Author:  Dennis Davidson Founder, DDA and Executive Producer, European Film Awards

Background

DDAPR, in common with similar organisations, operates at a variety of different levels in the UK and internationally. The main distinction is between unit publicity (working with the film makers during the production) and release publicity (working with the distributor, sales agent and film makers during the film's release). In addition, DDAPR's International Division undertakes sales support and international publicity, including junkets, festival platforms and personal appearance tours, to support overseas campaigns.

The Purpose of PR

PR is the catalyst between those who want to say something and those who want to hear it, ie. between the film makers and the media (and ultimately the consumer). Often producers will go to their PR agency with little understanding of the market or at whom their film is aimed. The first job for the PR company is often to instill a dose of realism in the producer about the market and how, and at whom, their film should be pitched. Finding a sympathetic audience is vital, no matter how small.

The PR companies rarely get involved with films during development and early pre-production - their involvement usually begins once the film has been greenlit or has gone into production. Unit publicists will be attached to the film during production where their role is largely concerned with writing the production notes, working with the stills photographer and electronic press kit (EPK) vendor, hand holding the major talent on the film and being the eyes and ears of the PR team back at base. The PR company itself is creating the overall strategy, for instance looking for possible angles for publicity during the shoot; and developing ideas that might be used during the later publicity activities. Pitches to the global media are vital at this point as there are two distinct windows in which to consume PR, during production and during release, which means that there are many months of post-production that need bridging.

Creating Good PR

PR strategies will vary hugely between different films - the most important thing is to make sure that your strategy is appropriate for each particular film. Film festivals can be a very effective way of platforming and raising awareness of a film, but they must be used carefully - for example, there rarely logic in showcasing a film at the Toronto Film Festival if you do not already have a US distribution deal in place because the PR impact achieved at Toronto throughout North America will have been dissipated by the time the film is eventually released some months later. Obviously, there are exceptions that prove the rule, films that have created a feeding frenzy at Sundance or Toronto that are then nurtured and fully exploited by the winning distributor.

Cannes remains the most important international event, particularly for independent films, although Venice and Berlin can be better platforms on occasion. Cannes is the most difficult marketplace in which to create any noise because there are so many other films jostling for press attention at the same time. At any festival, a priority is to give the press as many chances as possible to see the film in order to stoke their interest and open up other opportunities for interviews. It can often be advantageous to pre-screen films (on an embargoed basis) prior to their Festival screenings to build up awareness and get the media schedules partially filled up in advance of the Festival.

If there are stars attending the festival in support of the film, then clearly it is important that the press are given access to them - but bear in mind that, in Cannes, there may be 5000 accredited media either chasing or needing persuading to conduct an interview. Somehow their needs have to be satisfied within 10, 20 or, if you are lucky, 30 working hours from each of a small number of stars, each of whom may be spending fewer than 3 days at the Festival. PR Agencies spend a lot of time nurturing their relationships with the key media representatives, so that they can increase the chances of winning their attention when it is being stretched across so many competing priorities.

In general, for any festival and particularly a competitive festival, it is important that you let the organisers know about your film as early as possible so that they start tracking it and then to give them adequate time to see it and consider it for conclusion in the programme.

PR Budgets

Very often, PR is over-looked when producers are putting budgets together and, even if there is an allowance made for this expense, it is usually too small. A typical budget for unit publicity might be around £10 - £15,000 on a £3-5 million film. There also need to be allowances for photography, EPK (or, at least, b-roll) and incoming media visits.

Outside of the production budget, PR/marketing budgets are often controlled by the US Studio and/or sales agent (as a deductible expense). Much of the marketing budget will be spent around the time of the major markets when they are looking to do most of their business, but these budgets also tend to be small for independent films - c. $125 - $300,000 (of which a PR company might expect 15-20% or agree an additional budget, with the financiers, separate from the marketing budget) A big challenge when putting together international campaigns for films that will probably have a different distributor in each territory is finding the PR fee, the cost of the junket and the organisation and financing of a personal appearance tour. Often, PR company will have to pull together the budget from the participating local distributors. It can be problematic securing this cash from the sales agent so the local distributors who can charge the cost to their P & A spend is often the only source. Even they must then wait until after the films release before they can start to recoup, but if the marketing monies are not invested then its tough to compete in the marketplace.

PR for Individual Talent

DDAPR does not undertake personal publicity for individual talent, partially because it could cause conflicts of interest where they are representing the film as well. There are occasionally clashes with other agencies representing the talent in a particular film, but on the whole and despite the highly competitive nature of the business when agencies are competing for film PR contracts, the different agencies tend to work together co-operatively for the good of the film. It is in all of their interests that the film is not damaged in the eyes of the media or the public by squabbling between representatives of different elements of the film. This is increasingly important in certain territories (including the UK) where the media seem to be far more interested in bad news stories than in covering objectively a film that their readers/viewers might want to see.

Top Tips

• Every market is different - marketing has to be tailored to each territory.
• PR is the catalyst between the film makers and the media (and ultimately the consumer).
• The first job for the PR company is often to instill a dose of realism in the producer about the market and how, and at whom, their film should be pitched.
• Cannes is the most important international event but is the most difficult marketplace because there are so many other films jostling for press attention.
• A priority for PR Agencies is to nurture their relationships with the key media representatives to increase their chances of gaining access to them at busy times of the year.