Summary
Reflecting the state of the film industry in South Africa, where funds are spent on creating a movie and almost zero on marketing, the film Hear Me Move (HMM) relied solely on PR to drive Word of Mouth and excitement for the country’s first dance movie to hit screens in 2015. Despite massive challenges, the PR team developed a strategy that proved to deliver a WOW factor, which resulted in Coal Stove Pictures and HMM achieving local and international acclaim - a position that will continue to resonate well into the future.
Statement of Problem/Opportunity
Coal Stove Pictures was created by three young relatively unknown filmmakers in South Africa - Hear Me Move (HMM) was their first feature film in the market and the first dance movie in the country aimed at the young black audience. As the filmmakers were inexperienced, a marketing budget had not been included when raising funds from key
investors: the NFVF, IDC and Gauteng Film Commission.
PR Expert was approached to help generate a campaign in South Africa which would create groundswell for the film locally, while also driving international awareness, without any ATL support.
While there was no established brand to work with, the film was on the cutting edge of local music and dance trends, enabling PR Expert to tap into all the intrinsic elements of the movie – dance, music, entertainment as well as the phenomenal cast, celebrities and filmmakers. Many of these cast members, including the three leads were unknown “dancers” with no acting profile and the campaign required creative and strategic thinking to generative the awareness require to influence box office sales, generate international enquiries and attract film investors.
Research
Significant research was conducted including Roots consumer research; Amps consumer research; a competitor review; market analysis and identification of core audiences. The research provided significant insights for the campaign which informed the approach.
About 25% (+ 200,000) of black moviegoers are between 16 and 24 years old. 45% reside in Gauteng and 37% in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Over 75% of Young Black Movie Goers Aged 16-24 were middle class. 70% had matriculated, a third were pursuing tertiary education and nearly 70% still lived with their parents.
98% had a cellular phone of which nearly 70% were classified as a smart phone. Their cellular phone is overwhelming the leading device from which they access the Internet primarily for social networking and email.
Over 61% read magazines, 54% listen to Metro FM followed by YFM at 27%. SABC 1 and SABC 2 tied with eTV are the most watched television channels.
Top music genres listened to were rave/dance, alternative and rap/hip-hop. Nearly 60% listed dance as a major activity.
The insights above led to the creation of an “Ambassador” strategy which focused on the following tactics: Social Media content and engagement, cast profiling, partnerships, celebrity influencers and geographic areas for activations/
/“flashmobs”.
Planning
ResourcingA core component of resourcing involved a partnership with UJ. The PR campaign created an experiential learning component for students who represented our key
audience – the youth.
A large amount of planning was involved in finding the students: interviewing, assessing the skills, time allocation and selecting a core team.
PR Objectives
• Launch HMM to Black Urban Moviegoers levering its USP as the first SA dance film for the youth
• Mobilise the Urban Youth to view HMM as a MUST HAVE film to watch
• Engage communities through traditional and digital channels to drive word of mouth
• Excite youth through film messaging and interaction with dance crews/cast members and film celebrities
• Pave the way for international distribution/success and the HMM franchise
Outcomes
Box office sales
Reach, engagements, impressions on digital platforms
Celebrity and cast partnerships resulting in shares, posts and tweets and attendance at events
Securing Dance Crews and Cast members for ambassador programme
Media exposure in Platinum media list
The result of media partnerships
Responsive digital community management
Positivity and message inclusion
Consistent positive communication with key stakeholders
International Festival enquiries
Positive relationships with the cast
Investor interest
Target Audiences
Moviegoers: Urban Young Black Moviegoer (UYBM) Gauteng skew, 200,000 aged 16 to 24 years old
Investors and partners
Film sponsors
The Film industry
Messages
Besides the research, we hosted a brainstorm with 25 youth who reflected our audience to find out what would appeal to them. Everything was led by three key themes:
Breaking boundaries – the 1st dance film for the young black SA audience; On the cutting edge of local music
and dance trends; 1st to capture urban dance on film.
SA dance just got real – The best dancers and choreographer in SA; vibrant, energetic and uniquely South
African; the best local dance crews.
Something hot is coming #Ayeyemajaivane – new talent you have never seen before; top celebrities you love;
dance like you have never seen before.
Due to lack of funds for initial concept which required significant budget, the campaign adjusted to a focused strategy: Celebrities, key cast members and filmmakers would become “Ambassadors” for PR using the following tactics publicity, digital, experiential events, partnerships, content (news, blogs, video) for SEO, advanced screening, regular partner, media screenings, red carpet premiere, Billboard trade exchange and consistent investor communication.
At the heart of the campaign was creating a wealth of WOW stories and experiences our audiences would love. For events and television we used dancers in the movie to do a “dance flash mob” type experience, showing them the ‘hot’ new dance moves. For content we created a constant stream of articles, blogs, posts, tweets, photographs and videos which were pitched to media, shared on our Social Media channels, shared with partners, the film cast & crew as well as celebrity influencers not in the film.
