There’s a certain sense of irony that Hollywood’s hottest properties are discovered in one of America’s coldest bastions. I think it was 9 degrees when I arrived at the Slamdance Film Festival. Even still, Main Street was brimming with activity. Parties poured from thumping clubs onto snow-covered sidewalks, and there were more skirts and high-heels than snow pants and parkas. It’s like there’s an invisible heated bubble around Park City. It must be the electricity of the festival–the fact that all of these filmmakers suspend the L.A. grind for one week to come together in that little town and embrace their communal love of film. There’s an inescapable energy, and it makes you feel…warm. I had a helluva time–even if the commercial director is a bit of a fish out of water.
At film fests, “advertising” is typically reserved for outside events or sponsors. HP hosted a party lodge, for example, and Blackmagic Design demoed their new camera in the filmmaker lounge. The films themselves, however, are usually devoid of any branding. So I was surprised when the creative director of Carhartt announced that the four-minute corporate documentary I directed for them, Made By Hand, would receive a special screening. Granted, Carhartt is a major Slamdance sponsor so pulling strings probably wasn’t advanced puppetry. But interestingly (and thankfully) the piece seemed to fit. There was a brief introduction by festival president, Peter Baxter, and a Q and A following. Questions focused not on how we positioned the brand or targeted the marketing, but on how it was shot and the nature of the performances. In short, it was received as a film, even though the piece is distinctly commercial.
As viewers become savvier, brands need to find ways to sift through the noise and establish meaningful connections with consumers. I’m certainly no industry sage but if Carhartt is an effective case study, then story-driven, character-centric narratives are offering more and more popular platforms for advertising. Branding without selling. Sure, this is nothing new, but it certainly seems like the crossover is trending, and certainly for the better.
After the Q and A, they cued up the next film: a short documentary titled Good Karma $1. It stars ad icon Alex Bogusky and chronicles his exploration of homeless signs…as marketing. Yes, advertising will always look to Park City for talent, but maybe this little ski town is starting to look back. Here’s hoping.
Director Andrew Laurich is repped by ContagiousLA which has recently partnered with The Outhouse.
Live Events Helped Netflix Score 19 Million More Subscribers In Holiday-Season Quarter
Netflix added nearly 19 million subscribers during the holiday-season quarter to help propel its earnings beyond analysts' projections, capping the video streaming service's best year yet in a sign that its expansion into live programming is paying off.
The numbers released Tuesday covered a October-December period highlighted by Netflix's streaming of a widely watched fight between YouTube sensation Jake Paul and former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson in addition to two National Football League games on Christmas Day. Those marquee events helped Netflix to easily surpass the 13 million subscribers that picked up in the same quarter during 2023.
Although Netflix's interest in live programming is primarily tied to its efforts to sell more commercials, it also appears to be giving current subscribers another reason to stick with the service while also reeling in more viewers to pay for the service. Netflix ended last year with more than 300 million worldwide subscribers, an increase of 41 million from 2023. That eclipsed its previous best year of growth during 2020 when its service added more 36.6 million subscribers amid pandemic lockdowns that kept people corralled at home and desperate for entertainment.
Forrester Research analyst Mike Proulx thinks live programming is quickly becoming Netflix's "secret ingredient" that is helping to widen its lead over its streaming rivals. "With more choice in programming than ever before, streaming services need to differentiate," Proulx said. "FOMO (fear of missing out) is a powerful tool in piquing interest and creating stickiness."
The October-December breakdown marked the last time Netflix plans to provide a quarterly count on its total subscribers as management tries to get investors to... Read More