There Is No God And We All Die Alone Entertainment Marketing Campaign

Marketing plan by John brian pierce

Marketing Plan by John Brian Pierce Entertainment Marketing -- FTV 419 May 7, 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE OVERVIEW Executive Summary

Positioning Statement Synopsis Target Audiences Key Facts Opportunities Obstacles The Big Idea

PART TWO FESTIVAL STRATEGY Festival Strategy

Festivals Festival Kit Photography Guerrilla Marketing

5 6 7 8-10 11 12 13 14

17 18-19 20-21 22-24 25

PART THREE CONSUMER STRATEGY Timeline Consumer Strategy Distributor Release Schedule Competitive Environment Creative Strategy Creative Research Publicity Strategy Pitch Chart Publicity Executions Key Partnerships Social Media Promotions Screening Premieres Budget Media Strategy

29-30 31 32-33 34-35

36 37 38-44 45 46 47-48 49-55 56 57 58-62 63 64 65 63-68

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience - laughter is the cure for grief - love is stronger than death�

-Robert Fulgham

Part one OVERVIEW

Executive Summary There Is No God

Have you ever heard someone say, “we all have at least one thing in common?” They were right. We all die, eventually. But it’s the part of life that most of us are still not comfortable with yet. So how do we all deal with this? What do we do? What happens after?

Henry Fleetwood, the guy on the cover, has been asking the same questions since college when his girlfriend made him read the book, “There Is No God and We All Die Alone.”

The story is centered around Henry’s life after the passing of his father in his search for reason in this unreasonable world, a journey many of us are familiar with.

While this film doesn’t intentionally strive to answer life’s biggest questions, it does wittily acknowledge and present them in a charming and unique form.

We All Die Alone

This marketing plan will present a comprehensive

strategy to position and communicate this idea to

audiences. We’re telling a story through a character we can all relate with on some level, leaving audiences

with an ending to talk about on the drive home. Because what’s the point of a movie if it doesn’t start a conversation?

The marketing will do the same. We have developed a

campaign that hopes to begin a conversation from the moment the first poster is released. The conversation

will manifest itself in many ways with the underlying goal to get people to stop and think, because we

believe there is an audience out there who wants to do just that.

Positioning statement

A comedic short film following a young man’s whimsical search for the meaning of life.

Synopsis The film follows a young man named Henry Fleetwood who, after the death of his father, embarks on a whimsical journey to find the meaning of the life and conquer his fear of death.

Along the way, he enlists the help of his scientifically-minded ex-girlfriend who stole his faith in college, attempts to hastily find love in a dive-bar, becomes wrapped up in an intriguing cosmic coincidence, and ultimately comes face to face with his worst fear: Death himself.

Target audience PRIMARY David

Male/Female Between 18-34 College Educated Liberal Political Views Non-Religious

David was exposed to more than just the Star Wars Episode series as a kid. At least once a month he would find himself in the nearest Laemele theater with his parents watching their art house film of choice. Even the candy wasn’t enough to ease the pain of reading subtitles and having his mom slap her hand over his eyes during all the sex scenes. But then he saw a film that changed everything.

There was new music that wasn’t on the radio - a unique quality in all the characters, dialogue, and filmmaking style - a story that he could relate with but never heard before. It was on that drive home that he was inspired him to find the next one.

“Kids On The Run”

on the run from normality and convention. Intrigued by new ideas, new music, and prefer to stay one step ahead of popular culture. Their individualism can be mistaken for being quirky or indie, but they don’t mind. They run busy lives in the city, and don’t have time to notice the norm. They look for more in a film than just an A-list cast with a big budget, but for how it will deliver itself as a form of art and inspiration.

TARGET AUDIENCE SECONDARY

“Laemele Lovers”

not just those who love the Laemele theater, but those who also love each other. Whether it’s a night away from the kids or their weekly date night, these couples trust the calendar section of the newspaper to guide their choice.

They are well read, attend museum exhibits, art festivals and enjoy staying current, even a little ahead of mainstream culture.

They tend to live in cities where there’s always a new adventure waiting every weekend.

Gordon&Gloria Gordon and Gloria never miss their weekly date night. A new restaurant. Gallery.

Musician. They’re always on to their next city adventure. But on those nights where they have nothing planned, they can always count on their local art house theater for a good show. Usually they’re interested in an adult drama, romance, thriller, or sometimes even a documentary.

But this night, they’re in the mood to laugh. They want something fun, unique, and want to leave the theater in a “feelgood” mood. Although, they still expect an interesting concept, smart and witty, “on their level”, something they can talk about at dinner. So they watch the film with that really long title-There Is No God and We All Die Alone.

Male/Female Between 35 and up College Educated Liberal Political Views Non-Religious Regulars at the local art house theater

TARGET AUDIENCE TERTIARY

Eric/Brandon

Male Between 18-34 College Educated Liberal Political Views Non-Religious Fantasy fans

Eric and Brandon grew up playing video games with each other after school. It was what they were good at. Now they’re roommates attending college in the city, majoring in computer science and digital arts. With their busy workloads there’s nothing better than taking a couple hours out of the day to relax and play Xbox.

Tonight There Is No God And We All Die Alone is premiering on their campus.

While they’re not the most social bunch, they decide to give it a shot. They were especially intrigued by the “Death” character they saw in the trailer, which sparked their existing interest in the fantasy/sci-fi genre. While the film didn’t necessary deliver on those genre points, they left the theater feeling like they too share our heroes search for reason in an unreasonable world. Don’t we all?

