Two weeks to go until release. In many ways, I have relaxed and let go.
There is always that moment during production as well — as if settling into the eye of a tornado, when the flurry of tasks and stress collects into a low, steady hum, and the engine runs without constant attention.
Social Media: Our team is posting daily photos, clips and quotes from the film. They are focused on engagement, hyper-local targeted outreach and ads, and promoting event pages co-hosted by theaters. All of these combined are starting to increase the reach and engagement in each market.
Flyering: We are hiring local representatives in each city to hang flyers (50–100). I will order from a local print shop for pickup. *If you know anyone in any of our markets who may be interested in this job, let me know!
Reviews: So far we have about fifteen confirmed reviews with more to come. These are mostly Rotten Tomatoes approved critics and will come out in the week of release. We are aiming for around forty-five total reviews.
Press interviews (TV, radio, print): We have about ten press interviews scheduled so far for cast, director and producers.
Local press: Many of the smaller media outlets do not have resources for articles, so we hired a freelance writer to do a comprehensive feature article for use in all markets.
Outreach: Now that a general foundation has been set, the biggest task for the final ten days will be direct outreach in each market including emails, phone calls, and social media engagement with individuals and organizations. We will be enlisting 1–2 people per market to help using a script provided by our distributor.
Let me know if you’d like to participate in outreach! These tasks can be done remotely.
I haven’t been through this process before, but the distribution team does personal outreach for most of their films in the final week before release. We will repeat this process for the digital release in June.
Up until now, the goal has been awareness. In the final 7–10 days, the goal is action — getting audience members to buy a ticket or make a plan to see the film with a friend. The reason this type of outreach is not started sooner is because most people do not make the decision to see a film until a few days before.
Merchandise: I am inventoring all our merch from past films as well as Phoenix, Oregon. I almost have thirty boxes ready to shrink-wrap on a pallet to send to our fulfillment house — now I just need to find the pallet!
I am excited to see how all of this progresses over the next few days. By next week, I’ll have a better feeling on reviews, press, and audience engagement in each community.
♡ Annie