of posts is my way of giving some free advice on how this space works. So, if you want to approach brands about your project, or just want to figure out how to break into the brand storytelling industry, here’s a few hints. Like last week, this post comes with a big caveat- these are my best guesses and hints, and I welcome other ideas from my brand friends about how they’d like to be approached and/or filmmakers who have had success in this space.
How to Approach Brands
So, given last week’s column, how the heck do you approach a brand when you think you have the perfect project for them? Aren’t brands supposed to be saving film, or something? Well, I keep trying to dispel this myth, because brands aren’t coming to save the film world – for all the reasons above. I keep telling people that quite often, their energy would be better spent finding another donor, grant or investor, but filmmakers will search anywhere for funding, and if you are committed to trying, here are some hints, based on my experience.
First – do your homework. Get to know the brands you want to approach. Intimately. Make a list of all the brands who you think overlap with your project and try to eliminate as many of them as possible, instead of trying to add more to your list. Look at their website. Read their corporate social responsibility pages, or foundation webpages. Read their annual report. Watch their other films, listen to their podcasts. Read their blog posts, and what their executives post on LinkedIn. Figure out what they really seem to care about, and what they’re doing. Read about them in Adweek, Adage, and the Wall Street Journal. Guess what, if they just announced thousands of layoffs, or had a dismal quarter, it might not be the right time to approach them (or maybe it is…). Are you making a film about endangered animals, but you notice that everything they post about is related to circularity and sustainability? Guess what, those aren’t the same topic, so you can probably cross them off your list. Also, look to see whether their website explicitly says something like – we don’t fund films, or don’t take pitches, or maybe it even tells you how to submit an idea. If they tell you to apply for a grant first, don’t bug their marketing department before applying for that grant, and don’t send a proposal if they tell you they just throw these away (most companies, even film companies, delete unsolicited pitches so they won’t get sued for stealing an idea they never even read). Keep all this info in your spreadsheet, because if you do find a brand that still seems to fit, you’re going to need to articulate that when you approach them.
Second, get to know who makes the decisions. Not dissimilar to the above, now you need to research who, or what team is making the decision for what films or other projects they are funding (they might make podcasts, or games, or even VR/XR). Start by using Google, LinkedIn and the credits of the projects they’ve made. Look for executive names associated with their films or other content. Did they launch the film at Tribeca or BrandStorytelling? What executive was quoted talking about it on stage, or in their press release? Who is listed in the credits on the “more” section of YouTube, or in the credits of the film? Was it someone from the company? Or just from their ad agency, or from a production company they seem to work with a lot?
Look these folks up on LinkedIn. Look at who they’re connected to on LinkedIn – first, do you have any mutual connections who might connect you? Second, maybe they’re the CMO or CEO, and that person is super busy, but maybe their colleague has a job title like Head of Brand, Head of Film, or something that looks like they might be the one. Again, try to find a mutual connection who can make an intro. You can always make a cold call to them via LinkedIn, but few people respond to those, and no one wants to be spammed. And while I’ve seen cold-call LinkedIn messages and emails work at every brand I’ve worked with, it doesn’t happen often. Now, I don’t recommend doing this, but let’s just be honest – there’s no one online who you can’t find a corporate email address for with a little sleuthing. You can find some corporate email address online, and they usually all follow the same format. Again, I recommend finding a mutual acquaintance to make an intro – and know that few of them are going to spend their political capital helping you unless they really like you, so be judicious in who you approach here, too, but if you insist on a cold-call, it can be done.
Third, figure out who they work with already. Maybe they’ve set up their studio to only work with a certain ad agency, or sales agent, or consultant. Perhaps they seem to make all their films with the same production company or handful of them frequently. Many, but not all, of these companies are much easier to contact than a brand representative. Many production companies even have brand divisions, or a staffer handling this, and they might be open to looking at reels for new talent to represent. Again, try to find an intro, or something in common - hey, you made a film that premiered at the Woodstock Film Fest this year, and so did I, could I send you my reel? That might not work, but it’s more likely to work than a cold call saying you need money to a random brand rep.
Once you find a contact, and a good path to approach them without being a pest, ask them whether you can send your materials. Don’t just send your pitch, and a deck or video. Again, it might go straight to the trash. Plus, if you ask and they say yes, you know they might actually look at what you sent. You can send a logline and a sentence or two about who you are, and what you’ve done, and those sentences should be enticing – “hey, I might want to work with this person, or wow, great idea,” they should think.
If they don’t respond after one or two emails, give up. That’s a “silent no” or you’re just going to spam. Don’t keep wasting their time or yours. At most, go back to step one and find another path, or go find another potential brand, but don’t become a stalker.
Send a good, visual pitch deck and/or reel. If they do say you can send them a pitch, and unless they ask for some specific format or process, send a very polished, very visual pitch deck and/or reel/pilot for your project. I’m not going to go into the specifics of what makes a good pitch deck here, but here’s what I tell everyone – imagine that you have a stereotypical, “Type-A” executive, and they’re running on their treadmill at 5:30am reading your proposal on their phone. It has to be visual, and not text heavy. It must be compelling and feel inevitable. It should tell them you’ve done your research, and you know how it fits their brand (you should have also told them this in your intro email). It should also have some info on your and your team, proving you know how to get this thing done, beautifully, and on time and on-budget. Not every deck does this, but if you can also hint at how they can show up in and around the film’s release, and you aren’t just asking for money, you get star points. Some people provide a menu of sponsorship options – I don’t recommend this and rarely see it when people pitch our clients (with prior permission), but it is one strategy. Last, keep it short – I recommend 15 pages or less, and a video under 5 minutes.
If this gets you in the door – congrats. What to do next is another long post, for another day.