Management Support
The client was used to doing things on the fly: it was necessary to create a working team and process to ensure a cohesive campaign. By establishing the process and requirements up front with the filmmakers; constant
communication; involvement in key decision-making and regular meetings, PR Expert became a vital and trusted member of the team.
Execution
Multiple challenges
There were multiple challenges throughout implementation which meant we needed to be agile, persistent and focused in our approach. Two month’s into the project the initial marketing campaign was shelved due to budget. We wanted to create a dance reality show: driving talk-ability, sharing and ramping up to the launch of the movie, where public
voting online through their mobile devices culminated in the selection of country’s finest Sbujwa dance teams.
We cut out any unnecessary activities that did not fit with our new strategy and core approach: Celebrities, key cast members and filmmakers would become “Ambassadors” for PR.
The second challenge was that the movie was moved by distributors from December 2014 to February 2015, which was not ideal as it was supposed to be on the big screen during university and school holidays.
The third challenge happened after the box office opening. Lack of local film support led to the distributor replacing the movie with international films - after two weeks and before full traction of Word of Mouth had been realised. This led to consumer disappointment when they could not find the movie in cinemas. At the lobbying of the film industry, Government has taken further action to support local films.
The final challenge involved reluctance initially from key cast members (the leading lady and two male leads) as well as Dance Crews, who felt they should be paid to participate. Via strong personal communication we were able to get them to view the opportunity as a personal profiling platform which would launch their careers.
Tactics Implemented
Publicity
A treatment schedule was developed which included key media, approach, angle and deadline and an editorial content calendar developed from there. By planning properly we were able to achieve massive publicity opportunities.
Press toolkit
An EPK was developed for media.
Events/Promotions
Events were leveraged with Proudly South African, Skull Candy, Soweto Drift and Ster-Kinekor. These events garnered media interest, fan engagement and social media traction.
Digital
Community management and engagement
Our campaign focused heavily on creating interesting content on our social
channels and engaging with celebrities. All comments were responded to quickly and fans engaged.
Sharing on sponsor channels
All sponsors received regular communication about the content plans for HMM in Social Media and were asked to share and amplify on their own channels.
Book of Swag digital activation
A partnership with The Book of Swag created an innovative digital campaign leading up to the Premiere - an 8 hour Twitter Marathon.
News, blogs and SEO
Content was uploaded daily and an SEO expert used to drive google search on the web.
Advance screening
All stakeholders were invited to watch the movie at the Ster-Kinekor head office. Cast members were invited to participate, providing social media opportunities.
Partner & investor communication
Stakeholders were sent regular bi-weekly communications updating them on progress, coverage received, accolades and film news.
Partnerships Ed-Create
Ed-Create, channel 190 on DSTV & 65 on GOTV, developed a documentary about the making of HMM aired in 2015.
YFM
YFM helped us create hype around the movie through interviews and giveaways of tickets to the movie and the premiere.
SABC
The movie was featured on a number of top television shows on SABC.
Proudly SA
Our promoters attended activations running in Gauteng & Pretoria. They also did an anti-piracy campaign and promoted HMM.
Lovelife
Leading up to the Premiere we were able to get free airtime in SABC’s top vernacular radio stations speaking to the youth about the dangers of underage sex and drugs while promoting the movie.
Paul Modjadji
A strong relationship with the choreographer of HMM created the foundation for media interviews, a launch with the Department of Arts and Culture and TV exposure on Good Morning Africa.
Ad Outposts
Premiere Event
Guests, media and celebrity influencers attended the Premiere in Newtown, a red carpet affair the likes of the Oscars, with media lining up to interview cast members and celebrities.
Outcomes and Evaluation
Funding for 8 new movie projects
Investor secured for Coal Stove Pictures
Awards:
o Winner at Kenyan Film Festival o 3 SAFTA nominations
o Finalist in Kaya FM Bizz Boost awards
Box office sales met expectations despite challenges
Securing DSTV TV deal
26% spike in ticket sales where activations took place
US Distribution secured
Film screenings in many countries including: African Film Festival Nigeria; Toronto SA Film Festival; SA delegation to China; NYADIFF US film festival; SA at 20 Freedom tour Wales, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bristol, London,
Total press exposure in radio, TV, print and online: 294
100% positive sentiment
100% core message inclusion.
Media partnerships:
SABC – 38 airings at a value of R5.2 Million 1:1 A.V.E
Ed-Create – 56 airings
Good Morning Africa – aired 28 times reaching 250 Million African subscribers
Lovelife – 13 community radio interviews nationally
YFM – 24 airings including competitions
YoTV – 35 times over 1 week
2378.92% increase
Post impressions: 1.330 Million
Celebrity, influencer audience reach: 10.109 Million
Hear Me Move Twitter impressions: 201, 204.00
Conclusion
Despite multiple challenges and adjustments to the campaign the client was pleased with the results of the campaign. While box office challenges resulted in the film not reaching its business goals, the PR results more than made up for it. The campaign was a major driver of awareness which has already catapulted the film into the international arena.
