Indie films wage an ongoing war with major releases for awareness and promotion in a cluttered market space. It’s a war independent films are losing. Some cool films deserve to be seen in cinemas with an audience of fans. Films like REC2, the terrifying sequel to the horror hit REC.
REC2 will be released in a few New Zealand theatres on Black Friday (13 Nov), and I’m helping the distributor – Vendetta Films – to get the word out. The catch? They only have a few thousand to market it.
So I pitched Vendetta to let me give away 75% (Five Thousand Dollars Cash) to any individual(s) who promote (Buzz) the movie REC2 in the boldest and most innovative fashion. They said yes.
To be in to win the $5k all you need to do is use the untapped power of your mind. How’s that for a recession buster? For more information, read here and here.
Our plan was to create different warning signs to attract attention by posting them in busy areas of the city. By not using any permanent paste (e.g. stickers) we are not damaging any property and we get the freedom of being able to put them anywhere we want because if someone doesn’t want them there, they can just take them down.
We have come up with 5 different versions of warning signs to raise awareness of what to do in case of a zombie epidemic. Posters linked directly to the movie by stating that “Cameras will be operating at all times” and the release date of Rec2 in cinemas.
JUDGES COMMENT: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Simple, effective clever guerilla marketing technique with a sense of humour. And bonus points for showing the public reaction to your work. We’ll put away the razor blades for now. Well done guys. Very nice package
i always loved red nose days, esp. the comedy red nose charities days frm the UK. well, when i look at the REC red dot i thought ‘hmmm. i can see THAT as a red nose day thing but with a horror slant’.
THE PITCH: do stand up comedy at yr local ‘amatuer night’ comedy club wearing a red ‘REC2’ nose.(or just busk it if u live outside main centres)
Comedian zombie- ‘REC2!!” (then u throw out red noses with the opening dated on them to the crowd!
RESULT? pople will spread the word at parties/ the pub etc (‘hey, wanna hear a joke? a REAL SCARY JOKE?…” and retell it and it will be viral. Mebbee even the pro comedians’ll start doing it!i am hyped for rec2 !!!
Judges Comment : You sir are a fucking moron. This is the worst idea on earth. And even better than just being a shit idea, you have delivered a big fat zero. It’s just an idea. We’re after an executed idea. Jesus H Christ is everyone in NZ a fucking lobo patient? Please don’t give up your day job mate… I’m sure ‘Useless Prick’ pays very well
Here we have the first ‘actual’ video from the youtube channel we created, rec2nz. We are running it as our own mini contest, with over $100 in music and merchandise prizes we have been provided with. Our goal is to have people interact with rec2 and the underlying ‘fear’ concept of the film, and everyone loves some practice making videos. We have so far uploaded an ‘about’ video and will later finish uploading the ‘how to’ videos. Our goal is 1 new video submitted a day.
Loving the concept of indie marketing, we are sending this out to all communications students we can get our dirty hands on!
Upload your own Zombie short, whether a horror or instructional piece, and post it as a video response to any of our own videos. We will favorite it, and you will be in to win well over $100 in music and merchandise we have been provided with! The winner will be selected on primarily on number of views, so get everyone you know to watch. There MUST be a reference to the release date of Rec2 in New Zealand (13.11.09). You are more than welcome to rip the promo from our videos and attach it to yours. What’s more, get your friends, family, neighbor’s pet dog etc to subscribe to this channel and the more subscribers we get the bigger the prize! While the prize will increase based on subscribers, IF this endeavor wins the Rec2 promotional buzz contest the prize will be VERY impressive! This is an experiment more than anything else: Can an independent film achieve the same level of publicity through the public spectrum as Hollywood films through cold hard cash? If indie films can gain enough attention with little expense, the face of the film market in New Zealand could be changed. Do you want to be a part of it? Then upload. We have started the ball rolling, will you help?
Judges Comment : Well done. An interesting idea that may need a lucky break to get submissions rolling in. Please keep us posted.
Find some crazies (probably Uni students) willing to take ablood bath. There will be a blood pit somewhere around one of the meat works.
Animal rights groups will go insane - this worked well for us in Hastings- I came up with the idea of the running of the sheep to celebrate Spanish Mission Hastings (instead of running of the rams) - animal rights groups went nuts and we made national news as well as got talked about on National sports shows, some 7 years ago now. I don’t know enuf about your movie but I bet i could come up with something if I knew more.
JUDGES COMMENT : Talk is cheap. Learn more about this by reading the rules
