Challenge
Expedition PR received the challenge from Dogfish Accelerator co-founders James Belfer and Michelle Soffen to design and to execute a media relations effort to introduce the company at the time of the Sundance Film Festival. The Utah event, considered the premier showcase for independent film, was selected as the top location to unveil this first-of-its-kind fast-track program for film producers to create better and more lucrative movies through access to capital, business mentors and a network of resources.
The program needed to target business, venture capital, start-up, film media and bloggers to help attract program participants and industry mentors.
With 200 films selected for exhibition, more than 50,000 attendees, and hundreds of media representatives, Sundance offered a prime place for the launch, yet without an effective, thoughtful strategy, the Dogfish Accelerator news could get lost in the flurry of the festival. So, a two-pronged strategy was created to achieve objectives.
Strategy & Program
Expedition PR recommended and executed a two-pronged strategy that included:
- NATIONAL LAUNCH ANNOUNCEMENT & MEDIA OUTREACH:
Unveiled the company via a national news announcement “Dogfish Accelerator Launches the First Business Development Lab for Independent Film; New Venture Turns Movie Producers into Entrepreneurs Via Capital, Mentors, Innovation” and executed a national media and social media outreach to reach VC, business, tech and news media outside of the Sundance Film Festival.
- FILM INDUSTRY PUSH:
Participated with key partners, including Seed&Spark, Nice Dissolve and MovieMaker in an Innovators Brunch – attended by press – that revealed the StayIndieFilm initiative at Sundance to highlight the changing landscape of independent film.
- DOGFISH ACCELERATOR PROFILES:
Set up interviews with business and tech media after the launch for profile pieces that drew comparison between tech accelerator programs and the film industry.
Outcome
Dogfish Accelerator was positioned as the ‘TechStars of Indie Film’; Coverage appeared in Indie NYC, Innovation America, Nibletz, and BetaBeat. Features appeared in Forbes.com, “Accelerating Film: Mixing Business and Art”, and Tech Crunch TV, “Dogfish Accelerator Aims to Be The TechStars of Indie Film.” The TechCrunch TV interview spiked submissions to the Dogfish Accelerator program.