Pre-orders for the digital release of Phoenix, Oregon have officially begun.
This is an important phase, because a strong pre-order number on Apple TV (iTunes) gives the film better placement on their website. For instance, “good” placement might mean the film is listed in the Apple TV category “trending indies” or “top indie films”. From what we hear, it takes between 700–1,000 pre-orders to gain placement.
There are a few strategies:
- Reach out to friends & fans requesting that if they intend to purchase, they do so during the pre-order period.
- We have set a $6.99 price point (comparable to our Theatrical-at-Home price) for pre-sales before it goes up to Apple TV new release price of $14.99 on June 2.
- Distribute coupon codes. Apple TV gives out 50 codes to be used at any time. Using them during pre-sales counts towards sales. The trick is making sure we use every code. Each of the team is taking 5–10 codes to hand out to friends and family. Then we must follow up to make sure each recipient reports back they used the code.
The next two weeks are all about digital — with a focus on Apple TV pre-orders. Once digital goes live June 1, we will switch our focus to pushing other platforms like Amazon. Current data shows that the most TVOD (transactional) revenue is from Amazon.
Once we have digital launched successfully with a strong base, we will continue our partnership model for testing marketing.
♡ Annie