“Gamer Nerds”

are inquisitive and intelligent.

They aren’t always the most motivated people, but they are able to become experts on topics of interest. They tend to be well-verse in technology and the digital world. They love the way video games can transport them to different places. Here they can escape from the pressures of everyday life, at least until their next class. They appreciate creativity and interesting concepts as shown in their games of choice.

KEY FACTS the basics

GENRE

comedy drama adventure

RATING

pg-13

Runtime

21 minutes

TAGLINE

When you’re running from death, bring your friends

MARKETING Opportunities The Title: has an element of shock factor, makes people curious, stop and think.

Direct to camera narration: we become friends with Henry, just like we did with Ferris Bueller Henry Fleetwood: a sympathetic and charming character who shares our journey for meaning.

Smart: while it is a comedy, there’s also something for audiences to talk about on the drive home. Out of all the movies coming out of Hollywood for young adults, here is finally something that speaks to them.

Death is funny?: Yes! Death sounds scary and at times he is, but he also provides the audience with a unique comedic experience, something they don’t get to see too often.

Quirky Friendship: Henry, Anita and Derrick make for an excellent trio to follow on this adventure. The audience is sure to fall in love.

MARKETING OBSTACLES The Title: If the tone isn’t clear, it could mislead audiences. It could also prove to be a challenge for promotional and integrated marketing partnerships.

Unknown Cast: The cast may not include any recognizable stars, but this could be an opportunity given our key demographic’s interest in independently made films.

Budget: This film must find a way to execute an ambitious marketing plan on an independent film budget.

Between Genres: A comedy that’s not trying to be funny and a drama that’s not taken so seriously.

Something to note as an obstacle but can also contribute to its competitive advantage

THE BIG IDEA The Heart

Life is short and quite precious. While we don’t think about it everyday we are all going to die at some point. How do we find meaning in the crazy world we live in? This film may not have the exact answer you’re looking for. But it does make you to think about the important people in your life; the ones you really care about. We’re not going to be here forever and we don’t exactly know when death will come knocking on our door, but we know one thing--it’s better when you’re with the ones you love. So don’t spend your life running from death, but rather, running with life, and bring your friends too. It’s the best answer we got.

FESTIVALS

“Have the courage to live. Anyone can die.

-Robert Cody

FILM FESTIVAL STRATEGY

FESTIVALS Strategy

There Is No God And We All Alone has the makings for a successful and ambitious festival run. With unique compositional styling and direct address narration, this quick witted comedy breaks out of the constraints of conventional film making, while telling a poignant story that touches audiences. It’s fast-paced, stylish, and filled with clever and witty dialogue that will have you laughing at the big questions in life; a combination that will set it apart from the competition. The strategy will be to submit to a mix of small, large, independent and high profile festivals in order to build momentum and set it up for widespread success.

FEstivals Toronto International Film Festival, Sep 5, 2013

Chicago International Film Festival, Oct 10, 2013

True/False Film Festival Feb 28, 2013

“I loved your thesis film! It was so original and unpredictable and relentlessly clever. Very smart and well-written. Strong performances with good comedic timing. Chris Voss is extremely charismatic. That opening scene with the dying guy on the park bench is a classic. I loved the bar charts analyzing the glum girl and you had the most convincing grim reaper costumes I have ever seen. Can’t wait to start sending this film out to film festivals.

-Derek Horne, Film Coordinator, Dodge College

A note to the director following the premiere

Telluride Film Festival Aug 29, 2013

New York Film Festival Sep 27, 2013

Palm Springs International Film Festival, Jan 3, 2013

South by Southwest Film Festival, March 8, 2013

FESTIVALS

Select Festival Notes

Seattle International Film Festival, May 16, 2013

Tribeca Film Festival April 17, 2013

Los Angeles Film Festival, June 13, 2013

Telluride: Derek Horne said festival goers at Telluride don’t like to laugh much. So when these people see a title like ours, they’ll be intrigued. It is a comedy, but the humor in this film is subtle and clever and complimented by dramatic points in the story. We think its the perfect comedy for those who don’t expect to laugh much, because that will be what makes it funny and stand out from every other drama.

Tribeca/New York Film Festival: These festivals would be an ideal platform for our film. Not only do we believe there’s an audience out there wanting to see it, we think our cast and filmmakers would benefit from networking with the types of professionals who attend these festivals in the city.

True/False Film Festival: While this festival isn’t as well known as the others on our list, there is a young indie fan base that attends ready to fall in love with this film. This is where we will find the “kids on the run” demographic, who will begin to spread the word on this film Seattle Film Festival: Great audience for our film. Great fit for their program. And the director’s native land.

FEstival kit

Dear Rick Stevens,

Press Release

There Is No God and We All Die Alone is a short comedic film following a young man named Henry Fleetwood who, after the death of his father, embarks on a whimsical journey to find the meaning of the life and conquer his fear of death. Along the way, he enlists the help of his scientifically-minded ex-girlfriend who stole his faith in college, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THERE IS NO GOD AND WE ALL DIE ALONE attempts to hastily find love in a dive-bar, becomes wrapped up in an intriguing cosmic coincidence, and ultimately comes face to face with There Is No God and We All Die Alone is a short comedic film following his worst fear: Death himself. a young man named Henry Fleetwood who, after the death of his father, embarks on a whimsical With a unique compositional style and direct address narration,journey this to find the meaning of the life and conquer hisoffear of death. film Along the way, he enlists the help of his quick witted comedy breaks out of the constraints conventional scientifically-minded ex-girlfriend who stole his faith in college, making, while telling a poignant story that touches audiences. It’s attempts to hastily findthat love in a dive-bar, becomes wrapped up in an fast-paced, stylish, and filled with clever and witty dialogue intriguing cosmic coincidence, and ultimately comes face to face with will have you laughing at the big questions in life; an entertaining worst Death himself. combination that would make it an ideal his fit in yourfear: festival’s program.

