I've had a fair number of clients over the last few years go to festivals with marketing plans, but I don't think I've ever had clients who went after an audience with gusto quite like this. Joke and Biagio, the filmmakers behind Dying to Do Letterman, premiered their doc feature at Cinequest this past week. Not only did they create custom videos for the festival that fit their film's specific theme, but they also hit the streets with friends and family to make sure that people filled those seats.
Check it out:
I love the hospital scrubs - designed to attract attention (when a gang of people walk down the street wearing the same thing, you notice), appropriate to the film's theme, and comfortable. The buttons are so clever. Because they have a blank space for the recipient's dream job/trip/whatever, it turns the act of handing off a button into an interaction, an occasion for conversation, and it's incredibly memorable.
Kudos to Biagio and Joke for killer guerilla marketing tactics – and for having the guts to get out there and promote their film one person at a time. They sold out the premiere and I think their second screening too.
