(This page is one section of the Industry Analysis. To view the full Industry Analysis, click here)
Understanding the Marketing of Independent Documentaries
As a result of the specific audience for independent documentary films, this causes the marketing of these films to be just as specific and targeted. This creates a contrast between the marketing strategy for standard, fictional films. When it comes to traditional film marketing, much of the marketing occurs after the film has finished pre-production and production, then marketing is ramped up when the release date for the film is near. With independent documentaries, marketing has to be different as the films are intended to be more personal and, they are evidently films that are just at a much smaller scale. Because of the smaller scale production of independent documentaries, the marketing is best started at the pre-production stage all the way through the release date of the film (Noschis 2015), and possibly further if necessary.
As stated earlier, a role documentaries play in society is to create social cohesion and insight (Aufderheide 2007), and because of this role, the marketing must reflect that purpose when compared to traditional films. According to Noschis (2015a), the main marketing criteria for documentaries include the popularity of the protagonists (or the subject of the documentary), having an identifiable target audience, and showing the elements of passion within the project/film, this is especially true when it comes to marketing through the use of social media, as will be discussed in the next section.
Because of the nature of documentaries being an informative medium, rather than just an entertainment medium, the marketing must also be focused on creating a discussion on the film’s topic before, during and after the film is released. This form of marketing coincides with the purpose of documentaries to have a social impact rather than having a financial goal. When it comes to reaching target viewers for the documentary, the viewers of the film became more than just an audience, they become ambassadors of the film by openly discussing the film’s topic (Noschis 2015a). This causes recognition of the film to spread by “word-of mouth” which is crucial for independent filmmaking because of the limitation of the financial marketing resources available.
If an independent documentary film can obtain recognition early before its release date, it has the opportunity to enter film festivals, thus exponentially growing the awareness the film will receive. This will eventually lead the film to being well-known and marketed by the time the official release date is reached, and the film can then be viewed by a larger audience than initially anticipated. In return, the topics within the documentary are discussed socially for the foreseeable future.
Without experience within the industry of independent documentaries, one may think that the marketing strategy would be the same as traditional entertainment films, but this is not the case. When viewed in detail, it becomes clear that the process in which an independent documentary film is marketed is different, engaging with the potential audience very early into pre-production, and well after the film has been released with the help of those same viewers and social media.