Withpleasure. a unique Please compositional Enclosed is the film’s DVD for your viewing also findstyle and direct address narration, this quick witted comedy breaks out of the constraints of conventional film attached cast and crew bios and film photography. making, while telling a poignant story that touches audiences. It’s fast-paced, stylish, and filled with clever and witty dialogue that Thank you for your time and consideration, will have you laughing at the big questions in life; an entertaining combination that would make it an ideal fit in your festival’s program.

JBP

Enclosed is the film’s DVD for your viewing pleasure. Please also find John Brian Pierce attached cast and crew bios and film photography.

Marketing Director, There Is No God and We All Die Alone Thank you for your time and consideration, thereisnogodfilm@gmail.com

JBP

There Is No God and We All Die Alone is a student film developed at Chapman University, Orange, Ca, directed and written by Harrison John Brian Pierce Givens and produced by Diondra Meravi.

Marketing Director, There Is No God and We All Die Alone thereisnogodfilm@gmail.com

Pitch Letter

There Is No God and We All Die Alone is a student film developed at Chapman University, Orange, Ca, directed and written by Harrison Givens and produced by Diondra Meravi.

festival kit

dvd

Chris Voss

as Henry Fleetwood

t cas

D AND E O G O N is There IE ALON D L WE AL

Chris Voss was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah but currently lives in Los Angeles where he pursues writing and acting (yes, he is a waiter). He graduated from Chapman University with his BFA in Theatre Performance.

He has performed in several theatrical productions including Lend Me a Tenor, Under Milk Wood, and Macbeth as the titular character. He found a love for screen acting through working on many Chapman student films. Chris is incredibly excited and honored to have been a part of There Is No God, and to have worked with such an amazingly talented cast and crew.

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Harrison Givens writer/director

Harrison Givens is not one to think small, channeling a lifetime of chronic discontentment and angst into a single short film. He has an amazing ability to become immersed in his projects; since wrapping “TNG,” he has developed an acute case of hypochondria and is convinced he will die at any moments.

As he often remarks to Yorick, his papier-mache skull and treasured confidant, he would be nothing without his creative team, friends, family, and his hypnotist, Madame Zora.

His plans for the immediate future include graduating, writing a feature, and warding off death for just a little while longer

D AND E O G O N is ALON There E I D WE ALL

Photography/ The director’s stylistic execution of the script truly brings this story to life. It’s one thing to read a scene about a man literally running from death, but to see how it is shot and composed through set photography and stills will give festival programmers a sense of the film’s look and feel. Utilizing photos throughout the campaign will allow audiences to become intrigued by the quirky and whimsical world the writer and director have created.

Photography

Photography/

Guerrilla marketing i pr

Dancing with Death To re-create the world in the film, we will hire actors to play the various caricatures of death presented in the film. They will act as if they are normal people living normal lives as they attend screenings, order coffee, ride around on bicycles, go jogging, push strollers, go out to dinner, attend parties, and Snap Chat along the way. The whole act will culminate to a grand waltzing flash mob on the day of the screening. All of the people playing Death will grab what will seem like normal festival goers (volunteer actors) and begin to waltz, just like Henry does in the film. This intriguing stunt would create a whimsical scene that is sure to get people talking about the film. Everyone will be dying to see it.

The Life of Death We will partner up with local establishments to run a comprehensive print takeover that will get people to add “The Life of Death” on Snap Chat. By doing so they would receive witty updates and humorous photos/video from the “Death” performers throughout the film festival. The idea is to eventually have the snaps begin to lead festival-goers to the scene of the waltz on the day of the premiere. Since “snaps” vanish after about 5 seconds, users wouldn’t be able to directly share the content via social media. However we believe that this will make content more exclusive and for those who wish to screen shot their snaps and share via social media, there is potential for that content to go viral and for more users to add “The Life of Death.”

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence�

-Aristotle

Part three Consumer strategy

TIMELINE Trailer premieres an d is exclusively released to Funny or Die Early December

Execut e sketch Funny or D ie “Th series e , Mid Decemb Life of Dea er th”

Build So Focus cial media a o pinte n faceboo wareness. rest, k, Trailer is played in Mid D v ecemb ine, twit theater before The er ter

Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Late December

Campaign Beginning Poster is revealed via facebook and pinterest Early December

Social media push January

Snap Chat mobile campaign begins. Friends of “The Life of Death” receive exclusive content from the film including clips, parts of the screenplay, photos of “Death”, updates on festivals and press tours, Mid December

TIMELINE/ Standees in theaters Early March

Opens in 10 cities

Outdoor

Platform Release

Premieres in NY-LA March 7th Magazine Spreads Early February

Sunday Newspaper Ads

6 weeks

Wide Release Opens wide April 11 Sunday Newspaper Ads

CONSUMER STRATEGY In an effort to stay true to the film, the consumer marketing strategy will be unconventional, distinct, and directed towards our primary audience. The consumer strategy will serve to compliment every facet of this campaign from its platform to wide release. We know our audience is eager for a film like this. They are tired of Hollywood remakes and tent-pole sequels.

