Do you struggle to secure press coverage for screenings and events at your cinema?
Finding it tough to get national media interest in your festival with so many other festivals out there?
Drowning in a sea of podcasts, websites, online outlets and no time to plan anything?
Need to see inside a journalist’s head and work out what they need?
The Independent Cinema Office presents two training courses for anyone who is aiming to maximise media coverage for film-related events or festivals and is working with limited time, money and resources: including independent exhibitors, arts venue staff, established and emerging festivals, event organisers, venue PR and marketing staff, arts development officers and film distributors. The two courses are independent but complementary, structured so you can choose to attend either one or both days. The second day is particularly suitable for people who have already attended the first, whether this time or in previous years.
1) Practical Press Relations: An Introduction to Film Festival & Event PR
Tuesday 9th June 2009
- How to successfully plan and manage a press campaign
- How to integrate your PR strategy with your programming and marketing activity, and how to communicate your press campaign internally
- How to write a press release that will hit the mark and not end up in the trash
- Recognising and selling your most appealing press stories and angles
- Why thorough research is vital for delivering results
- Who are the key journalists you can’t afford not to contact?
- Building and expanding press lists, PLUS free list of national press given to all participants
- Your chance to quiz national journalists about what makes a good story
- How to create maximum impact from minimum resources!
2) Practical Press Relations II: The Bigger Picture
Wednesday 10th June 2009
- Which online, podcast and digital outlets are worth their weight in gold, plus the secrets of viral marketing
- How to forge good relationships with distributors and PR agencies
- Working with photographers, photo agencies and setting up photocalls
- The myths and the realities of talent wrangling, junkets and premieres
- How to get on national TV
- How your event can piggy back off of the bigger festivals like Cannes, Berlin and London
- Case Study of recent successful film PR campaign, the sweat and toil behind the glamour
- Meet a national newspaper print journalist and hear their side of the story
Course Tutor: Clare Wilford
Clare Wilford is one of the UK’s leading film, television and animation publicists, specialising in event and film festival PR. Clare gained over ten years’ experience in arts marketing and PR at organisations including the Barbican Centre, Opera North in Leeds, and the Arnolfini in Bristol. She has orchestrated press campaigns for the following festivals: the International Animation Festival; Brief Encounters, Bristol; the Birmingham International Film and Television Festival; the Times BFI London Film Festival; Northern Lights, Newcastle; the AV Festival, Newcastle and North East; and the Cambridge Film Festival. Clare was Associate Producer and Talent Manager for several Empire Magazine Film Awards, as well as Guest Speaker and Hospitality Co-ordinator for the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival for three years. She has also freelanced for Premier PR and Corbett & Keene for over 10 years, handling press campaigns both at international festivals and in UK distribution. Clare recently returned from Wellington, New Zealand, where she was working as a PR consultant for the New Zealand Film Commission.
Past participants:
Previous trainees have come from a wide range of organisations, including the BFI, Cornerhouse, Curzon Cinemas, Dublin International Film Festival, Duke of Yorks Picturehouse, Goethe Institute, ICA, National Media Museum, Phoenix Cinema, UK Film Council and Watershed.
100‰ of last year’s participants said they would recommend this course to their colleagues. They said:
“The PR course was fantastic! Clare Wilford was a great trainer. In fact, I would go as far as to say that she is one of the best trainers I have had the pleasure of meeting, and I have been on a lot of training! She was very fresh and original, but most importantly, she was very honest and shared all. I feel much more encouraged about what can be achieved on my limited budget.”
“Thank you so much for your inspiring insight into good press relations. It’s so refreshing to receive lots of relevant, useful and practical information rather than theoretical jargon.”
“Excellent presenters who were encouraging us to think big and were full of great ideas. Very inspiring.”
“I gained a lot of new knowledge and really enjoyed it. Thank you!
“Excellent course all round – one of the best I’ve been on.”
“Really, really great. Wish all my department could have come!”
Cost:
£125 + VAT (£143.75) per day, or a discounted rate of £210 + VAT (£241.50) for both days (£100/£175 + VAT for ICO clients, ie. venues with an on-going programming contract with the ICO). If you require financial support to attend, you may be eligible to apply to Skillset for a Screen Bursary or your screen agency may have training bursaries you can apply for.