paul
Posts 251
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9/25/2006 1:57 PM
posted awhile ago
Help Doug promote 51 Birch Street
In October and November, 51 Birch Street will be released in NY, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Boston. Doug Block wants to promote the film using the tools available on the Internet but, like most of us, he's not sure where to start.
Please, chime in with your two-cents—if you have two-cents—about how to promote this film on the Internet through places like Myspace, Facebook, Meetup and the like.
Any advice you can give will be very appreciated. Spout will also use this research to help other filmmakers like Doug.
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PammyK
Posts 216
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9/25/2006 2:41 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Help Doug promote 51 Birch Street
Well...I've decided that I really like using the internet to promote almost anything, but I don't have one or two things that works really good - its more like 10 to 15 things that work a little or have potential to work well in the future. One of my favorite sites 43places.com lets people list places they have been or places they want to go. You can add pictures, ratings and stories. Other people give comments on places you've been, are inspired by where you've been and decide to go themselves or give you advice about certain places. Now they have a new tool that allows you to create events and invite people to attend. Its more than a calendar, its like a community of people who are excited about traveling or exploring where they live.
Another one of my favorite sites facebook.com allows you to create an event and send it to all of your friends who can then in turn send it to all of their friends and so on. You can post pictures and have discussions with your friends about the event, and keep track of who is planning on coming. Facebook also has a tool that lets you pay a small fee to make a flier that is posted on the site with information about your event and it links to a website. Also, Facebook is opening to the general public - soon people will be able to sign up by region instead of just by college or highschool.
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ben
Posts 2
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9/25/2006 3:54 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Help Doug promote 51 Birch Street
I don't really know the first thing about promotion or marketing, but I can see a great partnership between missional and emerging churches and Doug. These churches are progressive and embrace film and art. These churches are not about "christian" and "secular." They are into truth wherever it can be discerned. There is much truth in Doug's film. Tragic and hopeful and enduring truth.
Offer the Mars Hill leaders a viewing of the film and get their input. Wherever it goes the film ignites intense heart searching and soulful discussions. It could be a great thing for churches to show for couples of all ages, married or considering marriage. It could be then offered on Spout to churches everywhere (if Mars uses it, there will be international interest). Of course Spout also provides the discussion venue too.
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moviemouse
Posts 1
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9/26/2006 3:44 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Help Doug promote 51 Birch Street
I'd suggest DailyCandy.com. I subscribe to the Chicago edition to find out what fun and interesting things are going on. I know that DailyCandy has other major city editions. If you're not familiar with the website, they send a daily email with new store openings, art gallery event, clothing sale, fundraisers, film festivals, new restaurant/bar info, other fun stuff to do along with a special weekend edition they send out on Thursdays. This website would be a good one for Doug to connect with especially since they have editions for most of the cities where the movie will be released.
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magsters
Posts 1
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9/28/2006 7:35 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Help Doug promote 51 Birch Street
In addition to the sites you listed, I would also add to check if the cities have a Craigslist to list an event. Its a great free tool and lots of folks on it in NY and SF. I am pretty sure all of the other cities as well. In addition, give a shout out to the calendar editor at the local papers and certainly extend an invite to the local critic to attend - check out the online newspaper since they usually welcome more material than the traditional.
Also, check out film societies online. They often have blogs or chat rooms that might be a good place for promotions.
As for MySpace and such, make sure your page is not just a personal page, but participating on applicable local groups, top interest groups, etc. And start inviting friends, its crazy how quick it builds. And check out some more local communities as well. Always worth setting up a page!
Good luck.
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DougBlock
Posts 8
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9/30/2006 5:38 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Help Doug promote 51 Birch Street
Thanks for the tips, everyone. We've fixed up our myspace page a bit: www.myspace.com/51birchstreet. It has our newly edited trailer, which I like a lot. We've been trying to get it placed everywhere: Netscape, Yahoo, iklipz, AOL moviefone, etc. It's a ton of work.
The best thing is we're getting a good amount of old media placement. The film will be the subject of a New York Times feature article in the Arts and Leisure section next Sunday. And I was interviewed yesterday for the AARP Bulletin, which may not be as sexy but goes out to only 36 million readers!
I'm curious about trying to get word out through bloggers. Which blogs would you recommend I approach, and how would you suggest I approach them?
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paul
Posts 251
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10/2/2006 9:45 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Help Doug promote 51 Birch Street
I personally dial into:
The Reeler (Steve Van Airsdale, NY) http://www.mcnblogs.com/reeler/
Cinematical (Karina Longworth, et al) http://cinematical.com/
Rotten Tomatoes (Scott Weinberg, et al) http://www.rottentomatoes.com/
Greencine Daily (David Hudson, SF) http://daily.greencine.com/
Film Threat (Chris Gore) http://filmthreat.com/
and, of course, indieWIRE
Also, since you're releasing trough Truly Indie, why not contact Mark Cuban directly via email or through blog maverick? He has a huge readership and is notoriously approachable when it comes to his businesses. http://www.blogmaverick.com/
I find the best way to approach widely read bloggers is to either email or comment with a humble but direct statement about what you want. 51 Birch Street is a great film (everyone I know who saw it last week has told me they can't get it out of their heads) and that's all you need to get your foot in the door with any film blog.
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DougBlock
Posts 8
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10/4/2006 12:11 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Help Doug promote 51 Birch Street
that's pretty much what i'm doing, paul. in fact, did email cuban two weeks ago. still haven't heard back. what can i say?
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