These individuals want to see films that are poignant, relevant, and don’t take themselves too seriously, because they surely don’t. If we can speak to these people, our audience, they will give our campaign the legs to run with the likes of Juno and Little Miss Sunshine. Today marketing is all about energy and endorsements. With our demographic we see this in the form of likes, re-tweets, and shares. If we can tell a story that is honest, unique, and intriguing, then we can count on our consumer to do the rest.

DISTRIBUTOR/ Fox Searchlight Pictures would be our top choice as a distributor for the film.

With its experience in marketing titles such as Juno and Napoleon Dynamite it knows how to sell an indie film to younger audiences. It also has a track record of turning a low-budget indie film into a commercial success, such as Little Miss Sunshine, which not only had an international box office gross of over 100 million but was nominated for multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won Best Screenplay. Fox Searchlight is known to break young actors into the spotlight, in the same way that it did with Ellen Page and Michael Cera in Juno and how Joseph Gordon Levitt emerged as an indie icon in 500 Days of Summer. With Chris Voss’ charismatic performance as Henry Fleetwood, we think he’s next.

DISTRIBUTOR Focus Features would be a very strong second choice for the film. Focus embraces unique films with universal themes that appeal to an international and art house audience. They have a reputation for award-winning films that cater to specialized audiences, including Brokeback Mountain, Lost In Translation, Motorcycle Diaries and Moonrise Kingdom. There Is No God And We All Die Alone isn’t a film for everyone but that’s what makes it a great fit for Focus, as much of its films are produced for niche audiences. While not as many of Focus’ library cater to a younger demographic, Focus would be a great distributor to execute a well-rounded campaign that appeals to our primary and secondary targets; audiences young and old.

5 Week Platform

RELease Schedule/

March 7, 2014 -- April 4, 2014

The release strategy is to build substantial momentum in the cities where we find our target audiences. As we build success and collect reviews we will make a push in our marketing campaign for a full platform release 5 weeks after the initial March 7 opening. We want to give this title a chance to prove itself to the early adopters of indie film. Once we succeed and word of mouth ensues, the film will be distributed to 90 theaters in 10 cities prior to its wide release.

Week 1 Los Angeles: 2 theaters New York: 2 theaters Portland: 1 theater San Fransisco: 1 theater Seattle: 1 theater

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Week 2 Los Angeles: 5 theaters New York: 5 theaters San Fransisco: 5 theaters Portland: 2 theaters Seattle: 2 theater Boston: 1 theater

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Week 3 Los Angeles: 10 theaters New York: 10 theaters San Fransisco: 10 theaters Seattle: 5 theaters Boston: 3 theaters Portland: 3 theaters Toronto: 2 theaters Austin: 1 theater

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2014

Week 4 Los Angeles: 10 theaters New York: 10 theaters San Fransisco: 10 theaters Seattle: 8 theaters Boston: 8 theaters Portland: 5 theaters Toronto: 3 theaters Austin: 3 theaters Denver: 2 theaters Chicago: 2 theaters Total: 61 theaters

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2014

Week 5 Los Angeles: 15 theaters New York: 15 theaters San Fransisco: 12 theaters Seattle: 10 theaters Boston: 10 theaters Portland: 8 theaters Toronto: 7 theaters Austin: 5 theaters Denver: 4 theaters Chicago: 4 theaters Total: 90 theaters

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RELEASE SCHEDULE 1050 theaters

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Wide Release April 11,2014

850 theaters

Platform Release March 7,2014

6 theaters

COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT/ Weekend Before

Captain America: The Winter Soldier As Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and teams up with Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, to battle a powerful yet shodowy enemy in present-day Washington, D.C..” Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

The Equalizer

Wide Release Weekend

A veteran covert operative who, seeking redemption for his dark deeds, quits a CIA-like agency and puts a classified advertisement in the paper that reads simply: “Got a problem? Odds against you?

Call the Equalizer.” Thriller

Stretch Armstrong In development.

Rio 2

When Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, meets the fiercely independent Jewel, he takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with this bird of his dreams. Animation, Comedy, Adventure

There Is No God and We All Die Alone Comedy, Drama, Adventure

Weekend After

Bears

A look at the life of bears living in Alaska’s coastal mountains and shores. Documentary

CREATIVE STRATEGY The creative strategy will strive to communicate the expectations the audience should have for the film. The title itself expresses several different ideas, some even misleading, but paired with an accessible font and pastel accents as shown in our key art, the audience will begin to understand that this film is in fact a comedy. Although its not just a comedy. The ominous sky evokes a sense of uncertainty within Henry’s world and develops dramatic undertones. The key art showcases the main character and tells the audience that this story is focused on the coming of age of young Henry Fleetwood. The “Death” character is not shown in any of the key art for the purpose of building anticipation and curiosity around the film, and also not to delude people of the charming and sincere nature of this film. The tagline---When you’re running from the death, bring your friends---will be shown on all of our materials. This serves to execute the “Big Idea,” that this film is not just about death, but about life.

We will integrate QR codes like this into most of our creative, that way those who are curious can be shown the trailer, just after one scan.