Know this all might fail. Ok, maybe you’ve done all of the above, and no one responded at all, or maybe you go to the right person and they said not to send your pitch, or got really lucky and they took the pitch, but you never heard back. That’s just the breaks. I don’t help filmmakers do this process, but I have done it a couple of times when a good friend begged me, and paid me, to help, but I won’t ever do it again. Why? Because the success rate is too small. We once pitched 140 well researched brands for a project, and got only about ten responses, and of those, only a few became involved as in-kind marketing supporters, and only one gave money. We also had a film where after similar results, the one potential brand flaked out and didn’t end up sponsoring the film. That’s what usually happens – it doesn’t work, and that’s why I tell people not to think that brands are the future of film funding for your passion projects. Making films for brands, commissioned by brands, might be part of your career and a mechanism towards a sustainable career. But they won’t usually fund your passion project.
That said - I’ve seen this work. As I mentioned above, I’ve seen filmmakers get funded by brands we consult with via a cold-call, and they didn’t know me at all when they started. I’ve also known filmmakers who got lucky this way as well. I’ve also seen a filmmaker pitch a brand to just do some filming with them, and then the brand got involved and it became a brand film, and their agency took all of the credit for the idea and will say that the project originated with the brand, even though it really started as an independent film (this is the case for one of the most famous examples, actually). But, these are rare examples, and none of this is easy, and it will often fail, so go into it with that knowledge.
Do the hard work. Think all of this is too much work? So is making a film. So is figuring out what foundation to approach for a grant. So is finding the right program officer, or the right donor. Nothing is easy in the film world.
Can’t I just hire someone to do this for me? In theory, yes, but I’ve been doing this for thirteen years, and even before I started working with brands, I knew filmmakers who would hire consultants who would promise to help them approach sponsors. Usually these consultants are expensive, and require a hefty monthly retainer (fee), and a commission on any money they bring in now or in the future from anyone they approach your behalf. And I’ve almost never seen this work. The same is true for fundraising consultants who promise to help nonprofits, events, film festivals, etc. – it rarely works. I’m sure there are exceptions, but I don’t know them. I don’t do this work, and I don’t make recommendations to anyone who does. My best guess at finding someone good would be to hire someone who handles sponsorships for a major event already, as they likely have a “virtual rolodex” of good contacts. I’ve also known a few producers, sales agents, agencies and even lawyers who have had experience doing this. If you can find such a person, attach them to your film, and let them lead your process, but make sure to check into their background and be sure they know what they’re doing and have a track record of success, or can tell you who they know, because I’ve also seen this fail many times as well. I’ve met more filmmakers who “have an agent or agency” for this work, but who are never working, than the ones I’ve met who just figured out their own path.
Other Hints and How to Break into Brand funded storytelling:
- Read. A lot. Read the trades – Deadline, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire. They write about films funded by brands sometimes or announce news about this space. Read email newsletters. Read the advertising trades - Adweek, Adage, etc. Read industry specific newsletters and websites, like BrandStorytelling. BusinessInsider has been writing a lot of articles about this topic and so has FastCompany. Some of these have paywalls, but most will let you read a certain number of articles for free. This will keep you informed of who is doing what – which brands are making films, the executives, the production companies, the agencies, etc.
- Watch the work. Learn who is making good work, and know what brands are making. And the credits can be a hint of who is doing what.
- Look at the awards shows. Things like – the BrandStorytelling Awards, Cannes Lions, TribecaX, The Clios, The Webby’s and so on. This is another place to figure out who is doing what, and who is in charge.
- Explore labs and training programs. This past year, the Gothams had a program that was specifically connecting filmmakers with brand reps and others working in this space. BrandStorytelling has a certificate program with ETSU where you can learn about how this space works. I bet more of them will be launching soon.
- Consider attending some of these conferences and networking. This one is tough – most of the brand conferences and awards shows are either very exclusive and you have to apply to attend, or they’re very expensive, or both. I don’t recommend this path for most filmmakers or production companies trying to break into this space, but if you are starting to do this work, or are rich, or have a donor/funder who might cover the costs, perhaps consider it.
- Network. Network at other industry events – film fests, conferences, and network on LinkedIn. Get to know the people doing this work. Introduce yourself after a panel – don’t take up all of their time, or start to stalk them, but if you are patient and nice, many will take the time to chat with you when they’re already at an event. Or if you are posting good info on LinkedIn, they might notice your postings and be more open to an intro. And as I mentioned above, if you can meet production companies already doing this work, they can often be easier to approach than a brand.
- Make work. Work begets work. The most successful filmmakers I know today, and the ones getting the most brand work while still making their passion projects are prolific. They make stuff all the time. They post it widely – if it’s not distributed by a major, they get it out on YouTube. They don’t always have a ton of resources, but we all have a studio in our pocket these days (our phones), and they aren’t precious about it, except when they need to be. People see their work. They find it online, or at a film fest. It’s become another one of my mantra’s – work begets work. This is true of almost every successful artist and person I know today – even people you think are past being too busy, are always busy. It’s a compulsion, and that tends to attract others to your work – or really turn them off, but either way, you’ll find out soon whether it’s working or not.
That’s the best advice I can give you for pitching brands and/or breaking into this space. These two posts – last week’s and this one – are where I will send people who email me with questions about this in the future – so don’t email me asking for help, as I’m just going to send you right back here, and wish you good luck.
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Film
How Airlines Pick the Movies on Your Flight: Great article in the NYT (that should be a free link) on how airlines pick the films you see. This is interesting in and of itself, but it's also a good thing for filmmakers to know about, because licensing to airlines can be a decent source of revenue for your film. And if you want to learn how to sell your film to an airline, I recommend this older piece from Dan Mirvish in Filmmaker Magazine - which remains accurate. (BN)
Slow news week, due to the holidays. I'll be back with more links in the New Year.
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