Category: Information

“Froning” Case Study

Video on Demand release can be successful with a built-in social media following
At Quiver we are often asked how films can achieve success online through self-distribution. This case study will tell the story of “Froning, The Fittest Man in History,” a film that was in the number one spot in three genres on the weekend of its release. Creators Heber Cannon and Kevin Daigle harnessed the celebrity power of Rich Froning and the massive social community around CrossFit to create an instant hit. They also held several screenings of the film at crucial times to create buzz around its release.

“Froning” tells the story of Richard Froning, four-time winner of the CrossFit Games and winner of all three stages of competition three times in a row. Cannon describes the story as “Real superhero stuff. The subject of the film is physically cable of amazing things.” Froning is also the most dominant athlete in the short history of CrossFit. He was instrumental in bringing CrossFit into the mainstream as a sport with top athletes. Cannon says that 95% of the film was created by his small crew, and it was modeled after an action-based “Michael Bay or Marvel movie.”

Social media & “Froning”
CrossFit and the CrossFit Games have a massive social media following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. CrossFit has nearly 3 million likes on Facebook, 796k followers on Twitter and 1.7 million on Instagram. CrossFit Games has 1.7 million likes on Facebook, 595k followers on Twitter and 1.3 million on Instagram. In addition, the community is very strongly engaged to these social media accounts. CrossFit also has a presence on Snapchat, Periscope and YouTube. Cannon and Daigle let all of their fans and followers know about the film through these various outlets. They also created a website (Froningfilm.com) and a Facebook fan page that would update fans on screenings and platforms to find the film.

Cannon was able to build anticipation for the film using its large social media community. “Froning” premiered at the 2015 CrossFit Games in July, and tickets sold out in 10 minutes. On the same weekend, a trailer of the film was released live at the CrossFit Games on the jumbotron. In September 2015, the trailer was released online. At this point only 500 people had seen the film at the CrossFit Games, and thousands of people started talking after its release. Word-of-mouth about the film spread further as four more screenings were held across the United States. Cannon pushed the film hard across all of the social media platforms in October when it finally became available on iTunes. Several involved people shared their clips online so many different people were talking about the film all at once.

The anticipation worked. The morning following the release of “Froning,” iTunes called and asked who they were and how they were doing “this.” “Froning” was number one in the independent, documentary and sports categories on iTunes, and held onto that spot for a month after its release. It was number 8 overall on iTunes during that first weekend. The film is still selling well today with no traditional or paid marketing – just word of mouth from social media. Daigle estimates that close to 100% of the CrossFit world has seen the film.

Takeaways
– Get on social media. Most key are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
– Success can come from leveraging social media marketing a film on iTunes. Build a community of fans invested in your film and use them to create a buzz around your release.
– Use events related to your film to build world-of-mouth such as the CrossFit Games
– Strategically release media such as trailers and clips relating to your film on social media to get people talking about your film before, during and after your release.

If you are interested in releasing your film on video on demand platforms such as iTunes, please email info@quiverdigital.com for more information on our services.

Indie Film Marketing Part 5: Setting Goals

Welcome back to Indie Film Marketing tips from Quiver! Here is today’s tip:

Set specific goals for your marketing campaigns. If you are running a social media campaign, have a target fan or follower count after it has ended. You can also use each network’s analytics to judge the success of the campaign. If you are running an email campaign, pay attention to open and click-through rates. This is the best way to know if your promotions are effective.

For more social media tips, check out our last marketing post here.

[INFOGRAPHIC] Video On Demand Statistics

The infographic above shows that spending on video on demand platforms has increased in the last few years by 60%. Educated, young and wealthy people such as millennials are the most heavy users of VOD platforms. The platforms most frequently used are iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Netflix and Vudu. These people rent and purchase spectacular and amusing films the most in comparison to thrilling and other films on iTunes. Therefore action and adventure films are some of the most profitable on iTunes.

 

Video On Demand Terminology

Hello,

While browsing through our site, you may have come across certain terms or acronyms. Here is a handy guide to help you out on what they mean!

Ad-Supported Video on Demand (AVOD): With AVOD, the consumer pays nothing to access content. The platform earns money by requiring users to watch advertisements before (pre-roll), during (mid-roll), or after (post-roll) their online streaming content plays. The platform pays the filmmaker or distributor a percentage of the ad revenue earned. Youtube and Hulu are examples of AVOD platforms.

Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD): This category of VOD is referred to as “Transactional” because consumers pay for individual transactions to buy or rent films. iTunes and Google Play are examples of TVOD platforms.

There are two types of TVOD:

• Electronic Sell Through (EST) (sometimes known as “Download to Own” or DTO) is the digital sale of the film for unlimited viewing in exchange for a fee.

• Download to Rent (DTR) is the digital rental of a film that is accessible for a limited length of time.

Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) SVOD platforms charge consumers a monthly fee to access their full library of content. Netflix and Hulu Plus are examples of SVOD platforms.

• Cable Video on Demand Cable VOD allows cable television subscribers to get access to content on demand via cable settop boxes.