SAMPLE CREATIVE Materials

-30 Sec TV Spots

-15 Sec Radio Spots -Billboard Ads -Bus Stop Ads -Bus Side Ads

-Death & Henry Cut Out -Standees

-In-theater trailers -In-theater posters

Poster

The films poster captures the creative direction of the marketing campaign and gives a feel for what the film will be like. We hint that the film will have direct address, like in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, existential themes, and take on a unique comedic form. We also begin to develop a sense for the main character, Henry Fleetwood, who is proportionally smaller to the empty world of poster, giving the audience a sense that he is alone and vulnerable in our “We All Die” world. The contrasting negative space of the light and dark sky personify Henry’s struggle for meaning and creates a somber mood. The color palette and font chosen for the title has the final say that this film is a comedy, however the way it fits in with the rest of the poster makes the audience curious about all the underlying tones the film offers.

SAMPLE CREATIVE Subway

Since all three of our target audiences reside in the city, it makes perfect sense for our creative to be placed by public transportation. For those on the go people, checking emails on the subway gets old.

This is just another reason for them to look up the film on their smart phone while in transit. They’ve seen it enough times by now.

SAMPLE CREATIVE Billboard

The campaign doesn’t intend on soaking the street in ads due to the independent nature of the film and its budget. However, as we approach the wide release date we do believe that it would be effective in creating more awareness by strategically placing our billboard ads.

SAMPLE CREATIVE Bus Stop

For those young adults in the city without cars, public transportation is a must.

While we are not going to take over the town with our creative, we believe there is worth in placing our posters at bus stops nearby college campuses and hip borough in the city.

Produced CREATIVE Facebook Cover

The Facebook page will serve as the social epicenter throughout the campaign with the hopes that those who like our page will share its content and interact with our profile. With the Facebook cover art we wanted to tie-in our tagline--when you’re running from death, bring your friends--with the idea that we want people talking about our film, sharing it with their friends, and bringing their friends to watch the film in theaters. A title like ours will undoubtedly receive attention, but it is the purpose of the tagline and key art to capture the true spirit of the film.

Produced CREATIVE Website

The strategy behind our design choices involved several key words--whimsical, existential, humorous, and quirky. We believe that the blending of these themes throughout our campaign will create a world within our creative. One of the best examples of this is the website. Upon entering, Henry’s theme is played to draw the user in. From there they can learn about the characters, filmmakers, and story.

The full website will include a more interactive interface using flash.

thereisnogodfilm.com

Produced CREATIVE Trailer

When the title--There Is No God and We All Die Alone is heard, without first seeing the design and tagline, many things come to mind. Chances are that most of these things have not much to do with the actual story of our film. While our entire campaign’s purpose is to convey the right story to audiences, the trailer will serve as the most effective way to let viewers into the world of Henry Fleetwood as he runs from death, looks for love, brings his friends and embarks on a journey for the meaning of life.

RESEARCH Positioning Study

Tracking Studies

Test Screenings

Exit Studies

To gain insight to how our film will initially be received by its key audiences based on our marketing and creative direction. Is the way we’re trying to sell this film going to resonate with our demographic?

To screen the film to a proportional mix of our primary, secondary and tertiary audiences in order to gauge its reception and better inform the marketing campaign. What do people like about the film? We want to see whatever that may be.

Focus Groups

In focus groups we will discuss the themes presented in the film and figure out which ones resonate with our audience the most. The results will inform the marketing campaign.

To follow the effectiveness of the marketing campaign, specifically creative advertising. Are people paying attention? Are we communicating our film to audiences effectively? This serves to help re-direct campaign efforts if necessary.

To research the type of audience that was drawn to see our film in theaters and to gain insight to how the film was received. This will determine the effectiveness of our overall campaign.

PUBLICITY STRATEGY There Is No God will execute an expansive publicity campaign that will capitalize on the opportunities available to reach its primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences. Opposed to our creative advertising campaign, which is primarily focused on our key audience due to budget constraints, we will be able use specialized platforms and media outlets to target a full spectrum of niche audiences.

Our strategy is to first reach the early adopters of indie culture and film within our key demographics. To do this effectively we need to pitch stories that maintain the integrity of our film and place our title in magazines that are ahead of the curve of popular culture. Once we can secure these markets, our hope is that the word will spread through water-coolers, social forums, and Facebook timelines to create awareness among a broader audience. The second phase of the publicity campaign is to reaffirm this broader audience’s interest in the film and to secure a successful wide release weekend at the box office. We will execute this by pitching more mainstream publications and developing themes and story points to reflect the type of features, sidebars and columns in GQ, Details, Cosmopolitan and weeklys, such as People and Entertainment. We will continue to build momentum through our publicity efforts with TV featurettes and episode specials on the Discovery Channel and by creatively pitching our film to late night talk shows.

Our press junket will take place in New York city, where our film received much praise and earned festival recognition. The press junket will be connected to Google+, an “online hangout” where the cast, filmmakers, and audience will have their own screen. The Google+ hangout will be aired through our website via YouTube to reach fans and reporters not in attendance.

The materials given to the press will include a scythe thumb drive where we will include our digital press kit and photography.

Pitch chart JANUARY

Entertainment Weekly, spring preview

FEBRUARY

Print Pitches Monocle,feature January Issue

Vice,feature February Issue

The New Yorker, feature article

TV Pitches Discovery Channel, network special

Conan, nightly guest

Paper Mag, feature

MARCH

GQ,the punch list March Issue

Details,dating column March Issue

Box Office Weekly, interview/preview

Mythbusters, episode special

Jimmy Fallon, nightly guest

Jimmy Kimmel, nightly guest

PITCH CHART APRIL People, short feature

PUBLICITY STUNTS Dancing with Death, Part Two To re-create the world in the film as we did at various film festivals, we will hire actors to play the caricatures of death presented in the film at The Grove (Los Angeles) and Grand Central Station (New York).

