The British Guide To Showing Off

Release date: 11/11/2011

Media Ownership:

Verve Pictures were the distributor of this film. Verve Pictures were looking for a social media agency to handle the strategy for the release of the film, and in particular one key idea, which would drive the social media strategy. Adopting a Mavens Marketing Strategy, they looked to draw upon mavens and influencers/tastemakers to create a two way stream of information via digital social networks. The campaign focused on encouraging to transform themselves and ‘show off’, in keeping with the spirit of the film. The core message/immersive element of ‘Showing Off’ was driven by the Transform Yourself app.

Key elements of the film included: art, music, fashion, film, comedy, LGBT, drag, club scene, folk, theatre, performance entertainment, and Verve looked to build a Mavens Marketing Network in these area. With the innovative distribution strategy at the heart, it was hoped the end result would be a widespread, excited and engaged audience of people who enjoy modern art, alternative lifestyles, and the eccentricities of British humour.

Essence was the chosen partner to handle the release strategy. They had a total of 4 social media agencies pitch to them , and Essence had the best central idea, and the best methods of running the overall campaign.

New Technologies:

The Facebook App

 The app, to be called ‘Show Off’, will be hosted on The British Guide To Showing Off Facebook page.

 The ‘Show Off’ app provided users the opportunity of editing photos (their or their friends’ Facebook photos or an upload) using a toolkit. Toolkit included costumes and accessories from the Alternative Miss World (AMW) shows plus other relevant imagery. An Open Source format allowed Users to add their own imagery to the toolkit (following moderation).

 In a separate function, users were able to add their own imagery into predetermined areas of existing AMW imagery, utilising photo layering functionality. Users’ imagery sat under existing imagery and be movable and scalable as desired.

 Upon upload users got the option to download a Happy Club certificate, thereby became members of Andrew Logan’s ‘Happy Club’.

 All user generated content (UGC) was shareable via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and the Send function.

 All UGC appeared within the App’s gallery. The gallery was filtered by ‘Latest’, ‘Popular’, ‘My Creations’ and ‘Friends and I’.

Additional social media strategy Channels of engagement:

 Facebook – This was the hub of the community, leveraging the many native tools via which content could be shared rapidly and effectively with the fanbase. The interactive page included key information on the film, links to cinemas playing the film, and a ‘Show Off’ App.

 Website – Updating the site at domain britishguidetoshowingoff.com, Essence built a website using promotional imagery attached to the film. The site hosted the film’s trailer, a live Twitter feed and external links to social assets and theatrical venues playing the film. All efforts were made to optimise the site’s SEO.

 Twitter – tweets with the #ShowingOff hashtag, fans questions were answered at a pre- arranged Andrew Logan Twitter Tea Party.

 Flickr – hosted photo community featuring images from Alternative Miss World shows and the app.

 YouTube – build page, used to share the trailer and other associated video content.

 All outlets were fully and constantly monitored by Essence so they could respond and build a community. This was done with input from the filmmakers and Verve Pictures.

 

Digital Distribution:

Costs/release budget

 Build of app and social media pages/platforms £28,772.00

 Advertising/production £4,949.00

 Leaflets/flyers £1,619.00

 Q&A costs £1,471.20

 Digital/access costs £550.00

 Box office / 2,322 admissions / £15,693 total gross

Timeline

 Social media strategy managed by Essence ran from 3rd October 2011 to 27th November 2011, and was managed before and since by the filmmakers, in conjunction with Verve Pictures.

 Prior to the start of the campaign, Essence produced a timeline with clear timeframes of what content should be released when, and what were the key parts of information to push and prioritise at which point.

 The campaign was started 6 weeks prior to the London release date and 8 weeks prior to the nationwide release date, which was the window of time recommended by Essence and worked well in terms of engaging people through the social media strategy

Unexpected problems encountered

 Slight delay of 2-3 days due to problems with the functionality of the app on launch.

 Delay in getting functionality amended throughout the campaign by Essence.