Attention All Low-Budget Filmmakers

This post is dedicated to the low-budget Independent filmmakers around the world.

What do you need to approach a potential product placement company when your film is low and no distribution plans are finalized?  Well let me give you some simple...not simple steps but ways to help you gain confidence to approach companies without feeling you are on a short end of a stick.

First thing you have to realize is what you can offer a product placement company that will not break your budget.  So here some advertising benefits you might want to think about:

1) Placement of product and/or brand logo with main characters in the film

2) Company name in end credits

3) A short ad video provided by product brand on your social media sites, if you have a website even better

4) If you are conducting a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign include the product as a prize to increase your donation sells.

5) Set up an online campaign with the product brand and link it with you film social media pages, any fundraising campaigns along with you film official site.  This will bring awareness to your film and increase sells for the product company. The company will be enticed by potential sells you are offering them.

Start with some of these advertising benefits for your film production that is in the early stages.  You can build your advertising opportunities throughout the preproduction process.  This will ensure a more long-term sell than a short sell which will not help your film in the end.  Reason being is that it will be a fast and small sale value that will not hold you until production for your project. Short sells may also include just product donations that will help lower your budget but not help in actual monetary funding. As we all know, long-term is a key! Now this brings us to another concept, bringing in corporate sponsors to help support your post-production costs.  Locate a local post-production house or post-production products and see if they would be interested in teaming up for a co-marketing campaign that will bring in advertising for all parties.  

I hate to stop there but I want to really dive into co-marketing campaigns with product companies so that will have to wait until next time.  Campaigns are fun and can be completed in early preproduction!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Kristin