They will act as if they are normal people living normal lives as they wait in line for tickets, order coffee, ride around on bicycles, jog, push strollers, shop and read the newspaper. The whole act will culminate to a grand waltzing flash mob three weeks before the film’s Wide Release. All of the people playing Death will grab what will seem like normal people (volunteer actors) and begin to waltz, just like Henry does in the film. This intriguing stunt would create a whimsical scene that is sure to get people talking about the film, generate publicity, and secure a promising weekend at the Box Office.

print PUBLICITY

“What’s the point?”

Editors/writers share their opinions on what they think life is really all about as they tie it in to the film. Open the question up for short story submissions from readers. Best work gets featured.

“In Search for Meaning” A piece on the existential themes in the film and what role they play in our everyday lives. Tie it in to the film and include an interview with the director. What is he trying to say with this film?

“Why college students lose faith ?”

A human interest piece on why college students often abandon their faith/religion in the midst of a liberal arts education. Incorporate Henry Fleetwood’s journey and how a loss of faith impacts life after college.

Prior to pitching to mainstream publications, the publicity campaign will secure its editorial placement in niche publications that can reach the early adopters of the primary audience, “Kids on the Run,” and the secondary audience, “Laemele Lovers.” This is in an effort to build audience that is looking forward to watching the film when it opens on a platform.

To the left are ideas for pitches and the angles that we will present our film to editors.

PRINT PUBLICITY Once we begin to amp up our publicity efforts as we approach the film’s wide release date, we plan on securing editorial placement in more mainstream outlets to reach a broader audience. The includes pitching sidebars and placement, such as GQ’s “The Punch List,” featuring a collection of the things to look forward to in the month to stay ahead of “what’s cool.”

While GQ appeals to a more diverse audience than Vice or Monocle, we believe these sort of lists are the reasons why our primary and secondary audiences pick up these magazines.

“What to watch” Secure editorial placement for the film in Box Office Weekly including interview with the director and what to expect from this charming indie comedy.

“The Punch List” Secure placement in GQ’s “The Punch List,” where the 14 mustknows in popular culture are featured, including books, films, TV and music.

“The Spring Preview 2014” Secure placement in the spring preview for 2014. (Buzz words to position film---charming, indie comedy, witty, whimsical, poignant, quirky, endearing, coming of age.)

Print PUBLICITY

“Bromance at its Best”

To appeal to a younger female audience, we will pitch a story to Cosmopolitan, “Bromance at its Best.” In the beginning of the film we learn about Derrick, Anita’s new lover. While hesitant at first, Henry finally gives in to Derricks attempts to become his bro. This story is for the Anita Adams out there, “can your ex-boyfriend be friends with your current boyfriend? We’ll let the editors at Cosmo decide that.

“Give me a good reason” To skew a younger male demographic, Details will include a story on what are good reasons to talk to your ex-girlfriend again? Henry’s answer: “to help me get my faith back!”

“Awkward Celeb Trios” Pitch a sidebar on awkward celebrity trios. Could Anita, Henry, and Derrick actually get along in real life? Who hangs out with their ex and her boyfriend? Let’s see when its happened in Hollywood.

“An Indie Lovers Date Night, NYC” Pitch a feature in their NYC Date Night section as great date movie for the indie couple. While we want to branch out to mainstream platforms, we also we want to keep our indie energy alive!

TV Publicity

Death Match Tour

Jeopardy Placement

In addition to pitching our cast and director to be featured as guests on various late night talk shows, we also want to offer something that will stand out from the hundreds of pitches the producers receive weekly. The idea is to also bring on “Death” to the show as a guest and to have him compete with audience members in a “Death Match,” where they will be challenged in mini games, such as balloon popping and hula hooping in hopes to defeat “Death.” Winners receive four tickets to the Hollywood wide release premiere to hang out with the cast. Oh, and don’t forget to #bringyourfriends too.

To reach the older skew of the Laemele Lovers demographic and also catch on to a recent trend of college students who religiously watch Jeopardy, we will secure placement on the show in the form of a question column titled in the name of the film. The questions featured include quotes from existential philosophers, writers, films where Death was personified, and anything that can be related to the title.

Ancient Egypt

Newton’s Laws

Baroque

Authors

There Is No God and We all Die Alone

The Origin of the Grim Reaper

Do We All Die Alone?

To generate television publicity we pitch a Discovery Channel special where a 30-minute program will be aired on the origin of “The Grim Reaper.” The segment will close with a preview of the film by the director and exclusive clips from the film.

We will pitch an entire episode of Myth Busters on the classic existential question and part title of the film,”Do we all die alone?” Do we meet up with good ol’ grim? Have a drink with honest Abe? Float off with an angel? Well there’s no way to know, but maybe Mythbusters could shed some light on where these myths came from. During the program a featurette on the film will be aired.

TV Publicity We wanted to incorporate the Discovery Channel into our television publicity strategy to effectively reach our tertiary audience, “The Gamer Nerd.”

Our film’s budget isn’t large enough to run advertisements targeted towards each audience. Instead, we hope to connect to this audience by highlighting the “Death” character as a sci-fi element.

This publicity tactic will serve as a cost-effective measure to increase the film’s pull.

DIGITAL PUBLICITY “The Woody Allen Film of Our Generation”

Draw on the similar existential themes presented in There Is No God and Woody Allen classics such as Love and Death and Annie Hall. It is likely that our primary audience grew up with these films on their parent’s movie shelf. Whether they’ve seen them or not, these “indie kids” have heard their parents talk about the first time they saw Annie Hall in theaters. It doesn’t matter if they share their parents movie taste or not, our placement in the Online outlets shown below will sell the film as a future indie classic we’ll one day have in our movie collections.

“Move over JGL, Chris Voss--the next indie icon” Once the film itself begins to receive media attention in the form of print, television, and Online, we will begin pitching our talent, in particular, our leading man Chris Voss. Chris delivers a charming performance as the neurotic post-college graduate in search of meaning and afraid of death. The attractive young actor will be pitched as the dorky indie heartthrob a new generation of girls are falling in love with. Just another reason for them to see the film.

KEy Partnerships The film will first secure key partnerships with Funny or Die and Snap Chat to effectively reach the “Kids on the Run” demographic through new mediums that these early adopters of indie film and music will notice. We want to position this film through its marketing agenda as “the film to be the first to tell your friends about”. Our partnership with Funny or Die will allow them to exclusively premiere and feature our trailer for the first month of the campaign. The campaign will continue to on Funny or Die with the “The Life of Death,” a series of short sketches by the director following the mundane life of the “Death” characters in the film. For example: Death in traffic, Death smoking a cigarette on the street, death on a bicycle, on the subway, ordering coffee, jogging, having a picnic, at the office, taking a waltz class with the wife, and the list goes on. These videos will the give the campaign an opportunity to go viral and build momentum as it approaches its platform release and eventually its wide release.

Our partnership with Snap Chat will tie into the “The Life of Death,” series on Funny or Die and the campaign that began at film festivals. “The Life of Death” Snap Chat account will continue to send promos, clever updates, humorous photos and videos from the life of Death himself, as well as exclusive content from the film, such as clips and dialogue from the script.

We want the buzz to live in dorm rooms, college housing, around the water-cooler and in both the Online and personal conversations of those who become curious of There Is No God And We All Die Alone’s viral energy.

SOCIAL media Vine is the latest video sharing site to hit social media. It allows users to share 6-second videos and link them to their twitter account. We will use Vine to build upon “The Life of Death” series by producing humorous short videos of Death’s daily life.

Facebook will be one the primary social hubs of our campaign. We will post witty and clever content aimed to the get the college demographic to share. We want our marketing energy to be felt in college dorms and seen on Facebook timelines everywhere.

Pinterest will be an excellent platform to help kick off our campaign. Our primary “Kids on the Run” demographic, especially the female skew, is always looking for cool new content to share, blog about, and inspire them on Pinterest.

This is where we will release some of our most interesting and unique film art.

We will also create pinboard where users can submit their own fan art.

A Daily Dose

#

of the

ashtag

#meaningful #mondays what do you care about? who’s important to you? #tagline #tuesdays come up with your own... for your life or the film #whatsthepoint #wednesdays what’s your point? #thereisnogod #thursdays toilet paper stuck on my shoe #thereisnogod #friendly #fridays let them know you’re there and #bringyourfriends coffee, or something nice.

Promotions

REGIONAL

To effectively reach our demographic and promote our platform release in New York and Los Angeles we will partner with independent bookstores. Strand Books, the unofficial bookstore of NYU students and Manhattan hipsters, in addition to Three Lives and Co., will serve as the perfect place to promote the film to our primary and secondary audiences.

Three Lives and Co.

Strand Books

One of the key scenes in the film is when Henry’s college girlfriend steals his faith by making him read the book, “There Is No God and We All Die Alone.” We will feature an entire window display of these books to create buzz for the film. We will also provide promotional items such as bookmarks with screening dates and theaters, and free posters given to students who purchase their textbooks at Strand.

As the premiere approaches, we will have an in-store event where the screenwriter will read dialogue from interesting scenes and sign autographs on one sheet art work. We will pitch this event to local entertainment shows and ABC, CBS, and NBC news affiliates.

There will also be a contest on Twitter advertised in store for the #thereisnogod. For example, “@Strandbooks i have a paper due tomorrow on a book i haven’t read yet #thereisnogod.” Those with the most clever tweets will be re-tweeted by Strand Books for a chance to win a book of the script and production notes on the day of the release, signed by the director and cast. Our hope is that this hashtag can spread virally throughout local college campuses.

Promotions REGIONAL

#bringyourfriends #tea

Since our director, Harrison Givens, is from the Portland we chose to begin part of our platform release in Portland and Seattle, in addition to New York and Los Angeles. In an effort to promote the film in the region we will partner up with Seattle’s leading independent and contemporary organic tea retailer and tea house, Remedy Teas to reach our demographic.

In There Is No God Henry tries meditation and tea drinking as a way of coping with his fear of death. We will promote the film’s opening by placing #bringyourfriends on their tea cozies. The idea is to bring your friends tea, show them you care, and help them relax from all of the big questions they’ve been having about life lately, all key themes in the film.

Inside the tea cozies there would be various hashtags that tea drinkers would have to use when tweeting to @remedyteas for a chance to be re-tweeted. Those who are re-tweeted are entered to win two advance screening passes or free tea. An example would be, “@remedyteas there is no god and we all die alone, #afilmaboutlife and tea #tagline” Just another great way to create social media buzz.

Blk. Water

PROMOTIONS To promote the film, There Is No God will team up with Blk. Water, to run a national promotion.

While not known yet everyone, Blk. Water is quickly becoming a national phenomenon as it is being sold at various establishments, such as Whole Foods, BevMo, alternative grocery stores, gourmet markets and even some gas stations, all shown on the map. These retailers would be a great place to find our key audience. When you finish the bottle, “Enjoy the Dark Side” is revealed. For our promotion we wanted to label “Bring Your Friends” on select bottles. Winners receive a trip to Hawaii with them and their friends because life is too short to sit in an office all day.

NATIONAL

Promotions REGIONAL

When Biking from Death...

When you’re biking from Death, bring your friends.

In the opening scene after the homeless man dies on the park bench, Death rides by on a bicycle and waves at Henry.

To tie it in to the campaign, we will seek partnerships with independent bicycle shops neighboring college campuses in cities such as New York, San Fransisco, and Seattle for promotional purposes.

We believe these partnerships would serve as an effective means to reach our demographic who often choose riding a bike as their primary form of trasnportation while attending college in the city. In addition to distributing promotional items and information on screenings, we will also work out a deal where those who #bringtheirfriends to buy a bicylce will get a percentage off their purchase and are entered to win advance screening tickets.

Screenings Advance Screening Program

The heart of our campaign was aimed to appeal to the “Kids on the Run” demographic, especially those who attend college in the city. This is the audience that will give our campaign energy from its start. Aside from our regional promotions that will create awareness for the film early on, there’s nothing like actually watching the film.

As part of our campaign we will execute a series of advance screenings at schools such as NYU, USC, and Chapman University to create a buzz on college campuses. We intend on the word being spread to help us begin our platform with lines down the block and popcorn running out.

PREMIERE Red Carpet Hollywood Forever For our red carpet premiere, rather than doing it at the same theater that every film does it at in New York and Los Angeles, we will produce an outdoor festival-inspired premiere at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Not only do we feel the setting would fit our theme’s concept, it would also generate publicity for its unconvential choice of location.

We would secure coverage from ET, Insider, and Extra with Mario Lopez, who would award viewers who tweet a tour of famous celebrity graves at the cemetery, including Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne.

DIGITAL

Budget

$8,750,000

PRINT

$1,750,000

NEWSPAPER

$1,750,000

RADIO

$875,000

TD

OU

DIGITAL 62.5%

MOBILE

MOBILE

NEW

$700,000

OUTDOOR

$1,050,000

TOTAL

$14,000,000

7.5%

R OO

PRINT 12.5%

RADIO SPA

PER

5% 6.25%

6.25%

MEDIA STRATEGY The media strategy is based around the 5 week platform release and the wide release. Each media buy is tailored to the schedule of openings in various cities and the number of theaters showing There Is No God. Since our key demographic make up a low percentage of television viewers, we decided to pull from the television budget and invest it in digital media. This will also allow those who are curious by the title to learn more by clicking on the banners, which will take them to the website and the trailer. We hope this decision will also increase our social media presence via shares and mentions.

PRINT The New Yorker Vice Magazine Monocle Paper Magazine Entertainment Weekly New York Magazine

TYPE

February 14 21 28

7

March 14 21

28

4

April 11 18

25

one page insert two page spread one page insert one page insert one page insert one page insert media buy

5 week platform

wide release

MEDIA STRATEGY ONLINE thereisnogodfilm.com IndieWire Pitchfork Think Indie 8 Tracks FIlm Independent Paste YouTube Indie Film on IMDB Facebook

TYPE

February 14 21 28

7

March 14 21

28

4

April 11 18

25

official website banner banner banner page takeover banner banner 30 second spot banner sponsored ad media buy

5 week platform

wide release

MEDIA STRATEGY ONLINE (continued) Twitter Vice Magazine New York Times New York Magazine Paper Magazine GQ

TYPE

February 14 21 28

7

March 14 21

28

4

April 11 18

25

sponsored # banner banner banner banner banner media buy

5 week platform

wide release

MEDIA STRATEGY NEWSPAPER

February 14 21 28

7

March 14 21

28

4

April 11 18

25

NY Times LA Times Seattle Times Portland Tribune Denver Post Toronto Sun SF Chronicle Chicago Tribune The Boston Globe Austin Chronicle media buy

5 week platform

wide release

MEDIA STRATEGY MOBILE Pandora 8 Tracks Spotify

TYPE

February 14 21 28

7

March 14 21

28

4

April 11 18

25

sponsored ad sponsored ad sponsored ad

media buy

5 week platform

wide release

MEDIA STRATEGY RADIO

February 14 21 28

7

March 14 21

28

4

April 11 18

25

NY Market LA Market SF Market OUTDOOR Billboard Bus Stop Subway

media buy

5 week platform

wide release

The End Get in touch John Brian Pierce

Marketing Director (Designer/Photographer) johnbrianpierce1@gmail.com BA Public Relations/Advertising Chapman University ‘13

or the Direct

ME

Thank You Dawn Taubin Harrison Givens Diondra Meravi Eddie Lopes Patrick Gutman Wally Schlotter Ethan Young Tara Dalbow Mom & Popsi

SAMPLE CREATIVE

“To die will be an awfully big adventure.�

-Aristotle

SAMPLE CREATIVE

In memory of Gordon A. Schlifke, “Popsi” 12/28/11